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Linux on the IA-1
Linux on the IA-1

New MessageLinux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
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OK - i promised to post info regarding efforts on getting Linux on the IA-1... this is a first report, so don't expect too much...

background
----------

i got an IA-1 in the hopes of quickly putting the unit to work as an X terminal... but these hopes were dashed as i tried in vain to get the existing Linux image files to work (and note: using only a spare CF and PCMCIA adapter, *not* an external USB device)... thanks to folks on this list, i was able to finally get a CF to boot to a DOS C: prompt... i used the ranish partition manager to ensure the CF had a valid bootloader and that the existing partition on the CF was marked bootable...

you must first disassemble your IA-1 and short two jumper pins in order to access the unit's BIOS (see this list's thread on accessing the BIOS - it has good instructions on taking the unit apart)... after reassembly, hold down the Compaq key and the BIOS menu will appear...

WE NEED A COMPARISON OF THE OUT-OF-THE-BOX BIOS AND AN 'UPGRADED' IA-1 BIOS (i'm not going to sign up for MSN just to do the upgrade)

notes on my first Linux boot on the IA-1
----------------------------------------

i took a spare 192MB CF and used FDISK, FORMAT, and ranish partition manager to create a bootable DOS CF... i then downloaded the 'lite' (45MB .zip) version of the DragonLinux distribution (http://www.dragonlinux.org), unzipped the archive and copied the dragon directory to the CF card...

after booting the CF card, i then navigated to the dragon/setup directory and typed 'setup'... this launched the installer, and using the 192MB CF, there is just enough room for the basic and console utilities, along with an 8MB swap... the distribution is Slackware-based, so it brought back some memories from my first Linux install nearly seven years ago...

the DragonLinux distro works on the IA-1, but alas, the kernel is 2.2.16, and does not have USB support, and i could not install X for testing as there wasn't enough room... the keyboard and mouse works... the hwclock command does indeed work with the unit's hardware clock... 'shutdown -r now' works to reboot (back to the initial Compaq power-on logo), but 'shutdown -h now' does not power down the unit... DragonLinux uses a USMSDOS-type filesystem, which does not involve repartitioning, and somewhat simplifies the process of getting up to speed...

future efforts
--------------

this first effort is encouraging, but may not be the best solution... however, creating a Windows-based Linux CF does offer a greater number of users here the chance to more easily install and use Linux (as most, i suspect, are Windows users)... requiring the installation and use of a Linux system in order to create a Linux IA-1 CF can be a little intimidating, but not impossible...

i will continue working/searching for a better solution, both Linux-based and Windows-based, and may explore getting a CF-IDE adapter in order to directly install Linux on a CF (the adapters run about $17, so they're within limited budgets - hey, we're working on a $99 box here!)

my efforts will first concentrate on getting Linux to work on the IA-1 with a USB Ethernet adapter; i don't care about sound/video, etc., and having X work at 800x600 would be nice, but the important thing is to get networking going... my aim is also for cheaper/easier solutions that can quickly be put to work...

i would also encourage any Linux hackers out there with a working 2.4.X, USB-enabled booting distro to step forward and offer 'working' images with details about installation, creation of a bootable CF, etc.

again, many thanks to all for any info posted on the IA-1...

11-11-2001 12:48:53

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) ranman
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bball,
I apologize for my lack of knowledge about X (and linux and jailbait), but is that the same as running startx in jailbait? If so, then I have jailbait doing that on my IA-1. No sound, and no modem (dang winmodem) and most importantly, no network yet as my linky 10bt needs the other module.
I have jailbait as above in an 16meg image. You could either download it from me (over a 56k modem - oh yeah) or use the one directly from the jailbait site and make the modifications noted elsewhere on this board to get to the same point I am. Then you could add in the correct module for your usb network adapter and then be surfing on it in no time.

If what I am talking about is not at all what you are talking about, then we are no further ahead. If it is, let me know.


ranman

11-11-2001 14:48:20

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
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with X and a working USB Ethernet adapter, everything is possible on the IA-1...

i want:

- a working Linux distribution on CF
- this distro shoud support networking at a minimum
- if X works, then you can login and run an X session off a server off the LAN
- if X works, you can then launch clients off the server and have them display on the IA-1

i will *NOT* use an M$-based GUI on the IA-1 (except to boot to Linux - although a Linux-only solution is preferred)

for an example of an excellent less than $200 solution, see http://www.tux.org/~bball/z50 (and it supports wireless ops!)

