[NCLUG] KRUD 7.2 Boot Failure

[Michael Dwyer]

"Scott G. Brauer" wrote:
> The only time I've used my floppy on my development box is when I need a
> boot disk for my Linux box.
> 
> Hmm, not only do Floppies Just Suck, they are only used when all else fails.
> 
> Although when you need one, you really need one.

When I built my last gaming box, I went out on a ledge and built it
without a floppy drive.  It made sense at the time.  Usually, I don't
miss it.  But when I run into it, it does kind of hurt:

 o My hard drive was failing -- the heavy duty tests require you run a
bootable floppy image that Western Digi provides.  Oops.  I /still/
haven't done it.  But on the other hand, the drive hasn't failed yet,
either.
 o If I want to test my memory with memtest86, I need to boot off a
floppy...  Its all of, like, 8k or something -- burning it to a CD would
be a crime. :)
 o My laptop needs a network driver.  So I will download it, put it on a
... crap.  Okay, I will download it, unzip it, SSH it to the linux box,
mount a floppy I found in the "misc media" box, hope it is DOS
formatted, delete everything on it, copy the files on to it.  Then
unmount it, go upstairs to the laptop, only to find that the disk wasn't
all that good...

I hear that some new Phoenix BIOSes can boot off those little USB
thumb-drives.  Cool!  If there's one thing cooler than the LinuxCare
bootable business card, it would be a bootable keychain...

Here's one more little tale:  I helped a small real estate office
replace their IBM Selectric typewriters with PCs.  I selected the HP ePC
line.  They are really neat little machines -- about the size of a
college dictionary.  But they ONLY have a CD-ROM drive.  I figured that
if they needed a floppy, they could use the one on the server.
Well, that's fine, but their custom software REQUIRES that you use their
silly 'key disk'.  And I cannot explain to them that I HAVE NO FLOPPY
DRIVE...  Argh.  

ObMacintosh - Wasn't that in a comic strip?  One character dressing up
as an iMac for halloween? "That does seem too scary." "I have no floppy
drive.  I HAVE NOOOOO FLOOOOPY DRIIIIVE!!" "Aaaah!"