FAT filesystem and Linux: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:08, 6 December 2017

Revision as of 02:40, 3 May 2018

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As mentioned, ''umsdos'' permits installing Linux on, and then bootstrapping and running it from, a FAT format disc volume. The advantage of this is that it permits the use of Linux on a computer where [[DOS]] is already installed, without requiring that the hard disc be [[partition (computing)|repartitioned]]. Linux is not bootstrapped directly from a [[Volume Boot Record]] in such a scenario. Instead DOS is first bootstrapped, and [[loadlin]] or linld is used to then bootstrap Linux from DOS.<ref name="McCune"/>

The convention for such an installation is for the Linux [[root directory]] to be a subdirectory of the actual root directory of the DOS [[system partition and boot partition|boot volume]], e.g. <tt>C:\LINUX</tt> . The various Linux top-level directories are thus, to DOS, directories such as <tt>C:\LINUX\ETC</tt> (for <tt>/etc</tt>), <tt>C:\LINUX\BIN</tt> (for <tt>/bin</tt>), <tt>C:\LINUX\LIB</tt> (for <tt>/lib</tt>), and so forth. The ''umsdos'' filesystem driver automatically prepends the <tt>C:\LINUX\</tt> to all pathnames. The ___location of the Linux root directory is supplied to the ''umsdos'' filesystem driver in the first place via an option to the <tt>loadlin</tt> command. So, for example, for the aforegiven root directory <tt>loadlin</tt> would be invoked with a command line such as <syntaxhighlight inline lang="dos">loadlin c:\linux\boot\vmlinuz rw root=c:\linux</syntaxhighlight> .<ref name="McCune"/><ref name="Danesh">{{cite book |title=Making Linux work: essential tips &amp; techniques |series=1001 Tips Series |author-first=Arman |author-last=Danesh |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2002 |isbn= 978-1-884133-78-7 |pages=19}}</ref>

The installation of Linux into such a directory in the first place simply involves unpacking files from an archive into that directory and its subdirectories. Such an installation also generally requires the use of a [[swap file]] rather than a [[swap partition]] for Linux, however this is related to the desire not to repartition the hard disc and unrelated to the ''umsdos'' filesystem driver per se.<ref name="McCune"/>