Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Linux on a Floppy: Intro to Mini Linux Distros

Posted by timothy on from the floppies-how-quaint dept.

GonzoJohn writes: "If you've ever been stuck on the freeway with a flat tire and no jack, you know what it's like to have a Linux system crash and not have a boot disk. And although nearly every Linux distribution company asks you make a boot/recovery floppy when you install Linux for the first time, many users skip this important step. Out of the boot/recovery disk concept was born the Mini-Linux distribution." Read this article on Linux Orbit, with a brief intro to some of the mini-distros available.

3 of 189 comments (clear)

  1. Rescues more than Linux by saihung · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've used floppy distros to rescue Windows boxes for more often than I've used them for rescuing linux. NT password crackers, disk utils, tiny editors, you name it - I used to carry a syslinux disk around with me at our all-NT shop just in case, and by the time I left I wasn't the only one using them.

  2. Business Card CDR (30mb) Linux Distro by Khopesh · · Score: 5, Interesting

    All the rave, those floppy disk linux distros. Over the past few years, I've learned to love tomsrtbt (Tom's RootBoot).

    Then, last year, I found some Business Card CDRs, which hold 30-50mb and fit in your wallet.

    Naturally, I wanted a super-utility boot disk. My ideal was high; mix tomsrtbt with a standard Win98 boot disk (essential for flashing) and a few other tools. Multiboot? Now there's a tough subject. Even with the best guide to making bootable cdroms I could find, it was hopelessly difficult.

    When I saw this post on Slashdot, I knew I had to post this little story. In researching it, I actually found an answer to the question I wanted to pose to all of you; does anybody know of a linux distribution for these business card cdrs.

    LNX-BBC is just that. Anybody tried it? Anybody know of another one? Anybody made a multi-boot linux/dos businesscard cdr? ...I want the iso!

    --
    Use my userscript to add story images to Slashdot. There's no going back.
  3. PicoBSD by Fweeky · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Don't forget the BSD's have things like this too. Tsk, anyone would think the BSD's and the Linux's aren't on speaking terms or something :)

    /usr/src/release/picobsd/

    PICOBSD(8) FreeBSD System Manager's Manual PICOBSD(8)

    NAME

    picobsd - floppy disk based FreeBSD system

    DESCRIPTION

    picobsd is a script which can be used to produce a minimal implementation
    of FreeBSD (historically called PicoBSD) which typically fits on one
    floppy disk, or can be downloaded as a single image file from some media
    such as CDROM, flash memory, or through etherboot.

    The boot media (typically a floppy disk) contains a boot loader and a
    compressed kernel which includes a memory file system. Depending on the
    media, it might also contain a number of additional files, which can be
    updated at run time, and are used to override/update those in the memory
    file system.