Some folks use QEMU here (as I do) so I thought I'd share my updated QEMU config to boot FreeDOS.
I prefer to keep my personal files on a separate virtual disk (D:) so I don't have to keep backing up & restoring all the time. That way, when I install each new FreeDOS monthly release, it's really easy to just start over with a fresh FreeDOS install: 1. create the disk image with `qemu-img` $ qemu-img create -f qcow2 freedos.qcow2 500M 2. boot QEMU with the disk image and the LiveCD to install $ qemu-system-i386 -hda freedos.qcow2 -cdrom T2507LIVE.iso -boot order=d And to boot FreeDOS after that, I used a variation of that command line, but defining the sound, local time, and other options (you don't need those to install.) I put all that into a script called `qemu`. I usually start with a "plain DOS" install, then install packages as I need them. That works well until I need to install a package from the CD-ROM. Wrong disc defined in QEMU? Shut down the virtual machine, update the `qemu` script, and "reboot" the virtual machine. I changed my `qemu` script to just use both CD-ROMs at the same time. Ideally, I'd just use -hda and -hdb for the hard disks, and two -cdrom options to specify the two CD images. But QEMU only allows one -cdrom option. Instead, I have to specify everything using -drive options. It's a tricky command line, but the important part is that the C: hard drive is on bus 0 unit 0, the D: hard drive is on bus 1 unit 0. And the CD drives are on bus 0 unit 1, and bus 1 unit 1. $ qemu-system-i386 -enable-kvm -m 32 -rtc base=localtime -audiodev pa,id=snd -machine pcspk-audiodev=snd -device sb16,audiodev=snd -device adlib,audiodev=snd -global i8042.kbd-throttle=on -drive bus=0,unit=0,media=disk,file=/opt/freedos/T2507/freedos.qcow2 -drive bus=0,unit=1,media=disk,file=/home/jhall/virtualmachines/files.qcow2 -drive bus=1,unit=0,media=cdrom,file=/opt/freedos/T2507/T2507LIVE.iso -drive bus=1,unit=1,media=cdrom,file=/opt/freedos/T2507/T2507BNS.iso You could do it in a different order if you prefer, as long as the C: hard drive is on bus 0 unit 0. * This also shows that I keep my "personal files" virtual disk in my home directory, but the monthly releases in the /opt/freedos directory. That way, when I backup my home directory, I'm skipping the stuff that I could just re-download anyway. With this config, when I want to install a package, FDIMPLES will use the first CD it finds (the LiveCD on bus=1,unit=0 as the "E:" drive). If I want to install a package from the BonusCD, I just run: FDIMPLES F: ..and FDIMPLES uses the BonusCD that's on bus=1,unit=1. _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
