[Freedos-user] Compact Flash Card wont Boot

[Jvp]

Hi all

I have tried a number of image files from different sources
with the same result.
I get a "FreeDos" message with a flashing cursor, and keyboard
is ignored.

Previously, I have formatted a system disk in Win95, and then read

[Eric Auer]

Hi Jan,

Post by Jvp
I have tried a number of image files from different sources
with the same result.
I get a "FreeDos" message with a flashing cursor, and keyboard
is ignored.

If I had to guess, I would say your CF has another (virtual) CHS
geometry set by the BIOS of your embedded system than the one
which is used while making the image (if you use one) or while
running SYS while the CF is plugged to another computer to make
the CF bootable (if you take that route).

Things you can do: Make sure both BIOSes use the same geometry
or make sure that CHS is disabled and only LBA is used. Or as
third option: Connect the CF to the system where it you will
later boot it, boot that system from diskette/CD/DVD/... and
then run SYS X: there (where X: is your CF boot partition).

When you install from Linux, you can use
www.coli.uni-saarland.de/~eric/stuff/soft/specials/sys-freedos-linux.zip
to write a boot sector (just copy kernel and command com as if
they were normal files, sys-freedos-linux does not do that for
you). With that tool, you can also tweak some parameters like
the CHS geometry :-). Plus - only if you use FAT32 - you can
select whether you want CHS or rather LBA style booting.

Eric

[Tom Ehlert]

Post by Eric Auer

Post by Jvp
I have tried a number of image files from different sources
with the same result.
I get a "FreeDos" message with a flashing cursor, and keyboard
is ignored.

If I had to guess, I would say your CF has another (virtual) CHS
geometry set by the BIOS of your embedded system than the one
which is used while making the image (if you use one) or while
running SYS while the CF is plugged to another computer to make
the CF bootable (if you take that route).

this guess is (almost 100% certain) right.
it could also be a MBR problem, if the MBR doesn't support/use LBA addressing

this will also happen, if you write the disk using USB adapters, then
plug it to a physical IDE adapter



Mit freundlichen Grüßen/Kind regards
Tom Ehlert
[phone]

[Mateusz Viste]

Post by Tom Ehlert
this guess is (almost 100% certain) right.
it could also be a MBR problem, if the MBR doesn't support/use LBA addressing

Hi,

There may be some other problem. I had a very similar trouble with a CF card: My BIOS detected it correctly, I was able to partition it using the FreeDOS liveCD, I could store any data without any problem, but there was no way to make it bootable (the BIOS couldn't find the MBR). I tried to partition it under knoppix too, without success (the drive was still seen by FreeDOS, but couldn't be booted from).
I don't know why, but it seem that some BIOSes aren't 100% compatible with CF drives (or maybe some CF cards aren't compatible with PCs, it's hard to say...).

bye,
Mateusz Viste

[Jvp]

Hi Eric

After spending some 8 hours or more on trying to make
A bootable CFC I have given up. I cannot see an advantage to using FreeDos.

All through the process of making the CD, booting from it
and then creating a floppy, my confidence in it as a stable alternative
to MS-Dos depreciated.
For Example:
My desktop has 2 HDD, and the first has a partition.
This partition (my D:) was the only drive Fd could see.(as C:)
My desktop would boot to a floppy, but (using the same Disk Drive)
the Industrial CPU wouldnt.
My Laptop completely spat the dummy, when I tried to boot from CD.
The CFC just sits there with "FreeDos -" flaching cursor.

It may be a tool in a very specific environment, but not mine.

I am trying the LBACache as per your suggestion and evaluating
it, to see what if any advantages there are.

But, regardless, I have appreciated your time and willingness to help.

Regards
Jan van de Poll
Technical Manager
Compu-Weigh Pty Ltd
***@compu-weigh.com.au

[Eric Auer]

Hi Jan,

Post by Jvp
After spending some 8 hours or more on trying to make
A bootable CFC I have given up. I cannot see an
advantage to using FreeDos.

Depends - can MS DOS boot from your CF easily? There are
basically two questions: Does DOS in general have an
advantage for your problem? And if so, does FreeDOS work
as good or maybe even better than MS DOS? If the answer
to the first question is no, then it is sort of expected
that FreeDOS gives no extra advantages for your project.

In general, DOS is good because it can run on small disks,
slow computers and consumes little RAM. On the other hand,
DOS is bad because it does not help you with any graphical,
network or multitasking things. If you use those in DOS,
then performance depends mostly on how well your software
can handle those yourself. In such cases, it can be better
to use an operating system which has built-in GUI / multi-
tasking / networking support - for example Linux or Windows.
Of course Linux has more performance for less price :-).

Post by Jvp
My desktop has 2 HDD, and the first has a partition.
This partition (my D:) was the only drive Fd could see.(as C:)

Then the other was probably NTFS - only Windows NT/2000/2003/XP
can use such partitions. MS DOS cannot, and FreeDOS cannot either.

Post by Jvp
My desktop would boot to a floppy, but (using the same Disk Drive)
the Industrial CPU wouldnt.

That is strange.

Post by Jvp
My Laptop completely spat the dummy, when I tried to boot from CD.

No idea, sorry.

Post by Jvp
The CFC just sits there with "FreeDos -" flaching cursor.

Wrong geometry, I would assume. See my previous mail. If you
partition and format the CF to FAT32, you could try using a
LBA-only boot sector (with sys-freedos-linux, you can enforce
it, and with normal SYS, the choice depends on the properties
of the system on which you run SYS as far as I remember)...

Post by Jvp
It may be a tool in a very specific environment, but not mine.
I am trying the LBACache as per your suggestion and evaluating
it, to see what if any advantages there are.

Well - it will not make things any faster than running them
from a ramdisk. And you already said that even using a ramdisk
did not make your FreeBasic GUI fast enough. However, you said
that pre-loading the images did help with the speed :-). Using
a cache can only make that pre-loading a bit faster. It is more
a "general good practice" suggestion than something for which
I would expect a real difference in performance.

Post by Jvp
But, regardless, I have appreciated your time and
willingness to help.

No problem :-).

Eric