Quickstart for LOADLIN-1.5
==========================

Version 1.5 of LOADLIN (as opposite to prior versions) normally needs no
special configuration and has been reported very stable by all ALPHA testers,
so I guess you will only need

   LOADLIN.EXE,
   LOADLINX.EXE  ( the optional preprocessor,
                   processes on input params, then executes LOADLIN.EXE. )

Copy these files to a DOS partition (e.g C:\LOADLIN). You must keep both files
in the same directory, otherwise LOADLINX can't find LOADLIN.

To boot Linux you need also a compressed kernel image file such as
the "/vmlinuz" or the "/usr/src/zImage". In Slackware distribution you
can find a lot of kernels (bare, scsi, modern, ...) in the directory
..../slackware/kernels of the site you got it from.

Copy the image file to your DOS partion (e.g. C:\).

To boot type at dos prompt:

  1. For a Linux partition (ext2, minix, ...) to mount as root

         loadlin c:\vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb2 ro
                                           ==

  2. For an UMSDOS filesystem to mount as root

         loadlin c:\vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 rw
                                           ==
     or
         loadlinX c:\vmlinuz root=c: rw

  3. To boot from a SlackWare installation root floppy in drive A:
     having the kernel image file on the hard disk.

         loadlinX c:bare root=a: rw ramdisk=1440,no

     To boot from a SlackWare installation root floppy in drive B:
     having the DOS-floppy with the kernel image in drive A:

         loadlinX a:scsi root=b: rw ramdisk=1440,no

     To boot from a SlackWare installation root floppy in drive A:
     *and* having the DOS-floppy with the kernel image in drive A:

         loadlinX a:modern root=a: rw ramdisk=1440

     ( LOADLIN will prompt for disk change after having loaded the kernel )


NOTE: You must know what root partition to use, the above /dev/xxx or C:
      are only examples !!!


If you didn't succeed, please read the file MANUAL.TXT.


Especially for Slackware users I append a modified version of
Patrick Volkerding's LODLIN14.TXT which comes with SlackWare
distribution 2.0.0.
Assuming Pat will upgrade to LOADLIN-1.5, his then LODLIN15.TXT should
look like the text below the "------".

Please note, that the official LOADLIN distribution comes as *.TGZ,
but Pat's comes as *.ZIP.

[ NOTE: The original lodlin15.tgz file can be found in the 
  slackware_source/contrib directory if you prefer to use tar+gzip format.
  This package dumps a bunch of stuff into the current directory, so you
  might want to untar it in a subdirectory. -- Pat ]

So, if you have already Slackware 2.0.0 installed, you must skip the
"unzip ... pkunzip lodlin15.zip" part and install LOADLIN-1.5
(under Linux) as follows:

   mount -t msdos /dev/hda1 /mnt
   cd /mnt
   mkdir loadlin
   cd loadlin
   tar -xzvf lodlin15.tgz


Hans Lermen
elserv.ffm.fgan.de

============================================================================
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a utility that allows you to start Linux from MS-DOS. It's a good
alternative to using LILO to boot your machine, and is probably a lot safer
for beginners to deal with. It also works great with UMSDOS, while LILO
does not.

To use it, install Linux. Skip the LILO installation, but make a bootdisk at
the beginning of the system configuration process. Boot your system, and copy
the kernel (/vmlinuz) to your DOS partition. You may have had this mounted
somewhere when you installed Linux. If not, you'll have to mount it yourself
with a command like:

   mount /dev/hda1 /mnt -t msdos

You can look to see which partitions are DOS partitions with 'fdisk -l'.

Copy the kernel over:

   cp /vmlinuz /mnt/vmlinuz

Next, get DOS going... and unzip the lodlin15.zip file:

     unzip -d lodlin15.zip
or:  pkunzip -d lodlin15.zip

Then, read the docs in C:\LOADLIN (or wherever you put it). They'll be a lot
more help than I will, since they were written by the program's author. :^)

For the record, all I had to do to get loadlin.exe to boot my Linux partition
was:

     Booted my Linux system with this command:
     loadlin c:\vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb3 ro

If you use UMSDOS, you can use syntax like this as well:
     loadlinx c:\vmlinuz root=c: rw

Again, see the docs that come with LOADLIN for complete details on all the
options, including the most complete list I've seen of options that can be
passed to the kernel at boot time. :^)

Good luck,

---
Patrick Volkerding
volkerdi@mhd1.moorhead.msus.edu