11-11-2001 20:07:30

New MessageSUCCESS! SUCCESS! SUCCESS! FlyingButtMonkey Jailbait Linux distro + NetGear EA101 USB Ethernet (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
Profile
my IA-1 is now a happy part of my LAN, fully networked and able to display applications launched off my server, such as StarOffice, games, etc.!!! YAHOO!

i can now happily order another IA-1 and have a $99 Linux box on the network!

first of all, many thanks to all who have contributed, and especially those developers and junkbuster's http://nc.flyingbuttmonkeys.com/mirrors/IA1/ link... the ia-linux-16mb.img DOES work, DOES boot, DOES fit on a 16MB Sandisk CF, and DOES support my NetGear EA101 (purchased refurb'd for $9 for an Audrey)...

also, many thanks for those developers not calling me an idiot because of my whining on this list...

my happy story:

- i was initially frustrated because i thought that the IA-1 wouldn't work out of the box with Linux and couldn't use the Jailbait distro...

- my frustration grew out of attempts to use standard software tools to format, copy and create a bootable flash... i now know how to get junkbuster's working boot image of Jailbait Linux on CF...

- the ingredients are:

1. an out-of-the-box Compaq IA-1 (NOTE: you DON'T need to upgrade to 2.0 for USB networking if you're going to use Linux!)
2. a 16MB Sandisk CF
3. a Linux-supported USB Ethernet adapter; this adapter, in my case, is an EA101, which is the only supported Kawasaki adapter (although i suppose one could use qttools to reflash a compatible adapter with the EA101's vendor and device ID to make it appear as an EA101.); other Linux-supported Pegasus-based adapters include: SMC 202, Linksys USB 100TX, D-Link 650TX (i have not verified these, but these, and a few others are compiled in the pegasus.o kernel module)
4. dolly.exe (yes, that's right! dolly.exe was the solution to my problems in getting the .img file to CF! *and* i used a DOS window under W98!)
5. the ia-linux-16mb.img file
6. ranish partition manager

- my steps were:

1. DOS FDISK the CF to create a single DOS partition
2. use ranish partition manager (PART.EXE) to format the partition and mark it as bootable
3. renamed ia-linux-16mb.img to ia.img, then use DOLLY.EXE like this: dolly ia.img hd129: (Note: my CF showed as E: on my system)
4. popped the CF into the IA-1, which had been opened and shorted to allow access to the BIOS; in the BIOS, all IDE device options are enabled, and Drive D: was selected as the first drive in the boot order
5. plugged in the IA-1
6. the full LILO boot: prompt appeared! the default (and only boot image option) is 'hdb'
7. since the root password for the distro is unknown, i tapped the spacebar and typed:

hdb single

8. this boots Linux to 'single-user' mode, in which you arrive at the root prompt without the need for entering a username or password

note: you'll see error messages, but it's OK... it's a verbose boot output...

9. the distro boots the filesystem to read-only mode, so you must remount the root partition to make it writable like this:

mount -o remount,rw /

10. then use the passwd command to create a new root password:

passwd root

you'll be prompted to enter a new password and to then enter it again...

11. reboot the IA-1 with the NetGear EA101 plugged in (to reboot from Linux use '/sbin/shutdown -r now')

12. when Linux reboots, you can login with the username 'root' and your new password!

13. the EA101 will be automatically configured with an IP, default net and gateway... to change these settings permanently, you'll need to remount the filesystem and make the changes (see the Jailbait FAQ at: http://jailbait.sourceforge.net/faq.html)

14. you can also set the IP address of the eth0 interface manually without the need to write to the filesystem... simply use:

ifconfig eth0 down
ifconfig eth0 192.168.2.XXX netmask 255.255.255.0 up

15. you can then start an X session like this:

startx

16. click to launch an rxvt terminal window

17. allow other hosts to connect:

xhost +

18. telnet to another host (perhaps a server on the LAN), then export your display:

export DISPLAY=youripaddress:0.0

19. launch an X client, and it will appear on your IA-1's screen!

20. Enjoy!

notes:

- the boot can be squirrelly; if booting stops at the "hdb loading..........." prompt, wait five seconds then simply unplug and replug in the power... it will boot!

- the EA101 wasn't recognized the first time or so... i just rebooted once or twice, and it came up!

- i didn't test sound (don't really care, but will test)

- i am VERY happy about this, and i hope other Linux users will be too!

regards,

bball

11-12-2001 13:48:19

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) ranman
Profile
bball,
Great work. Now that you have jailbait running, could you tell me what I have to do in order to get my linksys 10bt (version 3.0) to work with it? I could try qtools, but don't want to rish the chance of making it unusable. Know where I could get the right module for it? And more importantly, how to get it installed?

