Miscalleneous information

Creating a bootfloppy

(NOTE: chos compiled for kernel 2.x doesn't seem to work with floppies under kernel 1.x and vice versa.)

Normal bootfloppy

1. Create a configuration file. The files should be set up as follows:
   
   install=/dev/fd0
bindir=path
mapfile=path/chos.map
bgfile=path/chos.background

   Path is any path but /boot is not a good choice since your normal system bootup files are kept there. /boot/bfloppy is fine. You can have the files on the floppy but that is not necessary unlike with standalone setup.
   Everything else in the file can be as in your normal hd configuration.
2. Copy the binaries in path possibly creating the directory.
   (someone)~$ mkdir path
(someone)~$ cp /boot/chos.loader* /boot/chos.bsect path
3. Run chos
   (root)~$ chos -v -c the_config_file_I_created

Standalone/rescue bootfloppy

1. The first step is, of course, to create a config file. The following config file lines will tell chos to search for it's binary files and save other files on first floppy drive.
   bindir=/floppy
   chos.map=/floppy/chos.map
   chos.background=/floppy/chos.background
   install=/dev/fd0
   Also setup a Linux kernel that exists on the floppy..
   linux "Linux" {
   
   image=/floppy/my_linux
   ...
   
   }
2. Now that you have a config file, mount the damn floppy:
   (someone)/chos_path/$ mount /floppy
   
   and copy chos binaries and your kernel there:
   (someone)/chos_path/$ cp ./bin/* /floppy
   (someone)/chos_path/$ cp where_ever_my_kernel_is /floppy
   
3. And finally run chos:
   (root)/chos_path/$ chos -v -c the_config_file_I_created
   

• Copy all the necessary binaries to set the system up and running and do the things you want on the same or another floppy (Linux will prompt you to insert the floppy). You need '/bin/sh' at least.
  You might want to use statically compiled binaries since shared libc, not to mention libg++, is pretty huge, which leaves you no space for the actual binaries... You must add something like 'root=/dev/fd0' on the Linux command line.
• If one floppy isn't big enough, create a compressed ramdisk. See '/usr/src/linux/Documentation/ramdisk.txt' for information on creating one.
  If you want to use an initial ramdisk, the ramdisk image must be small enough to fit on the same floppy with the kernel and chos data. (That due chos at the moment only supports regular-file initrds. I should add support for initrd devices.)

There are plenty of programs for creating ansi graphics. Most of them are for DOS :(. I used SHMANSi to make the sample files. For Linux there is a program named 'Linux ANSI Draw', but those DOS programs are still more featured...

You can view the .bin background files with utils/showscreen.
.asc files can simply be viewed with 'cat' (some of them might need codepage 437 be set, though (Type echo -e '\033(K' to set it and echo -e '\033(B' to switch back to Latin1).