Choosing Diskette Images

Alpha machines are divided into classes. The classes reflect the many Alpha machine designs that have been produced over the years, and differentiate between the several boxes du jour produced by Digital. The Red Hat Linux/Alpha installation process is diskette-based. The number and contents of the diskettes that you need will vary according to the type of Alpha system you have.

Search the Machine Class column in Table 1-1 for your system. If you know your system's code name or alias, you can search the Alias column. The appropriate MILO image (if applicable) is listed on the right. All of the MILO image files are located in the milo/images directory. The table will also show you whether your machine is SRM and/or MILO capable. Note that if your machine is both SRM and MILO capable, using SRM is preferred.

Please Note

Previous versions of Red Hat Linux/Alpha used different boot images. Now, however, all Alpha installations use the same kernel, so only one boot image is needed (images/generic.img ). You no longer need to insert the kernel boot disk after an installation to copy over the kernel to the installed system. MILO is still machine specific, however, so you will need to find the appropriate MILO image file for your system. And, if you're doing an NFS, FTP or hard disk installation, you'll also need a RAM disk diskette made from images/ramdisk.img on CD 1.

Writing an Image File to a Diskette

You must write each of the image files you need to a diskette. The easiest methods of writing an image file to a diskette are using dd or rawrite .

Using the dd Command

The dd command in a Linux/UNIX OS is used to do direct dumps from one device (or file) to another. It is an excellent tool to create a disk image or to make a disk from an image. In Linux, the command is invoked as follows:


bash#
 
dd if=<image file> of=/dev/fd0

You should see something like the following to indicate that the image transfer was successful:


2880+0 records in
2880+0 records out

If you see a smaller block count, your image did not transfer correctly. If this is the case, it will usually be accompanied by a disk error.

Using the rawrite Utility

Under MS-DOS, you can use the rawrite utility included on the Red Hat Linux/Alpha CD in the /dosutils directory to write an image file to a diskette.

The rawrite command looks like the following (assuming your CD is drive D: ):


C:\>
 

d:



D:\>
 

cd \dosutils



D:\> dosutils>
 

rawrite

Rawrite first asks you for the filename of a diskette image; enter the directory and name of the image you wish to write.


Enter disk image source file name:


D:\images\

<image file>

Then rawrite asks for a diskette drive to write the image to:


Enter target diskette drive:


a:

Finally, rawrite asks for confirmation that a formatted diskette is in the drive you've selected. After pressing Enter to confirm, rawrite copies the image file onto the diskette.


Please insert a formatted diskette into drive A: and press
 --ENTER-- :
 
Enter


D:\ dosutils>

The rawrite utility will return a message indicating whether your disk was created succesfully, or it will inform you if your image failed to transfer correctly.

Creating a Boot Diskette

The boot diskette image is images/generic.img on Red Hat Linux/Alpha CD 1. Refer to the section called Writing an Image File to a Diskette for instructions on writing the image file to a diskette. Label the diskette "Boot Diskette."

Creating a MILO Diskette

If your system is supported by MILO, you will find the appropriate image in the milo/images directory on the Red Hat Linux/Alpha CD 1. See Table 1-1 to find the appropriate MILO image file for your system.

Please Note

If you have trouble with MILO, the first thing to try is a newer MILO image. If updated MILO versions are available, they can be found at:


ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Linux-Alpha/Kernels/

MILO file names begin with milo- , which is followed by the system type and date.

Refer to the section called Writing an Image File to a Diskette for instructions on how to make disks from disk images. Label the diskette you make from the MILO image "MILO Diskette."

Creating a RAM Disk Diskette

If you're doing an NFS, FTP or hard disk installation, you'll need to create a RAM disk diskette. All Red Hat Linux/Alpha installations use the same RAM disk image: images/ramdisk.img on Red Hat Linux/Alpha CD 1. Refer to the section called Writing an Image File to a Diskette for instructions on writing the image file to a diskette. Label the diskette "RAM Disk Diskette."