I had the same problem booting jailbait on my IAone. Sometimes, it would just not work right, and a reboot or two (or 5) would finally get it to bootup fully.

You can also hold the power key for 4 seconds - of course, then it bleeps that keycode error across the screen - maybe that code would be useful to actually make all the keys work???


ranman

11-12-2001 15:51:47

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
Profile
from what i can tell by examining the kaweth.o module (loaded by default in the CF image), the EA101 is the only Kawasaki-chipset adapter supported (many other Pegasus-based ones are supported)...

in order to reprogram your linksys (assuming it is Kawa-based), you'll need the Netgear EA101's vendor/device IDs; there are two sets, but i believe mine uses the first:

vendor/device IDs
0x0846, 0x10010x0846, 0x1002

the linksys USB10T uses (so it looks like you're in good shape):
0x066b, 0x2202

you *should* be able to reprogram yours to 'appear' as an EA101... i don't know how much you paid for yours, but i got my EA101s refurb'd for $9 each, so i wouldn't feel bad about screwing up... however, if you search the Audrey forum, you'll find a link to the linksys flash file to hopefully restore the adapter in the event of a flashing foobar...

if not, try one of the Pegasus-based adapters - they are recommended as 'better' than the NetGear (may be recognized/initialized more reliably by the pegasus.o module)... some are about $29 new IIRC,
hope this helps!

bball

11-12-2001 16:55:41

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) keith721
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bball:

CONGRATS!!! on your Linux IA-1 efforts.

if i had only read your earlier exchange with ranman more carefully, i would have understood just how bad WinBLOWS fails at properly formatting the CF (or any other disk, for that matter.) anyway, your documentation of what you had to do is most helpful. thanks for taking the time to spell it out in a reasonably clear manner.

keith721

11-12-2001 17:37:00

New MessageLinux in action on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
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btw, if anyone would like to see a screenshot of Linux and XFree86 running on the IA-1, go to:

http://www.tux.org/~bball/ia1/ia1.jpg

have a happy!

bball

11-13-2001 11:20:38

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) wa_bacchus
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A comment here said something to the effect about "updating the bios"

Has that been confirmed at all?? Isn't msn merely updating WinCE on teh flash, and not the bios?

I'd like more info...

thanks...

-B

11-20-2001 04:27:42

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
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it could be my error, as i thought that perhaps the 2.0 update would include a BIOS update...

however, from posts i have seen (IIRC), this is not the case, and only the internal CF filesystem is updated, enabling [crippling] USB network adapters, and expanding the money-making opportunity of the Evil Empire on the IA-1 (charging $10 a month to use your own broad-band ISP? get real!)

11-20-2001 12:23:26

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) mrbug
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i have a problem i used dolly to copy ia.img into internal ia1 flash card it boot but

i can not use hdb single on lilo boot the only image is internal and if i boot this internal startup
i do not know root passwd can someone help thanks!

11-20-2001 17:54:45

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
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tap the spacebar quickly when the internal distro boots... you should be able to halt the boot: message... you can then tap the Tab key to see the default image (perhaps 'hda'?), and then use that keyword with the keyword 'single'..

e.g.
[tap spacebar before booting]
[hit Tab key at boot:]
[look for default image name; perhaps 'linux']
then:

boot: linux single

or

boot: hda single

if not, you will need to use the internal wince image to reflash...

11-20-2001 21:31:30

New MessageNo go on sound [yet] (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
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well, i downloaded the same kernel version sources and built the modules that correspond to the IA-1's Jailbait image (which is missing opl3.o)... built the modules and installed opl3.o... rebooted, and still no sound...

however, there are other device drivers, and it would appear possible to easily enable use of a USB keyboard and mouse with the IA-1 running the Jailbait image, along with usb-serial devices such as the Keyspan PDA serial adapter... this would allow use of an external modem or Palm Pilot syncing...

as i get time, i'll experiment with other sound drivers...

11-21-2001 19:26:24

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) cocoloco
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I have been avidly following this BBS hoping to configure my IA-1 as a Linux machine, mainly to use it as a web terminal.

Thanks to the detailed posts by Ranman and bballctaulbee I have had Jailbait up and running for the last few days.

However I ran into a small hitch. I have a cable modem service from RoadRunner and I use a Linksys router to host DHCP for my network. I have Win2k, WinNT and Win98 machines on this network and now I'm trying to add the IA-1 but without success.

