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Installing Debian GNU/Linux For Alpha - Chapter 9
Technical Information on the Boot Floppies


9.1 Source Code

The boot-floppies package contains all of the source code and documentation for the installation floppies.


9.2 Rescue Floppy

The Rescue Floppy has an Ext2 filesystem (or a FAT filesystem, depending on your architecture), and you should be able to access it from anything else that can mount EXT2 or FAT disks. The Linux kernel is in the file linux. The file root.bin is a gzip-compressed disk image of a 1.44 MB Minix or EXT2 filesystem, and will be loaded into the RAM disk and used as the root filesystem.


9.3 Replacing the Rescue Floppy Kernel

If you find it necessary to replace the kernel on the Rescue Floppy, you must configure your new kernel with these features linked in, not in loadable modules:

Copy your new kernel to the file linux on the Rescue Floppy, and then run the shell script rdev.sh that you'll find on the floppy.

You'll also want to replace the modules.tgz file on the Drivers Floppy. This file simply contains a gzip-compressed tar file of /lib/modules/kernel-ver; make it from the root filesystem so that all leading directories are in the tar file as well.


9.4 The Base Floppies

The base floppies contain a 512-byte header followed by a portion of a gzip-compressed tar archive. If you strip off the headers and then concatenate the contents of the base floppies, the result should be the compressed tar archive. The archive contains the base system that will be installed on your hard disk. Once this archive is installed, you must go through the ``Configure the Base System'' menu item in the installation system and other menu items to configure the network and install the operating system kernel and modules before the system will be usable.


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Installing Debian GNU/Linux For Alpha
version 2.1.8.1, 25 February, 1999
Bruce Perens
Sven Rudolph
Igor Grobman
James Treacy
Adam Di Carlo