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From: j@uriah.sax.de (J Wunsch)
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions
Subject: Re: copying device files
Date: 7 Dec 1993 19:05:23 +0100
Organization: Private U**X site; member IN e.V.
Lines: 32
Message-ID: <2e2gl3INNb99@bonnie.sax.de>
References: <2dlodo$dac@dumbo.cc.utexas.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: bonnie.sax.de
Cc: vax@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
In <2dlodo$dac@dumbo.cc.utexas.edu> vax@dumbo.cc.utexas.edu (Vax) writes:
>I was wondering, what is the proper way to duplicate a directory (& the whole
>subtree) as a super user?
GNU tar should handle device nodes, as well as any cpio. What cannot be
copied are UNIX domain sockets - it would be a useless job.
>I also noticed that when booting a kernel from floppy, it offers you
>the ability to insert a "file system floppy". Is this so that you don't have
>to have a huge kernel on your rescue diskette?
>If so, do both diskettes need to be newfs'ed?
Yes, this way you can split it over two floppies. Both contain fully valid
file systems (with some utilities, i'm not sure, but /bin/sh and /sbin/init
should always be there). The second disk does not need to have a kernel
image, und thus has more space available for other utilities.
If you ask me: copy (dd) your boot & file system floppies, mount them, have
a look there what's up, and modify each of them to fit your needs.
While the boot floppy can remain read-only, the f/s floppy must be writable.
(Remember that newfs'ing a diskette requires some experience on how to
tailor the various figures. Otherwise you'd waste diskette space in hund-
reds of unused inodes and in the f/s space reserve.)
--
in real life: J"org Wunsch | ) o o | primary: joerg_wunsch@tcd-dresden.de
above 1.8 MHz: DL 8 DTL | ) | | private: joerg_wunsch@uriah.sax.de
| . * ) == |
``An elephant is a mouse with an operating system.''