Most distros today use a CDROM based boot and install.
There are still a few.. in fact most.. that, if you
dig deep enough in their documentation, that show you
how to make BOOT Floppies (or INSTALL Floppies). Most
are going to be multiple floppies because the newer
kernels are a bit larger than the old ones and to get
a working install floppy, other programs also need to
be located on the floppies.
As previously suggested...Toms Root Boot disk is a
common favorite for doing what you ask. There are a
number of linux programs out there that replace the
functionality of FDISK under DOS. Linux can be
complicated that way. The most common file system
right now is EXT3 and the tools needed to partition
and format should be located on the floppy. There are
plenty of other filesystems to choose from also... so
be aware that Linux has choices. It's not all based
on DOS legacy like Windows is.
I'm shore someone on this list will be able to list
the commands needed or point you in the right
direction for the manual to read.
Good Luck
--- William Coulter <wrcoulter30@yahoo.com> wrote:
> No, I must not be have phrased the question
> correctly. I am looking for a floppy or floppys
> that
> I can use like a windows boot floppy. I know that I
> can use a rescue cd when a system goes down
> but I am not wanting to do that nor asked that
> question. That is what everybody seems to assume
> that is the question. I would like a way to set up
> partitions before I install an os. I want a
> way to delete existing partitons and then recreate
> them the way I want to before I install. This
> way I have more control on how and where or what os
> is on what partition.
>
> William
> > A rescue floppy for Slackware requires two
> 1.44's,
> > so I would guess a very special tiny kernel would
> be needed.
> > There are a few floppy and EPROM sized distros
> that should
> > work from a floppy.
> > Regular distro's need bash which is almost 629
> K
> > so recompiling a regular distro's kernel with
> everything
> > turned off but "floppy" probably won't fit.
> >
> > Any reason to not try doing it with a rescue
> CD-ROM or
> > temporarily put the new drive in a working
> computer?
> > Which is how I always do it.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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