Hi Malte, > I just downloaded the 7 floppy images from FreeDOS Beta9 SR2 at...
Unless you want source codes, boot floppy plus 2 binary floppy disks would have been enough (instead of using all 7 disks). And of course it is even easier to use the single CD-ROM image :-). > After booting and choosing to install FreeDOS the procedure stops with > an obscure error message exactly like this: > unknown previous DOS operating system > errorlevel code: 3 3 Maybe you mean errorlevel 33. If this is the result of running OSCHECK to detect previously installed operating systems (and then add them to a boot menu), then, according to OSCHECK /?, the value 33 means "boot sector for metakern as well as metakern found". That would happen if you have installed FreeDOS with a boot menu on the same disk before. If the message on the other hand refers to error three, that would mean "unknown DOS: none of FreeDOS, metakern, MS DOS/Win9x/WinNT, DR DOS, PC DOS, syslinux". This would fit well with your description: > have created a FAT16 partition with Linux' fdisk... > Why can't FreeDOS be installed on this pre-formatted empty FAT16 > partition? You probably used dosfstools' mkdosfs to format the FAT16 partition. If you attempt to boot it, SOMETHING happens, for example something like "non-bootable partition made by mkdosfs" being displayed. Our installer does not know whether and how this "content" should be added to a boot menu. The proper answer would be "NO, just kick this message and replace it by a DOS boot sector without adding a boot menu". I SUGGEST that the installer should ASK THE USER in such a case, giving two choices: Either add the existing "possible previous operating system" to a boot menu or just overwrite it. In your case, you would have chosen for "overwrite", but other people may indeed have alternate but un-recognized operating systems like ReactOS or CP/M or QNX on their C: partition, and those would select "add to boot menu". Arguably we could add mkdosfs-detection to OSCHECK, but I generally suggest to AVOID over-complex over-smart installers because DOS users usually KNOW what they are doing, so the best solution should be to just ASK them for their opinion whenever the installer is unsure... Bernd is right, you can just run SYS C: manually to go the "overwrite possible previous operating system boot loader" way and then run the install process again, this time without interruption by that error 3 message. Still it would be nice to have an easy to understand question shown to the user instead of bailing out with "error 3". Eric ------------------------------------------------------- SF.Net email is sponsored by: Tame your development challenges with Apache's Geronimo App Server. Download it for free - -and be entered to win a 42" plasma tv or your very own Sony(tm)PSP. Click here to play: http://sourceforge.net/geronimo.php _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
