
   
   
   Authored 11/95 by Jonathan Katz. Fixed/revised April 10, 1996, not to
   mention slightly updated June 25, 1996 all by Jonathan Katz,
   jkatz@in.net
   
   _1 Introduction_
   
   Many people have recently bought new machines, which (unfortunatly)
   come pre-loaded with Windows 95. After exploring the Internet, many
   users find the likes of Linux, and want to run a better OS at a much
   better price. There are many different issues to address, because new
   computers usually come with large EIDE hard drives, and Windows 95 has
   extentions on the old FAT filesystem. Linux understands these issues
   and can handle these challenges in hardware and software.
   
   _2 Let's get Ready to Rumble!_
   
   Linux and Windows 95 can get along quite well on the same hard disk.
   You can also install Linux onto a separate hard disk on the same
   machine. If you have the money to spare to get a second hard disk, go
   ahead and do that. Although it is safe and reliable to run Windows 95
   and Linux on the same hard disk, it is safer to have a second disk.
   But, since I am a poor student, (and so are most of the people I know)
   we are stuck with one large disk.
   
   I assume your hard disk looks like this:

        +---------------------------------
C:      |  800M or so, maybe bigger?
        |
        +---------------------------------

   
   
   and Windows 95 and MS-Office and Qmodem Pro, and whatever DOS/Windows
   software you have only takes up around 400M + Swap (this is a big,
   sarcastic assumption)! I take it you don't want to lose all this
   software you've spent a lot of time configuring and installing, so you
   don't want to delete this partition and restart all over again.
   
   _3 Ok, I have this partition I want to spare!_
   
   Don't lose hope. There is a program called FIPS, which can
   re-partition your Hard Disk without destroying data. HOWEVER, make
   sure before you use it, you defrag your hard disk (with the optimum
   defrag method). Use the defrag that came with Win95 and use it in the
   GUI-- otherwise you will loose your long file names. After you are all
   defraged, run FIPS and make your disk look something like the
   following:
   

        +-------------------------------------
C:      | This is your FAT/VFAT/Win95 partition
 450M   |
        +------------------------------------
???     | This is empty space that starts BELOW the 1024th
        |       cylander
        +------------------------------------

   
   
   It is _VERY IMPORTANT_ that your Linux partition start before (below)
   the 1024th cylander, otherwise you will be unable to boot it (and
   that's not a good thing).
   
   _4 What Next?_
   
   Go ahead and install Linux to that new free space. If you are
   paranoid, you can boot into Windows 95 and mak sure it still runs OK.
   Just make sure your root partition begins below the 1024th cylander.
   If you are like most people, you'll make a 400M Linux partition (which
   is pretty comfortable) as well as 30M of SWAP (which is more than
   enough).
   
   At this point, you should be able to install whatever distribution of
   Linux you have without any troubles.
   
   _5 Using your new system!_
   
   Linux can mount, read, and write to Win95's VFAT partitions serveral
   ways. You can use the stock msdos filesystem support that has been
   included in all kernels greater than 1.0. However, using commands
   like:

litterbox~#: mount -t msdos /dev/hda1 /mnt

   will only get you as far as filenames with the 8.3 standard. Yick! You
   have Windows 95 partly so you can use those nifty long file names.
   
   Some Linux users still run kernels that are anchient (by Linux
   standards). In other words, 1.2.xx kernels. Someone coded a module for
   this series of kernels so a user can read files that do not conform to
   the old 8.3 standard. FTP to
   ftp://mm-ftp.cs.berkeley.edu/pub/multimedia/linux/xmsdos/ and pick up
   a copy of README before doing anything. _NOTE_ I received this e-mail
   recently. Click Here for the latest info on this vfat.o module!
   
   Finally, newer kernels (1.3.4x) as well as the long awaited 2.0
   RELEASE have internal vfat support that you can compile in. These
   kernels allow safe read/writes to your VFAT partitions.
   
   _NOTE:_ A word of caution!
   
   IF you are running a "newer" version of Windows 95 (one that
   supposedly doesn't exist, like OEM-SR2) that has support for a
   non-existant convention called FAT32, Linux CANNOT read and write (or
   even mount) a FAT32 partition (yet). How can you tell if you are
   running a non-existant version of Windows 95? Chances are you signed
   several pieces of paper saying that this version does not exist. If
   you still aren't sure, when you run:

C:\> ver /r

Mircosoft Windows 95 [4.00.1034]
        (C) 1981-1996 Microsoft Corporation.

