The Beta 2 and later distributions are being made available in two flavors:
If you want to install the MINI distribution, you need to download these files:
MINI.IMG RAWRITE.EXE BASE1.ZIP BASE2.ZIPIf you want to install the FULL distribution, you will need to download these files:
FULL.IMG RAWRITE.EXE BASE1.ZIP BASE2.ZIP LANG1.ZIP EDIT1.ZIP SOURCE1.ZIP SOURCE2.ZIP ... UTIL1.ZIPIf you do not already have a copy of UNZIP, you will need to download that as well.
2.1 Step 1 - The Floppy Zip Files
Once you have downloaded all the files you need, you must do a little prep work before you can install FreeDOS. All of those zip files that you grabbed are the floppy zip files. They contain everything that will fit on one install floppy.*
So, start with the BASE1.ZIP file. Format a 1.44MB floppy, then unzip the BASE1.ZIP file to that floppy. This is what you do (let's assume that you downloaded the floppy zip files into C:\DNLOADS):
A: UNZIP C:\DNLOADS\BASE1.ZIPNow everything that you need on the Base-1 install floppy is on that floppy disk.
Repeat this for the BASE2.ZIP file. Format another 1.44MB floppy, then unzip the BASE2.ZIP file to that floppy. This is what you do:
A: UNZIP C:\DNLOADS\BASE2.ZIPIf you are installing the MINI distribution, then you are done with the install floppy zip files.
If you are installing the FULL distribution, then you need to repeat the above steps for the other zip files that you downloaded.
2.2 Step 2 - The Boot Floppy Image
If you are trying to install FreeDOS on a PC that does not already have a copy of DOS, the Beta 1 distribution left you stuck. The Beta 2 and later distributions now let you create an install boot floppy you can boot from in order to install FreeDOS.
The boot floppy image needs to be written to a pre-formatted 1.44MB floppy disk. Under UNIX, you can use the dd program. Under DOS, we need to use a program called RAWRITE.
To create the boot floppy for the MINI distribution:
The inquisitive DOS user will notice that the contents of MINI.IMG and FULL.IMG are essentially the same. In future releases of the FreeDOS distribution, I will only require one image file, and there will be an install-time option to install either a MINI or a FULL distribution.
Now you are ready to install the FreeDOS distribution on your computer. If you have made all your floppies correctly, then you reboot your computer using the boot floppy that you made from either MINI.IMG or FULL.IMG.
After that, just follow the on-screen prompts. You will have the option of creating a DOS partition, and you will be able to re-format your C: drive if you want. (* I haven't been able to test these before the full release - please let me know how this works for you.)
When the install program asks you where to install from, enter:
A:You should probably install to C:\DOS or C:\FDOS - but that's up to you.
During the installation, you will need to use the install floppies that you created from the zip disks.
One final note: floppy disk access is still a little slow in this release. So, your install may take a lot longer than you might expect. Please budget for some additional time when installing your copy of FreeDOS.
From Marty Peritsky:
Since FreeDOS is the official operating system of the DOSEmu Project, most Linux distributions include FreeDOS already installed. This section addresses how to install FreeDOS if your Linux distribution supplies some other OS. The specific details in this section use Caldera OpenLinux as an example, but the general principles should apply to any distribution.
DOSEmu uses two files to control general and per-user customizations; they are
/etc/dosemu.conf /etc/dosemu.usersIn the discussion that follows, the term "configuration file" refers to dosemu.conf.
You should log in to Linux as root to install FreeDOS.
First, make a backup copy of the DOSEmu disk-image file that you are currently using. DOSEmu uses a regular Linux file to emulate the DOS C: hard drive; in OpenLinux that file is located at
/var/lib/dosemu/hdimage.drdos703.evalThe configuration file refers to the image file by the line:
$hd_image = "hdimage.drdos703.eval"After making the backup copy, start DOSEmu and move your UNZIP program and the BASE1.ZIP, BASE2.ZIP, etc., files to the C: drive. If you downloaded them under Linux, they are on your Linux file system, which appears in DOSEmu as the L: drive. Unzip the files into an appropriate directory. Later you will install them, as described in HOW TO INSTALL FROM THE HARD DISK, below.
Next, exit out of DOSEmu (using the EXITEMU command), and prepare a bootable floppy. You can use the Linux dd command, as in this example, which copies the MINI.IMG image file in your current directory to your first floppy drive:
dd if=MINI.IMG of=/dev/fd0 bs=512 count=2880With the bootable floppy in your A: drive, start DOSEmu and enter the following commands:
C: CD \ REN AUTOEXEC.BAT AUTOEXEC.BAK REN CONFIG.SYS CONFIG.BAK A: SYS C:Exit out of DOSEmu, and restart DOSEmu. It should boot under FreeDOS. To install the base files, enter the following commands, and follow the on-screen instructions:
A: INSTALLFinally, using CONFIG.BAK and AUTOEXEC.BAK as guidance, create appropriate CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files for your system.
If the steps above do not get you where you need to be, you might try this to create your own disk image and install FreeDOS on it using the latest distribution:
mkfatimage16 -f /var/dosemu/diskimage.20mb -k 20480
From Marty Peritsky:
OS/2 has the ability to run FreeDOS in a "Virtual DOS Machine" (VDM), which can be started from either a diskette or a diskette-image file. Before beginning the FreeDOS installation, you may want to review the OS/2 VDM documentation by doing the following: Double-click on the "Information" icon on your desktop; double-click on the "Application Considerations" icon; click on the "+" to expand the "Application Compatibility" topic; click on the "+" to expand the "DOS Application Compatibility" topic; read the sections entitled "Running a Specific Version of DOS" and "Creating a DOS Image from a Startup Diskette."