I have a refurbished Netgear EA101 USB to Ethernet adapter and it seems to work fine (I can ping it from the other machines and ping the other machines from it). However the DHCP server on my Linksys is not seeing the IA-1. I forced an IP addr in /ect/config/ipaddr. The problem seems to be w/ configuring DHCP. This is my first time w/ Linux (I used many Unix flavors in grad school a while back so it's quite straightforward to pick it up again) and I have been education myself on Linux for the last few days.

Any suggestions and ideas on how to do this? bballctaulbee, how did you configure your network? I appreciate all the help I have received from this BBS

Once I get the IA-1 on the web, I'll try to make it work with a wirless USB 801.11b adapter. My goal is to populate my house with wireless web terminals :0)

11-22-2001 09:48:30

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
Profile
- AFAIK if you 'hardwire' an IP in the range assigned by your DHCP server, you should be able to use your IA-1 on the LAN without a problem (as long as no other machine is assigned the same IP)... if you can't ping the Internet, make sure your gateway IP setting is correct, i.e.:

/sbin/route add default gw yourgatewayipaddr

- i don't use DHCP on my LAN (why? it's so small, and i'm not managing 100+ workstations); all my 'puters use /etc/hosts
for relevant info (it's easy enough to manage for each workstation)

- i can't remember if Jailbait uses the pump command (DHCP client) or not... try running it like this after booting:

/sbin/pump -i eth0 --status
hth,

bball

11-24-2001 10:58:22

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) keith721
Profile
bballctaulbee:

along similar lines, i've got Jailbait running from the internal flash, and edited the files in /etc/config for the ip, gateway, dns1, dns2, network, broadcast, etc. to match my home LAN running on a LinkSys BEFSR41 router and cable modem.

i'm using the 3Com 3C460B (ADMtek 8511 PegasusII). the kaweth module appears to load by default, and the pegasus module won't load unless i do it manually with insmod. even then, pegasus doesn't start the device. is the pegasus.o in the Jailbait distribution older or crippled? maybe i need to get a newer version with the PegasusII chipset and 3Com vendor_id and product_id values? once that's done, what's the best way to load pegasus by default at boot, and not bother loading kaweth?

your suggestions and/or assistance are greatly appreciated...thanks in advance!!

keith721

11-24-2001 11:24:36

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
Profile
- to update the pegasus.o module, download the matching kernel version (kernel.org), patch pegasus.o, then just build the module (make config; make dep; make modules)

- on the Jailbait filesystem, ftp the new module to /tmp and load ("insmod pegasus.o") to test...

- if it works, mount the filesystem read/write, copy pegasus.o to /lib/modules, then edit /etc/modules (which is a text file containing modules to load at boot time; i've 'commented out' all the sound modules, and ioled.o, which is unneeded for the IA-1 - why load a module if it's unused, right?)

hth,

bball

11-24-2001 12:31:22

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) keith721
Profile
bball:

thanks for the reply. i finally found /etc/modules, removed the kaweth and ioled modules, and added the pegasus module. i also updated the lilo.conf file to append the kernel option idebus=66 since the boot sequence complained about it. udma-66 vs. udma-33 on a CF chip probably doesn't make any difference, but why bother with the wait cycles?

looks like i'll have to bite the bullet, and remove Win98SE from my older utility system, and install Mandrake or RedHat with a 2.4.x kernel, before building anything.

know of anyplace i can directly download a new pegasus.o module binary, and save the trouble?

keith721

11-24-2001 14:07:31

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
Profile
using a 'newer' module won't work (unless busybox's insmod command emulation includes the -f, or 'force' option); as you may know, modules are generally buiilt kernel-dependent, and will barf [refuse to load] unless built for a specific kernel version...

you'll need to examine the source of the Jailbait pegasus.o module and the source for one of the newer versions to see about support for your particular USB Ethernet adapter (the changes are usually documented in the comment section in the header of the pegasus.c or pegasus.h source files)...
then you'll need to do a build of the kernel... for a quick workaround (and if you have the disk space), download a beta copy of VMWare for Windows, then do an install (with no X support, but C development and kernel source) on a virtual filesystem... you can then edit, build, and copy off a new module onto a floppy...

hope this helps...

11-24-2001 15:57:15

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) keith721
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yup -- that's what i was a-feared of. well, i've got redhat 6.x and mandrake 7.x around here. it's just a matter of downloading a mandrake version that's got kernel 2.4.0, which appears to be what jailbait was gen'ned from. i'll let you know how it goes...
11-24-2001 16:09:21

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) nazareth
Profile
I've followed this thread and had some limited success. Until now, I had borrowed
from work a Linksys USB-Enet adapter. I had been able to manually configure the network
and at least ping other computers (DNS didn't work).