   
   
   and get that output, (a minor version GREATER than 950) you are
   running a copy of Windows 95 that does not exist. You still may be
   running a FAT16 or FAT12 partition, which LILO can deal with. However,
   you may be running a FAT32 partition which means you can't get LILO to
   load up a DOS/Win95 command.com or even read/write/mount it. Run FDISK
   on that partition to be sure of it's type. If indeed it is FAT32 your
   best bet is then to use the LINLOAD package that comes with newer
   distributions of Linux and is widely available at your favorite FTP
   site.
   
   _5.1 HELP!, I'm stuck with FAT32!_
   
   _5.1.2.1 I have this brand new box that I got from (unamed
   chain/retail store)_
   
   Newer PCs (Built/sold AFTER July 1996, claiming to have "Enhanced
   Windows 95") Will probably have FAT32 installed. (Use MS's fdisk
   program to verify this) If you are installing Linux ontop of this
   pre-existing system, follow the steps from above about installing
   Linux onto a Win95 system, but do NOT install LILO. Instead, skip to
   section 5.1.2 entitled "linload, what's that?" and read the
   step-by-step workaround for this unfortunate situation.
   
   _5.1.2.2 OK, I get that inside joke about "ver /r" and signing lotsa
   papers, but I can't boot Win95/6!_
   
   You just got your shiny new CD from Microsoft and you just HAD to run
   that fat32.bat program so you could free some clusters. The word beta
   is a flashing neon sign to you saying "come one, slay me, find my
   bugs." It's OK, I understand, I have a short attention span too, as
   well as a need for disk space. When you installed/upgraded with
   OEM-SR2 the MBR got overwritten (again!) You then probably
   re-installed LILO (with procedures mentioned in section 6 and were
   happy until you read the documentation on FAT32, and began to lust
   after the 10 or 30 megs more you could have on your disk. Upon reboot
   you then realize that LILO won't load a FAT32 partition (I don't think
   it will, this is completely untested!) Do not completely blow your
   brains out over this. IF you made an emegency, backup OEM-SR2 boot
   disk (like you were supposed to) you can skip all the way to the
   _italics_! If you didn't, there still IS a workaround!
   
   _5.1.2.2 I really messed up this time!_
   
   Load up Linux and mount the OEM-SR2 CD under /cdrom Then, find the
   disk image of the emergency systems disk. Under Linux do a

litterbox:/cdrom# find ./ -name "rawrite.exe" -print

   to find the directory. Using "dd" copy this image to a new, FORMATTED,
   floppy. (If you aren't sure how to use dd, "man dd" gives examples).
   _Mount this floppy now as a DOS floppy, and copy a copy of your
   kernel, as well as the linload package to it (either off of your
   distribution CD-ROM or from your favorite sunsite mirror.) Reboot off
   this floppy, and type "fdisk /mbr" which clobbers your MBR again. Copy
   and install the linload program to its own directory on your hard
   disk, as well as the kernel._
   
   _5.1.3 Linload, What's That?_
   
   Linload is a DOS execuatble which loads a kernel image from a DOS HD
   (or floppy) and then boots the rest of the Linux Operating System from
   an appropriate root partition. If you're really a good hacker, you can
   do a floppy-less Linux install this way, but today we are going to do
   more traditional uses. When booting into Windows 95 hit the F8 key
   (when:

Starting Windows 95...

   is displayed) and select "Safe mode, command prompt only." Go to your
   directory where you put your kernel and run "linload.exe zimage
   root=/dev/hda2 ro" from there. If you are any good with an MS-DOS
   setup with a multiple AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, you can setup
   one MS-DOS boot-time option to use linload.exe and the other to do
   win.com.
   
   _6 Problems?_
   
   In the reverse of the begining scenario (you have a working Linux box
   and are forced by some power to install Windows 95) Windows 95 WILL
   overwrite your MBR, and thus crush LILO. You have two options: use
   loadlin.exe to load your kernel, and use that to run Linux, or boot
   Linux using a floppy and/or loadlin, then re-install LILO.
   
   Best of luck with your new system!

-Jon
jkatz@in.net        President and CEO, Internet Consulting by Jon
Voice: +1 317.823.8221  Fax: +1 317.823.8184
9010 Anchor Bay Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46236
Personal: http://www.in.net/~jkatz
Resume:   http://www.in.net/~jkatz/I-need-a-job.html
HOW-TO:   http://www.in.net/~jkatz/win95/Linux-HOWTO.html
