Re: Damned BIOS

From	Rich <rich@example.invalid>
Newsgroups	comp.misc
Subject	Re: Damned BIOS
Date	2014-09-02 12:06 +0000
Organization	My Linux Box
Message-ID	<lu4bra$o3j$1@dont-email.me> (permalink)
References	<c6l1gcFfn34U1@mid.individual.net> <lu3tpd$r7d$1@dont-email.me> <c6lhfuFjpeiU1@mid.individual.net>

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Sylvia Else <sylvia@not.at.this.address> wrote:
> On 2/09/2014 6:06 PM, Rich wrote:
> > Sylvia Else <sylvia@not.at.this.address> wrote:
> >> When I say boot from device X, I mean do that. If it won't work,
> >> say so.  I don't mean "Have a fair go at X, and if it won't work,
> >> then see if you can find some other OS lying around and boot that
> >> instead."
> >
> > Keep in mind, the code about which you complain is from the same
> > authors who created this error message from years ago:
> >
> >    Keyboard not found - press F1 key to continue
> >
> > http://www.jobless-jack.com/2013/07/da-fuck-o-keyboard-not-found.html
> >
> > Such stupidity does not inspire confidence in their ability to
> > determine even a mildly good way to do things,

> It did rather encourage hot-plugging the keyboard, which you weren't
> strictly speaking meant to do (though I've done it many many times. 
> Ditto monitors and non-USB mouses).

True, although hot plugging a vga cable was never as problematic as
hotplugging a ps2 keyboard or mouse could be.

> Hard to know for sure what the thinking was. The original BIOS
> approach of looking for something bootable probably made sense back
> when naive users were expected to install their own OS. It meant the
> floppy drive could be the first boot device, so as to allow
> installation if it happened to contain a bootable disk.

Also, remeber that the "try to boot #1, try to boot #2" method also
dates from the early days of the IBM-PC where one could buy the machine
with just floppies for $X, or with floppies plus a hard disk for $X+Y. 
Given the two different, from the manufacturer, configurations, having
one single BIOS that attempted a floppy boot first, the went on to the
"next" (hard disk) meant the manufacturing costs could be kept down by
only needing one single mainboard/BIOS for both configurations.

Booting the floppy first, even with a hard disk, also allowed the trend
at the time of other software needing its own boot disk (i.e., early
games that simply booted themselves from floppies and ignored the hard
disk).

> I'm invoking a boot-override option. I suspect it's just adding the
> chosen device in front of the existing list, with no one having given
> thought to the ramifications of that when the chosen device proves
> unbootable.

True, if you've hit F1/F9/F8 and specifically said "boot device x" by
picking it from a menu, then the right thing to do is to try x, and if
it fails, don't move on to another device.

Thread

Damned BIOS Sylvia Else <sylvia@not.at.this.address> - 2014-09-02 15:05 +1000
  Re: Damned BIOS Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2014-09-02 08:06 +0000
    Re: Damned BIOS Sylvia Else <sylvia@not.at.this.address> - 2014-09-02 19:38 +1000
      Re: Damned BIOS Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2014-09-02 12:06 +0000
        Re: Damned BIOS Sylvia Else <sylvia@not.at.this.address> - 2014-09-03 12:15 +1000
      Re: Damned BIOS Johny B Good <johnny-b-good@invalid.ntlworld.com> - 2014-09-02 15:39 +0100
        Re: Damned BIOS Sylvia Else <sylvia@not.at.this.address> - 2014-09-03 12:22 +1000
          Re: Damned BIOS Scion <a.b@nospam.invalid> - 2014-09-10 10:16 +0000
            Re: Damned BIOS Sylvia Else <sylvia@not.at.this.address> - 2014-09-14 15:27 +1000
              Re: Damned BIOS Johny B Good <johnny-b-good@invalid.ntlworld.com> - 2014-09-14 14:25 +0100
    Re: Damned BIOS RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-09-02 18:19 +0000
      Re: Damned BIOS polygonum <rmoudndgers@vrod.co.uk> - 2014-09-02 19:52 +0100
        Re: Damned BIOS Bob Eager <news0002@eager.cx> - 2014-09-02 19:41 +0000
          Re: Damned BIOS polygonum <rmoudndgers@vrod.co.uk> - 2014-09-02 21:12 +0100
            Re: Damned BIOS Bob Eager <news0002@eager.cx> - 2014-09-02 21:00 +0000
              Re: Damned BIOS polygonum <rmoudndgers@vrod.co.uk> - 2014-09-02 22:08 +0100
              Re: Damned BIOS Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2014-09-02 21:14 +0000
              Re: Damned BIOS Will Honea <whonea@whonea.net> - 2014-09-02 23:10 -0600
                Re: Damned BIOS Bob Eager <news0002@eager.cx> - 2014-09-03 05:58 +0000
              Re: Damned BIOS Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-09-14 08:26 +0200
      Re: Damned BIOS Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2014-09-02 21:09 +0000
  Re: Damned BIOS Johny B Good <johnny-b-good@invalid.ntlworld.com> - 2014-09-02 14:29 +0100
    Re: Damned BIOS Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-09-02 16:35 +0200
      Re: Damned BIOS Scion <a.b@nospam.invalid> - 2014-09-10 10:18 +0000
        Re: Damned BIOS Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-09-10 13:46 +0200
          Re: Damned BIOS Bob Eager <news0002@eager.cx> - 2014-09-10 13:00 +0000
            Re: Damned BIOS Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-09-10 19:28 +0200
              Re: Damned BIOS Bob Eager <news0002@eager.cx> - 2014-09-10 19:11 +0000
                Re: Damned BIOS Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-09-14 08:44 +0200
                Re: Damned BIOS Bob Eager <news0002@eager.cx> - 2014-09-14 07:17 +0000
              Re: Damned BIOS Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-09-14 08:33 +0200
        Re: Damned BIOS Johny B Good <johnny-b-good@invalid.ntlworld.com> - 2014-09-10 13:53 +0100
          Re: Damned BIOS Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-09-14 08:30 +0200

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