Warning! As of January 2000, the FreeDOS kernel does not support disks over 504MB. If your OS/2 partition is larger than 504MB, you should not install FreeDOS, since it may destroy data on your disk!
To begin the installation process, start an OS/2 Command Prompt session. Create a directory called C:\FDXFER, and move your BASE1.ZIP, BASE2.ZIP, etc., files to it. Use your UNZIP program on those files. One of the extracted files will be a zip file containing the FreeDOS DISKCOPY executable (in Beta-4, the zip file is named DSKCP04X.ZIP); unzip the executable. Since DOS RAWRITE does not run under OS/2, DISKCOPY will be used to create the bootable floppy from your MINI.IMG file.
Put a blank formatted diskette in your A: drive, and enter the following command:
DISKCOPY MINI.IMG A:When the DISKCOPY operation is complete, enter the following commands:
COPY C:\OS2\MDOS\FSFILTER.SYS A: COPY C:\OS2\MDOS\FSACCESS.EXE A:Next, start the OS/2 System Editor, and add the following line to the top of the A:CONFIG.SYS file:
DEVICE=FSFILTER.SYSSave the file, and exit the editor. On your desktop, double-click on the "OS/2 System" icon; double-click on the "Command Prompts" icon; double-click on the "DOS from Drive A" icon. A full-screen DOS session will start, booting from the A: FreeDOS diskette. When you get the A:\> prompt, enter the following command, and answer the on-screen prompts:
INSTALLThe source location for the INSTALL program is C:\FDXFER, and the recommended destination location is C:\FREEDOS. As of January 2000, the FreeDOS INSTALL program hangs at the end of its processing, instead of returning a command prompt. When this happens, press Ctrl-Esc, and end the FreeDOS session from the "Window List" by right-clicking on its entry and choosing "Close".
Congratulations! FreeDOS is now installed, and can be started from diskette. The following steps are optional, and will allow you to start FreeDOS from a diskette image.
To make the diskette image, open an OS/2 Command Prompt session, insert the FreeDOS boot diskette in drive A:, and enter:
VMDISK A: C:\FREEDOS.IMGThe VMDISK program will display a message, warning that the diskette may not be bootable. Ignore the message and proceed.
Next, copy the "DOS Full Screen" object in your "OS/2 Command Prompts" folder to the desktop. In the desktop object you just created, open the "DOS_Settings" on the "Session" page, and type the full name and path of your boot image file (C:\FREEDOS.IMG) under the "Startup_Drive" option. When you click on this icon, it will boot a FreeDOS session from the image file, which emulates the floppy drive.
If you need to access your physical A: drive after the image session has been started, run the FSACCESS.EXE program which exists on your image file and in the C:\OS2\MDOS directory. The command syntax is:
FSACCESS A:Congratulations again! The optional part of the installation procedure is now complete.
From David Batterham's MacBochs Easy Install document:
This simple install procedure will give you the MacBochs x86 PC emulator plus a pre-installed copy of FreeDOS, a completely free DOS-like operating system.
First, download the MacBochs binary, which will decompress with StuffIt Expander.
Next, download the FreeDOS hard disk image (3.6 MB). This will decompress with the enhanced version of StuffIt expander, if you have it, or otherwise with MacGzip. Move the decompressed hard disk image (freedos.img) into the same folder as MacBochs.
Finally, open the bochsrc file with your favourite text editor (SimpleText will do). Ensure that your diskc: line reads:
diskc: file=freedos.img, cyl=900, heads=15, spt=17And that your floppya: line reads:
floppya: 1_44=[fd:], status=ejectedAnd that your boot: line reads:
boot: cThat's it! You should now be able to boot FreeDOS with MacBochs!
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After you have installed FreeDOS, what do you need to do? There are two things you need to do: set up your environment, and make your hard disk bootable using FreeDOS.
For the Help program, you need to set the PAGER and HELPPATH environment variables in Autoexec.bat. Reasonable values are:
PAGER=MORE HELPPATH=C:\FDOS\HELPIf no values are found in the environment, Help uses MORE and C:\FDOS\HELP by default.
For Freemacs, just set the EMACS environment variable. Set it to:
EMACS=C:\FDOS\EMACS\(Yes, you need the trailing backslash.)
4.2 Make your hard disk bootable
First, create a bootable FreeDOS floppy by going into the BIN\KERNEL directory and running Install.bat. Then, boot from the FreeDOS boot floppy. When your system comes up, just type:
SYS C:After that's done, remove the floppy from the A: drive, and reboot. Your system is now running FreeDOS.
I won't spend too much time on this, as I expect most people will opt to install from floppy disk. However, it is possible to install from your hard disk. If you are installing everything, and you already have a copy of DOS on your computer, then this is probably the option you want. Hard disk access under FreeDOS is a lot faster than floppy anyway.
The only difference between installing from floppy disk and installing from the hard disk is when you create the install floppies from the different zip files.
When you installed from floppy disks, you needed to unzip each floppy zip file onto a separate floppy disk.
To install from the hard disk, you just unzip each floppy zip file into a single directory on your hard disk. For example, you might do this (let's keep the assumption that you downloaded the install files to C:\DNLOADS):
CD \ MKDIR FDBETA4 CD FDBETA4 UNZIP C:\DNLOADS\BASE1.ZIP UNZIP C:\DNLOADS\BASE2.ZIPFor the MINI distribution, that's all you need to do. If you want to install the FULL distribution, you will also need to unzip all the other floppy zip files like LANG1.ZIP, EDIT1.ZIP, SOURCE1.ZIP, ... and UTIL1.ZIP.
That's it. When the install program asks you where to install from, say C:\FDBETA4 (you can delete the C:\FDBETA4 directory after you are done installing FreeDOS - this was just a temporary directory.)
Congratulations! You have now installed FreeDOS from a hard disk.
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