
Chapter 1. Steps to Get You Started 15
1.4.2. Making Installation Diskettes
You may need to create a diskette from an image file; for example, you may need to use updated
diskette images obtained from the Red Hat Linux errata page:
http://www.redhat.com/apps/support/errata/
An image file contains an exact copy (or image) of a diskette’s contents. Since a diskette contains file
system information in addition to the data contained in files, the contents of the image file are not
usable until they have been written to a diskette.
To start, you will need a blank, formatted, high-density (1.44MB), 3.5-inch diskette. You will need
access to a computer with a 3.5-inch diskette drive. The computer must be able to run either an MS-
DOS program or the dd utility found on most Linux-like operating systems.
The images directory on your Red Hat Linux CD-ROM contains the boot images for Red Hat
Linux/x86. Once you have selected the proper image (such as boot.img for a CD-ROM-based in-
stallation or bootnet.img for a network installation), transfer the image file onto a diskette using
one of the following methods.
1.4.2.1. Using the rawrite Utility
To make a diskette using MS-DOS, use the rawrite utility included on the Red Hat Linux CD-ROM
in the dosutils directory. First, label a blank, formatted 3.5-inch diskette appropriately (such as
"Boot Disk" or "Updates Disk"). Insert it into the diskette drive. Then, use the following commands
(assuming your CD-ROM is drive D:):
C:\ d:
D:\ cd \dosutils
D:\dosutils
rawrite
Enter disk image source file name: ..\images\boot.img
Enter target diskette drive: a:
Please insert a formatted diskette into drive A: and
press --ENTER-- : [Enter]
D:\dosutils
First, rawrite asks you for the filename of a diskette image; enter the directory and name of the
image you wish to write (for example, ..\images\boot.img). Then rawrite asks for a diskette
drive to write the image to; enter a:. Finally, rawrite asks for confirmation that a formatted diskette
is in the drive you have selected. After pressing [Enter] to confirm, rawrite copies the image file
onto the diskette. If you need to make another diskette, label that diskette, and run rawrite again,
specifying the appropriate image file.
Note
The rawrite utility only accepts 8.3-type file names, such as filename.img
3
. If you
download an update image from http://www.redhat.com named something similar to
update-anaconda-03292002.img, you must rename it as updates.img before you run rawrite.
3. The 8.3-type file name originates from the naming convention of eight characters, a period, and
three characters for a file name extension. This naming convention supports file names between 1 and
8 characters, which cannot have spaces, and may not be contain ? or _ characters at the start of the
name.
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