On Mon, 7 Aug 2000 21:43:24 +0800 Joerg Bartels <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: >I found that I could mount my cdrom with >mount /dev/hdb /cdrom (cdrom is not in the >kernel?) with BasicLinux. I know that is only >newbie hacking (is there a better way?) but >it works for me. So I think may be I could >get an old hd make a Linux partition to at >some flesh to the BasicLinux bones (Swap,modules, >progs, etc.). Is it only newbie thinking or >could it work? That newbie thinking is exactly right, Joerg: In principle, there's no difference between mounting a HDD and a CD - your CD is called hdb because it is the 2nd HD on the primary IDE cable. It would be called hdc if you moved it to the secondary cable. I dunno about Basic linux, but HDD based versions hold all the settings in a file called /etc/fstab, which is a plain text file (thought always back it up before editing as incorrect changes can make your linux partitions *difficult* to reach!) This file is read at boot to let linux know which partitions are accessible to it - and can include your DOS drives, which should be mounted read-only until you're happy with the system. If you're going down this path, try partition magic (quarterdeck) It's a graphical prog running from DOS which avoids the errors text-based fdisk tools can result in! I used v4.0, which has support for linux (ext2), linux swap (recommended for HDD based installs), Fat 16/32, OS/2 and ISO9660 (CDROM) file systems. It is also distributed in stripped down form with Caldera Openlinux, allowing 1 partition + swap - probably ideal for you at this stage. In a world without walls, who needs windows? Visit my home site for more info: http://www.comatose.freeserve.co.uk