From: Vince Skahan (vince@halcyon.com)
Date: 08/29/92


From: vince@halcyon.com (Vince Skahan)
Subject: Re: HELP: SLS distribution install fails with bad magic number.
Date: 30 Aug 1992 00:15:42 GMT

sundaram@cps.msu.edu (Divya Sundaram) writes:

>I am installing linux on my machine for the first time and am Using the SLS
>distribution. I am getting a bad magic number problem on the 1st install
>disk.

the first two disks in SLS are linux 'images' (basically looked like a 0.96c
boot disk and a modified 'root' disk to me).

you stick disk 1 in there and boot the PC. when it asks you to stick in the
'root' disk, put disk2 in there and follow the instructions.

>Where can I get more info on the SLS distribution? I know next to nothing about
>linux and its installation and am not sure how to go about doing this. I deleted
>my Boot manager and DOS partition. Doinstall tells me to do a mkfs first. Which
>wants me to do a fdisk first.

I personally used 'mcc-interim' to install the basic o/s and utilities.
SLS's value to me would be that it packages stuff in such a way that I can
cd to /, then extract a tar file and load a complete package if I choose to
grab it. I didn't care for the menus myself, but they DID seem to work.
(I like the command line interface rather than canned install thingy's that
I have to trust)...still, it seemed pretty much as advertised IMHO, but
I'd agree there's a need for some type of documentation that is SLS-specific.

anyway, I did the following:
        - from DOS, partitioned 70% of the disk for DOS5.0
        - booted linux from the mcc-interim distribution, and set up
                the rest the way I wanted for linux. SLS seems to have
                similar ability to walk you through getting the initial o/s
                loaded relatively painlessly.

>Where do I get the mkfs? And where can I find the fdisk for linux, if any?

it's on the disk1 I believe. If you boot off the disk1, it'll be there
when it tells you to set up the hard disk.

>Now the fdisk will not allow me to delete the OS2 "Ext DOS Partition" - this
>is the DOS fdisk. Is there a linux fdisk?

you use the DOS fdisk with DOS, and the linux fdisk for linux partitions.

>Any info would be greatly appreciated!

you need to find the FAQs. Take a peek via anon-ftp on tsx-11.mit.edu
if you have internet access.

-- 
          Vince Skahan                          vince@halcyon.com (here)
    vince@atc.boeing.com (work)             vince@victrola.sea.wa.us (home)