The BeOSJournal.

Walt_H · Guest

I recently download both BeOS Max 2.1 and BeOS Developers' Edition, and I'll be darned if I can get either one to install. I followed the instructions and burned the ISOs using the demo of Nero to create what were supposed to be bootable CDs. The only problem is that my machine will not boot from CD-ROM, even if I tell it to in the BIOS.

I searched and searched for ways to make a boot floppy to use to start the installation process with no luck. One post referred to a couple of files: beos.com (or something along that line - can't remember the name but did find the file) and zbeos, which I think was in the zip file of the first. I used rawrite to write them to floppy on my Windows machine at work, but they don't work on my machine at home. The boot process starts from the disk (for BeOS PE 5, although that isn't what I want to install) and asks for a volume, which apparently I do not have, and then it goes no further. The assumption almost seems to be that I already have BeOS installed.

I also tried to rawrite the floppy.img for both Max 2.1 and DevEd 1.1, but neither will boot.

I have since repartitioned my hard drive to create an empty FAT32 partition that I did not have before. Should I be able to install BeOS into this partition? Will the BeOS PE 5 boot disk find that volume to install to?

To take things a step further, assuming I want to install it to take the entire hard disk and cannot boot from CD-ROM, what is my best bet for doing so? I can't seem to install it over the top of Linux, so should I erase the disk and reformat it in DOS? (I do have a Windows 98 boot disk that will allow me to reformat the disk.)

Right now, I have Linux installed on this machine. Is there a way for me to copy the contents of the CD-ROM from within Linux to the new partition I created (or to a temporary directory in Linux) and install BeOS into that partition? And is there a way to create an install boot floppy from either Max 2.1 or Developers' Edition 1.1? Thanks. I am really tired of Windows and want to try something different - if I can get it to work.

Feel free to e-mail me about this.

Walt Huntsman

ArDrakho · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 5:25 pm2 Post subject:

Well ... I had the same problem with Dev and Max, then BeOS Pro. My SCSI CD-RW is not bootable for some reason. Therefore, I had a copy of BeOS Personal 5 for Windows and installed it. Within that install, the floppy.img for BeOS PE 5 can be used for booting. I grabbed that and RaWrote it to floppy. Boot from that disk; during boot, and press the [space-bar], then select the boot device. Will work for Dev, Max and BeOS Pro. Afterwards--nuke the BeOS PE for Windows if not needed.

BeOS Pro rocks! Cannot wait for my copy of Zeta to be purchased!

Good luck!
ArDrakho

Simon_T · Guest

What processor have you got? If you're using max because you've got an Athlon XP, you'll need a Athlon XP-ready boot disk. If you want I can send you an image to stick on the floppy (from in beos, you can run the command "makebotfloppy -cd" to get a bootdisk capable of booting from a CD drive - I don't think the PE default boot floppy includes this).

Guest · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 11:19 pm4 Post subject:

#1 Did your computer ever read "burned" CD? Some older drivers are really stinky on reading CD-R's and almost no CD-RW's.

#2 with a dos disk and booted to plain old dos you can load into beos (on a hard drive) with loadbeos.com and the file zbeos has to be in the path too. Now you can put the image on a hard drive under /beos and rename it image.be and it will run in a virtual be file system after loadbeos kicks out command.com. You need to run defrag before you move the file. It has to stay as a single file.

#3 Rawrite will only work if you have a file that is about 1.4 meg. The CD boot image is not a full floppy. The end need to be changed. Better to look at wiki.bebits.com installing on athlon page for a link to a bootable CD disk. Bebits has a way to make a CD but not for Some P4's and Athlons.

#4 PE installed in linux or windows will be able to do an "Install From" and "Install to" when you use the Installer Application and use the pull down arrows.

Pick a way to go and repost on a new thread for any more help you might need.

ArDrakho · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 2:02 pm5 Post subject:

First--I have dual Celerons and PIIs; therefore, Athlon or P4 patches were of no consequence. But, it will be an issue for me later, because I will not buy P4s and will move to Athlon MPs. Sorry, did not think about that.

Second, I have nuke all PE versions and have only Pro version running. I used the Max version as a template to update my Pro versions.

Do you have Linux loaded? Instead of RaWrite you can use dd. The P4 and Athlon floppy images are not 1.44 sizes, they are slightly larger. I think using dd and setting a parameter (not sure which, will have to look it up) will allow to burn the non-standard-sized image to floppy.

Good luck
ArDrakho

Simon_T · Guest

I patched my kernel for my new Athlon XP on my old AMD K6/2. BeOS still boots without a problem on the old computer. Then ran "makebootfloppy -cd" from a terminal - the floppy booted fine on my XP. There's no reason the floppy should be any bigger (the kernel has a few bytes replaced, but not added) - but I think if people have hacked it to work from within windows (if Be was unbootable) it may increase the size a bit.

Like I mentioned, I think the problem is the bootdisk not looking for a volume on the CD drive. If I know the processor Walt's using, then I can sort out a CD capable boot floppy in no time. The Athlon XP boot disk I use didn't work on a PIII when I tried it, which is why we need to know CPU type first.

Walt? Are you still here anywhere?

Simon

Walt_H · Guest

I have a Celeron 400 (wish I had something newer and faster but just can't afford it).

The CD-ROM has read from burned CD-RWs before, as I've installed several flavors of Linux on this machine from discs I have burned. (All of them required a boot floppy, however.

I don't have Windows installed on this machine (and don't want it). I would like to install BeOS onto a blank hard drive if I could, but it doesn't sound as if I can do that without a machine that will boot from CD-ROM. I followed the directions for making a bootable CD, but my machine would not boot it. (I also don't have PE.)

Right now, I have a distribution of Linux in one partition and another empty partition that I could install BeOS into. Is there a file I can copy off the CD-ROM into the blank partition and install from that?

I tried the "experimental" boot floppy image mentioned on the web site where I downloaded DevEd 1.1. It does start the boot process, but it (I) cannot find a volume in which to install, and so the process stalls.

I'm sure part of the problems is my POS machine, but it's all I have and all I can afford for now. Thanks for any help I can get.

Walt Huntsman

Guest · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 11:54 pm8 Post subject:

Burning to CDR should work with a boot floppy. There are floppy boot images floating around.

But you might try this... install the PE image for Linux - try hitting one of the be mirrors for that. Install the PE version, boot it, insert the CD with the image that you want to install, and run the installer from the CD. It should install everything on the CD over the PE image.

Deej

Walt_H · Guest

I got the Developers' Edition installed at last with the help of the boot floppy from BeBits (the only one I had not yet tried). I can't really do much yet, since my modem doesn't work and I'm not sure about my printer or Zip drive (do these work?). But it is installed. Thanks for everyone's help.

Walt Huntsman