Acorn 486 Linux

V0.40 Release Notes 06/09/94

Apologies in advance for the limited release notes and docs. Once
things are working better and are more organised I will attempt better docs.

It is assumed that users are familiar with Linux.

The is a beta release that will enable users to see if the Linux
kernel works with their hardware.

The release consists of four spark archives containing all the required
files.
See below for a description of these files.

This distribution requires a HIGH DENSITY disc drive. The root and bootdiscs
and custom discs are designed for 1.44MB floppies.

The rootdisc provided is based on the Slackware 2.0 rootdisc and is
aimed at providing enough of a system to install slackware Linux.

Note: This is a beta kernel and may not work. It is advisable to make
sure your system is backed up before any tests. If in doubt remove any
HD configuration options before booting. The kernel will not try to 
read or write any configured HD's other than to read the partition tables
during booting. These can be mounted afterwards from the shell.

This release is covered by the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE.


Notes on the kernel
-------------------

This kernel is compiled for a 486 rather than a 386 i.e. it contains
486 optimisations. If people require 386 versions please contact me.
This version has a parallel printer driver instead of a PLIP driver.
A NE2000 driver has been built in this kernel but at this moment it is
untested it is not expected to work.


Drivers
-------

Most of the special files in /dev are the nornal. However there are several
new device special files for RISC OS hosted discs

The floppy drivers are :

afd0        - floppy drive 0, capacity based on CMOS configuration
afd0H1440   - floppy drive 0, capacity 1.44M
afd0H720    - floppy drive 0, capacity 720K
afd0h1200   - floppy drive 0, capacity 1.2M
afd0h360    - floppy drive 0, capacity 360K

afd1        - floppy drive 1, capacity based on CMOS configuration
afd1H1440   - floppy drive 1, capacity 1.44M
afd1H720    - floppy drive 1, capacity 720K
afd1h1200   - floppy drive 1, capacity 1.2M
afd1h360    - floppy drive 1, capacity 360K

The HD drivers are :

ahda    harddisc 0, whole device 
ahda1   harddisc 0, partition 1
ahda2   harddisc 0, partition 2
ahda3   harddisc 0, partition 3
ahda4   harddisc 0, partition 4
ahda5   harddisc 0, partition 5
...
ahda32  harddisc 0, partition 32

ahdb    harddisc 1, whole device 
ahdb1   harddisc 1, partition 1
ahdb2   harddisc 1, partition 2
ahdb3   harddisc 1, partition 3
ahdb4   harddisc 1, partition 4
ahdb5   harddisc 1, partition 5
...
ahdb32  harddisc 1, partition 32

The driver supports up to 4 devices but currently only 2 can be configured
and used.

hda and hdb refer to drives attached directly to the 486 card via the
on board IDE interface.

Thanks
------

Thanks to Martin (mcg@hoiho.math.waikato.ac.nz) for beta testing the early
versions and finding lots of problems, Hope you have some hair left :-)

Files in the release
--------------------

There are four files making up this release. Future release may just replace
these files individually.
The files are

makediscs.spark
rootdisc.spark
vmlinuz.spark
z1.spark

These files are described below.

makediscs.spark - This file contains the application used to create the boot
                  and rootdiscs needed for Linux. There is a directory called
                  "images" within this application where a copy of the boot
                  disc and a copy of the rootdisc must be placed. The
                  application when run, will write these images onto two
                  formatted 1.44M floppies.

rootdisc.spark  - This file contains a copy of the root disc used when Linux
                  is booted. The file "rootdisc" should be extracted from
                  this archive and placed in the "images" directory in the
                  !MakeLBoot application.

vmlinuz.spark   - This file contains a copy of the boot disc used when Linux
                  is booted. The file "vmlinuz" should be extracted from this
                  archive and placed in the "images" directory in the
                  !MakeLBoot application.

z1.spark        - This file contains a set of files that make up a Slackware
                  Linux custom disc. The files in this archive should be
                  copied to a formatted 1.44MB floppy. This disc should
                  be installed after Slackware Linux has been installed. It
                  replaces certain files in the standard Slackware distribution
                  with one updated to support Linux running on an Aleph1 card.
                  It also replaces all the special device files with new ones
                  which match the new device drivers in the kernel.



How to install
--------------

1. Extract the "!MakeLBoot" application from the makediscs.spark file.
2. Extract the "rootdisc" and "vmlinuz" files from the rootdisc.spark and
   vmlinuz.spark files.
3. Format 3 1.44MB floppies.
4. Extract the files from the z1.spark file directly to one of the floppies.
   (This avoids filename truncation)
5. Run the !MakeLBoot application and follow the instructions. You will be
   prompted to insert a disc to make the boot disc and another disc to make
   the root disc.
6. Once the boot and root discs have been made. Insert the boot disc and
   boot the 486 card. Once the kernel has been loaded you will be prompted
   for the rootdisc. This will then be loaded into a ramdisc so the floppy
   is free for the installation of slackware linux.


!PC configuration
-----------------

There are several things that need to be set in the config file for
the Aleph1 card.

The mouse interrupt needs to be changed from 3 to 5.
The NE2000 interrupt needs to be changed from 5 to 3.
Partitions for Linux need to be defined.
Boot from floppy need to be enabled.


If there are any problems please mail me. Support for this is currently only
available via email.


Mark Brinicombe                     Internet: amb@phlam.ph.kcl.ac.uk
PlingBoot,                          Janet:    amb@uk.ac.kcl.ph.ipg
50 Foodhook Avenue,
Ealing,
London W5 3LP
Tel: 0181 993 2394
Fax: 0181 992 6735
