A4000 bootdisk CD/DVD support

[jedcooper]

hi amigans!

made a simple fast little bootdisk for booting with cdrom support to install from CD.

base was the WB3.1 installer disk.

it features freeware CD/DVD support with the workbench inhibits and CrossDOS to transfer some files.
i also added a shell and LHA to fiddle around.

but thx for your advises! that's what i wanted to get, and got so far


v0.2

- fixed some bugs
- now automounts CD and DVDRAM (maybe DVD too, dunno yet)
- added unlzx support (i do LZX backups on DVDRAM)
- added L/SmartFilesystem

v0.1

initial release


--

greetings
JC

[jedcooper]

update!  (21.10.2009)

v0.2

- fixed some bugs
- now automounts CD and DVDRAM (maybe DVD too, dunno yet)
- added unlzx support (i do LZX backups on DVDRAM)
- added L/SmartFilesystem

v0.1

initial release


SEE FIRST POST FOR UPDATED LINK TO FILE!


--

greetings
JC

[jedcooper]

what about feedback? does it come in handy? you got REAL usability from it?

i was always looking for a fast, smart backup-solution without hassles. so i created the disk. i just have to make another with tiny tcp/ip support to get internet (at least ftp) through a gateway/router working.

so there would be two (DD) disks setting/backing up an amiga system. on A4000 it's possible to make ONE disk in HD though... (just have to get some inspirations yet

[jedcooper]

causes harm to whom?
@Thomas: btw. why did YOU download it?

[jedcooper]

Does not matter. You are breaking the law, even if nobody is harmed.




I didn't. I just read your first post: "base was the WB3.1 installer disk ... it features ... CrossDOS".


I wonder why no admin has closed this thread yet. Distributing illegal software puts a forum into the risk to be shut down, therefore admins usually look very carefully into such things.

and they might have done that. quite for sure at this topic. so calm down. YOU don't have to urge who (me) or others break any laws or not.

we are here on a "retro" forum and not microsoft or else modern piece of soft/hardware. so i don't think that now a taskforce will come and close this forum :roflmao::laughing:


to be honest: though i know that for myself, so i removed it.
i don't like THESE wise-guy comments. and they're not (more) needed here for sure!

[jedcooper]

I just took a look at the disk; looks a bit messy, but if it works for you, then great.

I would suggest to use a different CD filesystem than the one you have installed though. IDEfix 97 is available as a demo version; CacheCDFS works better than CDFilesystem. I'm sure there are other and better CD filesystems out there.

Craming a TCP/IP stack onto one disk (I see no point in the need of two disks; ruins the whole idea) will be a challange. Miami is out of the question, and AmiTCP can be a pain to set up, but good luck with it.

Another suggestion would be to install a file manager on the disk.

now, back to topic. thx for your all advises, even in PM. appreciate that.
so whats wrong with CDFileSystem? working good for me, never had any problems. and it's small and does transfer my backups flawlessly, that's what important is for a bootdisk.
i think CD/Network and tools alltogether on one DD disk is nearly impossible, but i might try it for sure. two disks would be ok if a RAD: or RAM: is used? but this keeps the requirements growing. even if the standard A4000 got 2MB of RAM: i'm not sure if it will run a tcp/ip stack together with a filled ramdisk.
got a PM where someone made a bootdisk back in the good ole days with some tiny dialup software. even on A500 it would be interesting to get that run...

one even can't put all network/cd drivers on a disk either. nor every full distribution freeware notes and guides to get thomas' point.

hmm... i have to make a decision...

[jedcooper]

i noticed this, and now it is OK!
so how may i get this stuff legal?

f.e. to get rid of this: may i write an installer script which copies original files from the user to this bootdisk? and get a list of requirements added, so he might copy the smartfilesystem file standalone and so on?
how do i get know of which files are free, and which not? for most archives there are the licenses included, but i'm not quite sure about scsi.device f.e.
this is essential and i would like to include this on disk/installer, so there are no version conflicts or searching the aminet for the right version.
if users had to do all this, they would have no usability of such thing anymore...

[jedcooper]

Dispite it being useful (I doubt it is needed badly, there has hardly been any requests here on amiga.org) copyright is still copyright.

It sucks that one can't make his/hers bootdisk available for free download. A guide on how to make his own bootdisk would be the road to follow in order to avoid copyright problems.

for the installation issue: may i use the installer? which i think everybody has installed. so i could write a script for it and distribute it.

[jedcooper]

You can use it, but not put it on your disk.  Though there are free alterntaives on aminet

i expect everybody got this, or can get this easily.
so i may distribute an installer script written by me?

are there any guides/howtos/tuts for installer?
i don't want the aminet alternatives, because they're not spread widely enough, i think. but if they're compatible? then the next issue is how to spread these alternatives further... no. no more added problems for this.

[jedcooper]

I haven't reinstalled my amiga for ages now, because  it so dam difficult. Good boot disk would make it so much simplier.

