can't make a working bootdisk

[bernieb]

I've tried at numerous attempts to make a boot disk that works, and for some reason, I can't. If I use mkbootdisk command, I get an error message "Fatal: mknod /tmp/dev.0: No such file or directory". if I try to use the disk, I get a "NO OPERATING SYSTEM FOUND" message at boot time, and the system doesn't load. if I try to copy the kernel manually with the dd command and try the disk, it will start to load the kernel, but then I'll get a message about an invalid compressed format for the kernel, and then it will halt the system. so far, the closest thing I have to a boot disk is borrowing my friends who had successfully created a bootdisk, and then specifying the proper root path. I have RedHat7 on a Dell Inspiron 7500 laptop, dual booting with Win ME through LILO. Linux is working fine except this bootdisk problem. any help for this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[DA7]

dont the latest versions of mandrake and redhat have options that will create the bootdisk for you through windows? i know it does with mandrake...

[bernieb]

If you could make a bootdisk in windows, it would be nothing more than a install bootdisk. I was hoping to make a bootdisk with a copy of my current kernel image, in which I would need access to the linux parition, which I can't do through windows. Thanks anyway though.

[TC]

Here, just what the doctor ordered:
http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Bootdisk-HOWTO/index.html

TC :D

[bdg1983]

Anything in the desktop menus for creating a bootdisk? My distro has one in the utility menu. Figured at least most of the newer distro versions would have a 'shortcut' for this.

[brasso]

I tried this one (RH7) and it seemed to work:

RunningLinux page 130
# rdev /boot/vmlinuz
gives you Linux root filesystem, if wrong:
#rdev /boot/vmlinuz /dev hdb4

# dd if=/boot/vminuz of=/dev/fd0 bs=8192
Earl

[brasso]

Sorry, typo. Should be:
#rdev /boot/vmlinuz /dev/hdb4
(if that's where / is)