Carel, Now I'm really getting worried, and trying to recall were I picked up the suggestion to create a grub floppy (it wasn't my own idea). I was from Linux Journal, but I can't seem to pin down the issue.
I also find a reference to doing so in the clone-HOWTO, section 5.3. Also http://www.mathematik.uni-marburg.de/sys/os/linux/install/mkgrubfd.html here's another venture: http://www.uruk.org/orig-grub/install.html I find that the Linux Journal article was from the May issue: http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=4622 These discussions propose two or three somewhat different approaches to creating the floppy, and I see that I didn't use the Linux Journal method after all. But these methods would not see to have any bearing on your concern about overwriting the floppy's filesystem. > > > In other words, putting stage2 directly after the bootrecord > > > destroys any filesytem on the disk, better use stage1.5 or do a > > > true install on the floppy as I posted recently or as described > > > in the FAQ (node FAQ). > As stated before, there is really limited space on a floppy in > between the MBR and the actual file system. (Oh, and I'm not even > sure there is enough room there on a floppy to stack stage1.5) > Depending on the size of stage2 you're very likely to have > overwritten part of the filesystem. Whether you'll ever notice this > depends on your usage, but to me it seems a disaster waiting to > happen. Whether the grub files are somewhere else on that disk > really doesn't matter, you've ruined the filesystem. If stage2 does intrude on the file system, what exactly do you mean by the "file system?" The diskette's partition table? The 1_5 fs drivers? > The ruined file system might lead to you overwriting part of stage2 > whenever you put something on the floppy, like changing menu.lst, or > putting the other grub files on disk. At least you suggest the floppy is in danger of failing. But beyond ending up with a non-functioning floppy, are you suggesting it might affect the file system on the hard disk? If so, how? > Ofcourse if you first put those files on the flop, change menu.lst, > and only then use dd to put stage1 and stage2 in place, you might be > lucky and overwrite only some of those superfluous grub files. I'm not sure what surperfluous files you refer to. I run multiple file systems and so need some of the drivers, but, of course not all. But since one can never know, you are implying that a grub floppy is a BAD IDEA to begin with? Haines -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
