How to Make a Linux Boot Disk

Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers from around the world. Developed under the GNU General Public License, the source code for Linux is freely available to anyone. The boot disk can be used as a rescue disk, or to test new system components. You should be reasonably familiar with system administration tasks before attempting to build a boot disk.

Things You'll Need

• Floppy disk

Instructions

1. Log into Linux with administrator rights, or log into the root directory.

2. Type in "ls/lib/modules" without quotes at the command prompt. Write down the version number that is given (I.e. 2.3.1-2). You are looking for the kernel version of your Linux install. This is important to make the boot disk.

3. Insert your floppy diskette into the floppy drive.

4. Type in "mkbootdisk - -device/dev/fd0 #.#.#-#" without the quotes. Mkbootdisk is the command to Linux to make the boot disk. The - -device /dev/fd0 is the location of the floppy diskette. The #.#.#-# is the kernel version you wrote down in Step 2.

5. Wait. All previous data on the diskette is erased. The data transfer takes about 1 minute to install the necessary files.

6. Remove floppy from the disk drive, and mark it as Linux Boot Disk. Store it in a safe location. Hopefully, you will never need it.