Re: Booting linux using Novell NetWare Remote Program Loader

[Edgar Toernig]

Pavel Machek wrote:
> 
> I found out I can boot it after little games with mars netware
> emulator. However I have problems booting anything else than
> freedos. Trying to boot zImage directly results in crc errors or in
> errors in compressed data. Too much failures and too repeatable
> (althrough ram seems flakey) for me to believe its hw.

I bet that's the same problem I had booting a zImage directly from an
El-Torito CD.  The problem was the autoprobing for the floppy type
performed by the boot loader.  It detected a 2.88 drive and issued
corresponding read requests (track x, 36 blocks; track x+1, 36 blocks;
...).  The bios performs these request, but it emulates a 1.44 disk so
the last 18 blocks of track x are actually the blocks from track x+1.
In my case I did not even got a crc error but an immediate reboot.

I removed the autoprobing from bootsect.S and fixed it to 1.44MB format
et voila, it worked perfectly.

Ciao, ET.

PS: Maybe that's the same problem lilo has on some systems with the
linear option...