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Submitted by ShErbO on Sat, 15/01/2005 - 17:50.
( categories: Hardware Issues )

Hello,

I'm thinking of trying some thin client stuff, and I think the most suitable option for booting is to use a boot ROM.

  1. Are they available in Egypt ?? if so, where do I get them ? (Computer stores/Electronics stores??)
  2. Which cards do support them ?? I only know of the D-Link
  3. How do I program them ? (are they EEPROM or do they require a UV-programmer or what?)
  4. Do you suggest any other alternatives ??

Only alternative I can think about is using a floppy, which (IMHO) sucks because floppies are of nasty quality and are really slow (though I don't think slowness will be really a problem).

THanks alot.

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boot ove the network
Alaa's picture
Submitted by Alaa on Sun, 16/01/2005 - 00:15.

yes a perfect alternative exists, use etherboot or whatever they call the network boot protocol.

you'll need a dhcp server and tftp server on the network, thats all.

cheers, Alaa

http://www.manalaa.net "i`m feeling for the 2nd time like alice in wonderland reading el wafd"


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Sure Etherboot
ShErbO's picture
Submitted by ShErbO on Sun, 16/01/2005 - 16:19.

Alaa I think you're missing the point here, Etherboot requires a NIC with a ROM chip, which is what I'm asking about.


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nope
Alaa's picture
Submitted by Alaa on Sun, 16/01/2005 - 16:51.

what I'm talking about is your nic loading a boot image over the network from a tftp server.

I'm yet to see a NIC that does not support this.

and I'm talking about something I actually used.

cheers, Alaa

http://www.manalaa.net "i`m feeling for the 2nd time like alice in wonderland reading el wafd"


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Sorry!
ShErbO's picture
Submitted by ShErbO on Sun, 16/01/2005 - 17:07.

I guess it really wasn't obvious from the Etherboot site.. I never thought of that before !

Thanks man, I'll try it and if anything goes wrong I'll ask here.

p.s while surfing I found out another alternative - flashing the boot image to the BIOS!! kinda risky and I'm not sure if there's really any advantage, just wanted to share...


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boot over the network
Alaa's picture
Submitted by Alaa on Sun, 16/01/2005 - 17:12.

just boot over the network, nothing is easier, there are actually two standards for that etherboot and PXE, PXE is more flexible (allows for larger images).

cheers, Alaa

http://www.manalaa.net "i`m feeling for the 2nd time like alice in wonderland reading el wafd"


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