Getting a Copy of MCC Interim Linux
***********************************

There are two ways at present by which you can get a copy of MCC
interim versions of Linux: by anonymous ftp, and by visiting MCC.  The
latter method is available as a service only for students and members
of staff of the University of Manchester and of UMIST.


Getting MCC interim Linux by anonymous ftp
==========================================

MCC interim versions of Linux are released on ftp.mcc.ac.uk
[130.88.203.12] in the directory `/pub/linux/mcc-interim'.  In this
directory there are subdirectories `dos-utils', which contains some
commands which you may need if you install Linux from DOS,
`0.99.p8+', which contains the current release, and `old', which
contains one or more older releases.  The current MCC release is also
available from sunsite.unc.edu [152.2.22.81] in the directory
`/pub/Linux/distributions/MCC', and also from nic.funet.fi
[128.214.6.100] in `/pub/OS/Linux/images/MCC-interim'.  Other sites
sometimes maintain mirrors of the current MCC distribution.

The directory `0.99.p8+' contains the current `README' files
and the file `BUGS+WARNINGS', which contain important information.  (The
contents of all of these files have been incorporated into the present
document.)  It also contains the following subdirectories:

`images'
     This contains the gzipped images of the bootable root disks,
     `boot-uk.z' (for UK keyboards) and `boot-us.z' (for US keyboards).
     `gzip' is the GNU compression utility.

`packages'
     This contains the packages which are optional parts of the MCC
     interim distribution.

`kernels'
     This contains additional kernels which may be installed as if they
     were packages.  You should not install more than one of these
     kernels.  They contain no support for SCSI or XT disks, and two of
     them contain no support for NFS or networking.  All six MCC kernels
     contain maths coprocessor emulation code, and support for IDE hard
     disks and for the minix, ext2, msdos, and proc file systems.

    boot-uk
          SCSI, XT, NFS, networking, UK keyboard.

    boot-us
          SCSI, XT, NFS, networking, US keyboard.

    ide-uk
          No SCSI, no XT, no NFS, no networking, UK keyboard.

    ide-us
          No SCSI, no XT, no NFS, no networking, US keyboard.

    ipide-uk
          No SCSI, no XT, UK keyboard with networking and NFS support.

    ipide-us
          No SCSI, no XT, US keyboard with networking and NFS support.

`source-files'
     This contains the source files which were used to compile all
     binaries in the current distribution.  It also contains the file
     `manpages.tar.z'

After you decide what you need, you may transfer those files in
binary mode to any machine which supports ftp.  The bootable root disk
must be gunzipped and copied to a high density floppy disk, either 3.5
inch 1.44 Mb or 5.25 inch 1.2 Mb, of the sort which can be used to boot
the PC on which you intend to install or upgrade Linux.  If you have a
Linux system which you are upgrading, you may put a formatted floppy
into your 0 drive (which DOS calls `A:') and give these commands:

     fdformat /dev/fd0H1440                 (for 3.5 inch disks)
     fdformat /dev/fd0h1200                 (for 5.25 inch disks)
     gunzip boot-uk.z
     dd if=boot-uk of=/dev/fd0 bs=18432     (for 3.5 inch disks)
     dd if=boot-uk of=/dev/fd0 bs=15360     (for 5.25 inch disks)

If you are installing Linux on a machine which already contains a
version of Linux, you may wish to put the MCC packages in a directory
in the existing file system.  MCC interim versions at present support
only the minix and ext2 file systems.  The kernel will not allow you to
mount older ext or xiafs file systems.  The packages you wish to install
should be in a single directory, and they must have the same file names
(in lower case) as they do in the MCC distribution directory.  You may
put all the packages in a DOS directory on the same machine, or you may
copy them to floppies.  The MCC interim distribution prefers DOS-format
floppies, though minix or ext2 floppies will work as well.  DOS format
floppies will hold more, and will not produce spurious error messages
during installation.

If you are installing from DOS, you need commands which will gunzip
the disk image and copy it to a disk.  The commands `GZIP.EXE',
`RAWRITE.EXE', and `RAWRITE3.COM' can be found at `ftp.mcc.ac.uk' in
the directory `/pub/linux/mcc-interim/dos-utils'.  Transfer `GZIP.EXE'
and one of the `RAWRITE' commands in binary mode.  The command
`GZIP.EXE' is a self-unpacking archive, which creates a binary of the
same name and a documentation file.  Documentation for the two
`RAWRITE' commands can be found in the `dos-utils' directory with the
commands; you should normally transfer documentation files in text
mode.  After unpacking `GZIP.EXE', you should give the following
commands:

     FORMAT A:
     GZIP -D BOOT-UK.Z
     RAWRITE
     Enter source file name: BOOT-UK
     Enter destination drive: A:
     Please insert a formatted diskette into drive A: and press -ENTER- :

The program `RAWRITE3' is screen-oriented, and may work rather
faster than the older `RAWRITE'.

If you are installing Linux on a system which already contains a DOS
partition, you may find it convenient to put MCC packages in a single
directory on that partition.  You can also copy them to DOS format
floppies.  As explained above, the file names must be the same as in
the `packages' directory, though under DOS they will, of course, be in
upper-case.  If you get all packages, they will fit on floppies as
follows:

3.5 inch high density floppies:

     disk 1  gcc, tcpip
     disk 2  emacs, info
     disk 3  bison, gpp, groff
     disk 4  base, flex, gprof, linux, tar
     disk 5  gawk, gdb, kermit, patches

5.25 inch high density floppies:

     disk 1  gcc
     disk 2  flex, gdb, info
     disk 3  gpp, gprof, tcpip
     disk 4  bison, emacs, gawk, kermit, patches, tar
     disk 5  base, linux
     disk 6  groff

In either case, the final disk contains enough space for one of the
extra kernels, or for anything else you wish.  Any gzipped tar file with
the extension `.tgz' which is placed on these disks can be installed.
It is unzipped and untarred in the root directory.  If it contains files
`install.setup' and `install.clean', these are executed respectively
before and after untarring the archive.  If you wish, you may include a
file `install.info', which is copied to the screen during installation.
The MCC packages all contain a file filename`.crc', which must have the
same basename as the `.tgz' file, and which has been generated with the
command `brik -Gb'.  If such a file exists, the installation uses it to
verify the included checksums after `install.clean' is executed.

You may omit any packages you wish.  Obviously, you cannot recompile
the kernel unless you also install gcc.  Bison, flex, gdb, gpp, and
gprof are also of little use unless gcc is installed.

The default kernels in the UK and US boot disks contain all SCSI disk
drivers and XT disk drivers in the kernel as distributed by Linus
Torvalds, as well as networking, NFS, and kernel maths coprocessor
emulation.

It is also possible to install MCC interim packages from a directory
on a remote machine which can be mounted on your Linux system using NFS.
To do this, you must have a supported Western Digital Ethernet card. 
You must already have networking software installed and configured.  If
necessary, you can install the base and tcpip packages from a floppy
disk, get the networking software working, and then install other
packages.


Getting MCC interim Linux from the MCC shop
===========================================

MCC interim Linux is available from the MCC shop to members of the
University of Manchester and of UMIST.  You can buy a set of diskettes
containing the UK bootable root disk, all the packages, and the two
optional kernels with UK keyboards and with no SCSI support.  See
README.ftp, where these optional kernels are described.  You can also
obtain a free copy of this document.
