Subject: Re: Where can I find sets splits?
To: Tao CHANG <changt@gmx.net>
From: Richard Rauch <rkr@olib.org>
List: port-i386
Date: 01/03/2004 20:30:36
Re. http://mail-index.netbsd.org/port-i386/2004/01/03/0002.html

I don't believe that split sets are distributed any longer.

I believe that the optimal split-size was found by getting the greatest
common divisor of 1.2MB and 1.44MB (5.25" and 3.5") (or was that 1.2MB
and 720KB? probably the same factor either way) and splitting the files
into blocks of that size.  N blocks would fill one disk, M would fill
the other.

If you just want one disk type, you can split to about as many bytes as
will fit on one disk.


Secondly, speaking as someone who *has* created a set of floppies for
installation (and then used them) I *strongly* recommend that you exhaust
all other options, first.  (^&  As someone else said, it's painful and
boring.

A few years ago, I wanted to install NetBSD on a laptop that couldn't
read the (CD-R media) CDs I had.  I didn't create a stack of floppies,
though.  Instead, I created a single boot floppy, booted NetBSD, and
then used "slattach" to set up a SLIP network line to another NetBSD
box and did the install that way.  NetBSD supports network installs
via FTP, and presumably also via NFS.  (NetBSD install kernels/userland
do not support PPP.  I guess PPP is too hefty to fit onto an install
kernel, but SLIP is easy.)

Another way that people have outlined in the past is to move the HD
from the one computer and install it temporarily into another computer.
Do the OS installation on the other computer, then put the HD back.


It's nice that it is possible to install NetBSD from floppies, but
floppies are so small and cramped that I would not care to repeat
the process.

-- 
  "I probably don't know what I'm talking about."  http://www.olib.org/~rkr/