Installer freely downloadable from aminet and it is distributed with many games and programs.

I would belive that you can put it you disk.

PS. Isn't so that hyperion has rights to amiga os 3.0 -> maybe they could help

i will do an install script, maybe some files as startup-sequence, version checker and so on. but i'll think about it first...

i will not put the installer or other on some disk or with my bootdisk-creator script.
you will need a running amiga to create such bootdisk. what you personally do after that is not my business.
i see no (fast, legal) possibility to do it otherwise. so i guess it will be an .lha archive on aminet.
but i need to get familar with installer scripting at first.


manual bootdisk creation (for short!):

for quick setting up your amiga you'll need the OS 3.5 CD and workbench/installer 3.1 disk,  crossdos, an empty disk (make that bootable).
copy workbench over, delete some unneeded stuff, copy hdtoolbox from install3.1 disk and try to get the CD/DVD drive to run using the bootdisk.
then you can install complete 3.1/3.5 very fast from CD.
don't forget: set up your harddrives (recommending SFS) before, and format them. you'll need SFSFormat and SmartFilesystem for that.
you additionally need a newer scsi.device (>43.xx above) respectively a patch file because it's in the kickstart rom, loadmodule, and maybe another 1 or 2 things. so internet access or crossdos is mandatory!

i could post my mountlist and/or startup-sequence later, if i get my A4000D back running.

i have to mention that Thomas got a little similar description also on his website. (but not for bootdisk, mainly for running systems, more generic)



regards
jc

[jedcooper]

as my signature, i got no blizzardppc. and never got one.

my used driver/cdfilesystem works for quite ALL CDROMs (same as it handles 1000s of harddiskdrives) tested it with 4 different ones. 32x CD, 52x CD, DVD-Burner+DVD-RAM, CD-RW-Burner.
so i don't see the point there. a short device mountlist for more support i.e. DVD (if it didn't work already) isn't that much space either.

i don't know what to modify a system/bootdisk here? plain A4000 with HDD as master Unit 0, CD/DVD as slave Unit 1 is the first (most common) you setup ever. later if it runs all well you add software, hardware etc.
even with hardware added you can plain boot from it with internal IDE/CD/DVD.
i don't know any fixes needed (at boot time) for additional hardware to not get a hang of the whole system. because the added hardware is not supported nor used by my bootdisk.

my bootdisk is and will be for A4000D 3630/3640 and those variations EC/LC whatever and i won't support other things. if it runs on other hardware (what i guess it WILL!) it's ok, otherwise hard luck. period.

if i got my script ready and some ideas, we could add radiobuttons for different hardware and so on later on.

[jedcooper]

Yep, lets clutter up the disk with unneeded stuff; that's always good.

first you claimed there is much other hardware, too less support, then you claim of cluttering the disk up. what is unneeded at supporting a DVD?? WHAT DO YOU WANT?

See, that's new information. All you wrote earlier was that you had a A4000 boot disk with CD support. That's true for the A3630/3640 Amigas.

and will be true on many other hardware configurations.

Otherwise, chill. I'm not bashing your work here, by all means keep it up. A simple guide telling how it works and on how to get CD working would be so much less work.

if i wanted that, i'd done that.

Those expecting to find a boot disk that will install eveything by itself are to used to PCs. This is Amiga, it takes a bit more effort to get it running.

do you think i'm using amiga the first time or after buying a PC? get lost and don't wreck my nerves further with this unneeded discussion here.

you'd better tell me how to do an install script or where i can find a guide, what would maybe further most common drivers be, what could be useful as tool. and not claiming what it all DOES NOT.



to all others, if you got something constructive to add, feel free ;-)

regards
jc

[jedcooper]

*sigh*

two last points:

the installer3.1 also boots on every amiga 4000 ootb, and even 1200 with my added turboboards, A3630/40 etc.. and maybe (!) some other configs.

a 20 line mountfile would not make the disk much larger.
they even don't need to get automounted. what to mount can be set by installer script.

-

me for myself wanted to get a setup much easier, without copying many things from many disks/cds or internet everytime i want to setup a new amiga or hardrive.
and i wanted to share that with most common A4000D users as i am. got me?

i asked about copyright infringements, you helped.
i asked about scripting with the installer, you helped not, but telling me i should better not do such thing, but so and so, like you would do it.
my target is a disk and not a guide.
therefore is what i asked (the scripting - now the 3rd time) and you telling me about problems and problems and problems. and do it so and let that off and don't make a disk.

i would not do that if i'd think users lend down and let the amiga do the work...

argh

what do i have to explain next?
don't get me wrong, but i don't like to get information about problems i don't have and will not have yet! (see my config)



regards
jc

[jedcooper]

@jedcooper:

I have been searching for information about installer scripts (there's one I want to write myself) and I've found the guide included in Installer-43_3.lha from Aminet (util/misc) is quite useful. That and taking a look to existing scripts have helped me a lot.

alright thx! i will look at them if i get my A4000D back running again.