Subject: install/7905: former md_copy_filesystem() should be turned into a utility option
To: None <gnats-bugs@gnats.netbsd.org>
From: None <cgd@netbsd.org>
List: netbsd-bugs
Date: 07/03/1999 20:23:01
>Number:         7905
>Category:       install
>Synopsis:       former md_copy_filesystem() should be turned into a utility option
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       non-critical
>Priority:       low
>Responsible:    install-manager (NetBSD system installation bug manager)
>State:          open
>Class:          change-request
>Submitter-Id:   net
>Arrival-Date:   Sat Jul  3 20:05:00 1999
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     Chris Demetriou
>Organization:
>Release:        1.4
>Environment:
irrelevant.

>Description:
for 1.4.1 and in -current, many ports' implementations of
md_copy_filesystem() have been cleaned out, because it causes
more harm than good in most cases.

However, in some cases its functionality is useful, e.g. (as pointed
out by Robert Elz <kre@munnary.oz.au) when
you have a laptop without a network on which you can attach
both CD-ROM and floppy, but only one at a time (with a reboot
required to change the one attached).

For situations like this, it may be useful to have sysinst
copy the relevant files over to the hard disk.  (Another option
which seems equally useful to me is to copy the install kernel
from the boot floppy to the hard disk, then reboot from the hard
disk and untar the sets using sysinst's option to do that.)
>How-To-Repeat:
run into a problem where you need that kind of functionality, e.g.
the one described above.
>Fix:
"implement it!"

>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted: