Re: [9fans] WORM recomendations?

[Latchesar Ionkov <lucho@gmx.net>]

On Wed, Jan 17, 2001 at 03:04:02AM +0100, Boyd Roberts said:
> > I'd love to have USB support in Plan 9.
> 
> i'd just like to be able to boot off my USB
> floppy and then install using the stuff on c:
> 
> i don't think that's possible -- no plan 9
> installed, no hacks to get it to boot.

I believe you can install it without plan9 machine. I never install it that
way, but that's what I am planning to do if I screw the installation on my
usb-floppy-only laptop (I have linux and use it as example. I believe you
can do the same in Windows with the right tools)

1. Download plan9 boot disk and copy it to a floppy disk.
2. Create partition for Plan9 install with the right partition type (0x39)
3. Create Plan9 partition image in a file

	dd if=/dev/zero of=9fat bs=1024 count=1440
	mkdosfs -R 2 9fat
	mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
	mount -o loop=/dev/loop0 9fat /mnt/9fat
	cp /mnt/floppy/* /mnt/9fat/
	umount /mnt/9fat/
	dd if=/dev/zero of=part9 bs=512 count=1
	(echo part 9fat 0 2880 ; echo part nvram 2880 2881; dd if=/dev/zero bs=1 count=474) > 9ptbl
	cat 9fat /mnt/floppy/plan9.nvr > 9part0
	(dd if=9part0 count=1 ; dd if=9ptbl ; dd if=9part skip=2) > 9part
	
   This should create Plan9 partition with 9fat (size 1440M) and nvram (size
   512 bytes) subpartitions in 9part file. It will also copy all the files
   from the boot floppy to the 9fat subpartition.
   
   Note 1: standard mkdosfs misteriously doesn't recognize -R option even if
   it presents in the man page. You have to modify mkdosfs source (add "R:"
   at in the getopt function at mkdosfs.c:1410)
   
   Note 2: In theory there is no guarantee that copying files from the
   floppy to the newly created FAT filesystem will not fragment the files.
   In practice it doesn't happen -- I don't see any reason files will be
   fragmented if they are copied to a blank filesystem.
   
4. Copy 9part file in the real Plan9 partition

	dd if=9part of=/dev/hdaX
	
5. Modify plan9.ini in the floppy disk to read the kernel and the kfs
   filesystem from 9fat partition

   	bootargs=local!#S/sdC0/9fat
	bootfile=sdC0!9fat!9pcflop.gz

6. Reboot. 

If you are lucky, you'll have running shell. Installation scripts are
designed to work booting from floppy and you have to modify them to continue
the installation. I didn't go that far and I don't guarantee that you can
install that way.
	
I can email you 9part file if you cannot create it using the OS you have.

	Lucho