ben.pedersen@canremote.uucp (BEN PEDERSEN) (06/10/89)
Howdy T1k Users, When I was still using a Tandy 1000 and wanted to run MINIX I was both disappointed and frustrated to discover that it would not boot on my machine. I made some inquiries and discovered that John Clark had posted a doc file describing changes to the MINIX sources which would allow it to boot up on the T1k. While this did provide a solution it necessitated getting access to another machine in order to make the required changes to the kernal source and recompile it. What I wanted was to be able to get the job done on my own system. By using the BIOS disk_io routines I was able to read the kernal from the MINIX boot disk into an MS-DOS file and then dig around in it with DEBUG to locate the spots where John Clark's changes needed to be made. Fortunately there weren't many to make and I was able to patch the file and use the BIOS disk_io routines to write the patched original kernal back to a disk and it then allowed MINIX to boot on the T1k. Since doing this by hand is a fairly involved process, and perhaps daunting if you aren't familiar with the technical aspects of the process, I thought that I'd write a program to automate the entire affair. The program has been posted on Compuserve in the TRSPRO-80 and UNIX forums for some time. I have only recently gained access to comp.os.minix through Canada Remote Systems in Toronto and thought I'd post a note to let folks know that this patch program is available. Using one or two disk drives it will allow you to create a bootable copy of the MINIX boot disk (either version 1.1 or 1.2). If you don't have access to Compuserve (I am no longer a member there as it is just too costly from Canada) drop me a line here to make arrangements to obtain the program. --Regards! --- * Via ProDoor 2.9a