How to transfer supplements from a DOS system to a UNIX system and create diskettes for UNIX on a DOS system.

Keywords

DOS dos download BTLD btld rawrite floppy supplements format create web site ftp boot time loadable driver unix transfer diskette

Release

Not specific to any SCO release

Problem

The only system I have connected to the Internet is a DOS-based system. I have downloaded a supplement to my DOS system. Now I need to transfer it to my UNIX system, or use it to create a floppy for installing on my UNIX system. How do I do this?

Solution

See the instructions below. Two pertinent examples for which these instructions are useful are:

             1) Creating a UNIX floppy from a downloaded image for a
                Support Level Supplement (SLS) which is intended for
                installation with the custom(ADM) utility in Unix 3.2v4 or
                OpenServer 5 operating systems, or with the pkgadd(ADM)
                utility on UnixWare operating systems.

             2) Creating a BTLD (boot-time loadable disk) floppy from
                an SLS or other downloaded image, for use during the
                installation of an SCO Operating system.

Section I

Transferring supplements from DOS to a running UNIX System:

If you have a UNIX system that is up, and the supplement you have downloaded to your DOS system is less than 1,457,664 bytes (1.44MB), follow the steps below to transfer the supplement from your DOS system to your UNIX system. If you need to create a floppy for use on a UNIX system, see section II.

1. On your DOS system, copy the file (supplement) you have downloaded to a DOS formatted diskette.

             COPY  <filename>  A:

Note: Because DOS only handles filenames of the 8-char.3-char format, the supplement you downloaded may have had its name changed. For example, the file VOL.000.000 would have its name changed to VOL_`WPI.000. Be sure to use the DOS-assigned name.

2. Take the floppy to the running UNIX system and insert it into the drive. At the UNIX prompt, type:

             doscp a:<filename>  <directory>

where filename is the name of the supplement file and directory is the directory you want the supplement to be copied into. For example:

             doscp  a:VOL_`WPI.000  /tmp

3. If the file is in compressed format (that is, the filename ends in .Z) you will need to uncompress it on the UNIX system by typing:

             uncompress  <filename>

4. Once you have the uncompressed supplement on the UNIX system, you can apply it to that system using the software manager (5.0 and later). For SCO UNIX Version 4.2 and earlier, you need to install the patch from a floppy using custom. You can create the floppy by putting a UNIX-formatted floppy in the drive and typing:

             dd  if=path/filename  of=/dev/fd0

The floppy created can then be used on a UNIX system in the manner for which it was intended.

Section II

Creating a floppy on your DOS system for use your UNIX system:

If you do not have a UNIX system up and running, or the file you have downloaded is greater than 1,457,644 bytes (that is, it will not fit on a DOS floppy) you will need to copy the file from your DOS system to a brand new unformatted (or UNIX-formatted) floppy using the rawrite utility. The rawrite utility will allow you to create a UNIX diskette from your DOS system.

Note: The rawrite utility cannot be used to transfer a UNIX-compressed file. If the file you have downloaded is compressed, you will need to either contact SCO to obtain an uncompressed copy, or uncompress the file before using rawrite to copy it to diskette. To uncompress a UNIX-compressed file on a DOS system, you will need a utility called "gzip". Gzip is shareware available for downloading from many Internet sites (for example, www.pkware.com). Once gzip has been used to uncompress the file, you can continue.

1. Download the rawrite utility (tls096.zip) from ftp.sco.com. It is in the tls directory. See Technical Article 107214, "How to download an EFS or SLS using a DOS-based PC" for more details on downloading supplements to a DOS system.

2. Unzip tls096.zip using pkzip (a shareware utility available from www.pkware.com). Once you have downloaded pkzip, type pkzip and the utility will unzip itself, producing pkzip and pkunzip.

3. Unzip tls096.zip by typing:

             C:\> pkunzip  tls096.zip

4. This will produce the files:

             RAWRITE.EXE

and

             RAWRITE.DOC

5. To copy your uncompressed supplement (file) to a floppy, type:

             C:\> RAWRITE

6. You will be prompted with "Enter disk image source filename:"

7. Type the name of the file to be copied to diskette.

Note: If you download a file whose name is VOL.000.000, DOS will change the name to adhere to the 8-char.3-char filename structure.

For example, VOL_`WPI.000. Be sure to use the DOS-assigned filename.

8. After entering the source filename, you will be prompted with "Enter target diskette drive". Enter the letter of the drive you are using.

9. After this you will be prompted with "Please insert a formatted diskette into drive A and press Enter". The floppy you insert must be un-formatted or UNIX-formatted. A DOS-formatted floppy will not work.

Press <Enter> and the floppy will be created.

10. The diskette you create can be used for application to a UNIX system, or it can be copied onto a running UNIX system by typing:

             dd  if=/dev/fd0  of=path/<filename>

Depending on which specific SCO operating system you are using, this media file image may be used instead of the actual diskette for installation on the system (if not a BTLD).

How to transfer supplements from a DOS system to a UNIX system and create diskettes for UNIX on a DOS system.

Keywords

Release

Problem

Solution

See Also