LOAF is a tiny distribution of Linux that fits on a single 1.44M floppy. It was designed to be a simple client in which users can pop into a machine with a NIC and connect to the net. It also includes three games to keep one amused for hours (minutes?)

To use it, you'll need a 386sx or better with at least 6M of ram, and a 3.5" HD floppy drive. Any video display will do, and you don't require a hard drive. To use the networking tools, you'll need a NIC.

If you're using DOS or Windows 3.1/95/98/NT, you'll require a program called RAWRITE. If you're using Linux, any of the BSD variants or Solaris x86, you probably already have a program called dd. Other operating systems, I haven't a clue what you'd need.

Next thing you'll need is LOAF itself. Select the appropriate one from this list of images:

If you are using windows or dos you will also need the utility program to flash a floppy disk with a Disk Image. There are many commercial programs and open source programs. One such open source program is called RawRite You can get it here --> rawrite.exe There is also a windows version avalible here -->rawwritewin-0.7.zip

The next step is to write the image to the floppy, so insert a floppy disk
into the drive (doesn't need to be pre-formatted). For RAWRITE users,
type:

RAWRITE loaf#.img a:

Where # is the number of the kernel you chose, and a: refers to the floppy drive (could be b: as well).

For Linux/*BSD/Solaris x86 users:

dd if=loaf#.img of=/dev/fd0

Where # is the number of the kernel you chose, and fd0 refers to the
floppy drive (could be fd1 as well).

Congratulations! Assuming the disk wasn't bad, you now have a working LOAF disk. Pop it in a computer and try it out.

When you first boot it up, login as root (no password), and run lynx.
You'll then be provided with instructions on how to set LOAF up for
network use.

LOAF is a tiny distribution of Linux that fits on a single 1.44M floppy. It was designed to be a simple client in which users can pop into a machine with a NIC and connect to the net. It also includes three games to keep one amused for hours (minutes?)

To use it, you'll need a 386sx or better with at least 6M of ram, and a 3.5" HD floppy drive. Any video display will do, and you don't require a hard drive. To use the networking tools, you'll need a NIC.

There are seperate kernels for each NIC, so grab the appropriate one below:

You will also need the loafroot.gz and makedisk.sh file.

To create your very own LOAF floppy, you'll need Linux or similar
(Solaris, FreeBSD, etc). Run the "makedisk" file and specifying the kernel you wish to use.

Example:
"makedisk loaf_kernel.1"

This will copy the kernel to the floppy (defaults to /dev/fd0), configure it, and then copy the root image. Next, simply pop it into a computer and have fun.

If you wish to compile your own kernel, it MUST be < 305K (pay attention to the 1000/1024 thing here), since the root image is installed at the 305K mark. If you know what you're doing, then you'll probably figure out how to use a larger kernel. You can use bzipped or gzipped kernels.

Some Q&As:
Q: Where's cat?
A: Use cp instead: "cp README /dev/stdout"

Q: Help! I can't exit this <ahem> ae!
A: ^K^X

Q: Can I use binaries from my Linux box?
A: Sure you can! Run "ldd" on the binary to see what libraries it
requires; libc5, ncurses and termcap are the only libraries enclosed.
If it doesn't require anything else, good chance it'll work fine. You
may wish to create a "supplimental" disk with some of your favorite
utils in them. You can run them right off the floppy, or squirrel them
away in a RAM drive.

Q: How can I ftp stuff/warez/porn?
A: If you have RAM to spare (12 megs or more), you can create a RAM drive to ftp onto. Try "mkfs /dev/ram1 ; mount /dev/ram1 /mnt" and
download into /mnt.

LOAF Specifics
Kernel (Version 2.0.35)

• FPU emulation
• PCI bus support
• networking support
• ELF binaries only
• floppy support
• ramdisk support
• TCP/IP networking
• ethernet support (DEPENDING ON THE KERNEL YOU SELECT)
• minix fs support
• /proc fs support.

• ash

• ifconfig
• lynx
• ping
• route
• telnet
• traceroute
  

• fish
• monop
• worm
  

• ae
• cp
• dd
• df
• echo
• free
• gzip
• ls
• mkdir
• mkfs (minix)
• more
• mount
• rm
• rmdir
• umount