I received my Dlink 650-TX from TigerDirect last night, loaded the pegasus module but no
dice. I also tried a Netgear EA-101, and a Linksys USB 100TX. Obviously kaweth module
loaded. So, now I'm confused. I've seen references that all of these should be suppored
on the Jailbait image, but none seem to work for me.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Sean

11-27-2001 11:35:40

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) bballctaulbee
Profile
the NetGear EA101 will work (if your model uses a kawa chip, which IIRC, all do?)... if the adapter is not recognized on first boot, reboot and try again... mine (an out-of-the-box EA101) failed to initialize the first time, but worked after rebooting... you can also try unplugging the adapter while Jailbait is running, then plug it in again...


you can test to see if the eth0 interface is up by using the ifconfig command:

$ ifconfig

you can take eth0 down like this:

$ ifconfig eth0 down

and bring the interface back up with your own IP addr like this:

$ ifconfig eth0 192.168.2.67 netmask 255.255.255.0 up


DNS info is contained in /etc/resolv.conf, and looks like this:


nameserver 199.45.32.43
nameserver 199.45.32.38

the default gateway can be set manually like this:

$ /sbin/route add default gw 192.168.2.32


hope this helps...

11-27-2001 12:35:55

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) nazareth
Profile
I have tried hot-plugging the adapter several times. Also powering the companion
several times. When I hot-plug it detects a device, but says not known type.

I'll try to use the usbcheck software to see what ven_id, dev_id the EA-101 is
posting.

11-27-2001 12:53:06

New MessageRE:Linux (Sound) on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) keith721
Profile
Credit where it's due department: The text of this message was copied directly from Peter Zinck Nielsen's web page for Linux on his Compaq Presario 1200-XL109 notebook computer. Peter was installing RedHat Linux 7.0, and also includes X configuration information for the CyberBlade i7 video chip. Thanks, Peter !!

Sound
sndconfig detects the VT82C686, tries to play a sound, and then crashes. (You are now unable to boot Linux. To fix this, enter BIOS Setup by pressing F10 during boot and turn off Onboard PCI Audio.) If you want to try to configure sound using sndconfig, I suggest that you use the --noprobe option and avoid the VIA 82CXXX driver.

Fortunately, the VT82C686 is supported by the ALSA driver. I downloaded and installed alsa-driver-0.5.10b and alsa-lib-0.5.10b without any problems. Note that the kernel-source package must be installed to compile these packages. alsa-util-0.5.10 did not want to be compiled (well, I did not try very hard), but it is not needed, anyway.

To use the driver, you must edit /etc/modules.conf as described in the documentation. Adding the following two sections will probably be sufficient:

# ALSA portion
alias char-major-116 snd
alias snd-card-0 snd-card-via686a

# OSS/Free portion
alias char-major-14 soundcore
alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0
alias sound-service-0-0 snd-mixer-oss
alias sound-service-0-1 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-3 snd-pcm-oss
alias sound-service-0-8 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-12 snd-pcm-oss

12-01-2001 17:32:53

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) Root
Profile
Keith:

so i understand you got the sound working on your ia-1 with jailbait? , or are you just posting this to give us a lead?

if you did get it working, can you please post more detailed instructions? ¥maybe we can put up a link to the compiled drivers?€

Thanks!

12-09-2001 11:37:09

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) keith721
Profile
sorry, no -- i haven't done this on my own ia-1 -- too many of those income-related work thingies going on, lately

more detailed instructions are available at Peter's site and the ALSA site. since his was also a Compaq device with the same chipset, it looks like a fairly safe bet that it will work.

anybody know the best place to get a compiled/built kernel for 2.4.0-test1 (other than the sources at www.kernel.org, i've downloaded those. ) ??

12-09-2001 12:46:36

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) Root
Profile
Ecuse my limited linux knowledge, but i am guessing i would need to compile the drivers on the IA-1 in order for them to work ¥or on another machine running same kernel version and cpu architecture€©© now this is a problem for me, since i dont have the space to install the development packages on my ia-1©© it would be nice if someone who has a harddrive connected would do this, and post the compiled version©

Also, if there is enough interest, i will be starting an ia-1 linux web kiosk project soon ¥when the semester ends :€ ©©© i'll keep people posted on how it goes, and maybe post an image , given enough demand©

Root©

* Too often we give our children answers to remember rather than problems to solve©--Roger Lewin

12-09-2001 13:13:12

New MessageRE:Linux on the IA-1 (modified 0 times) cellularmitosis
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have you thought of using NFS? you could always mount /usr/src/ from another machine so that you get around your space problem. Will be slower, but it is better than nothing.
12-09-2001 21:08:31

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