floppinux: An Embedded 🐧Linux on a Single 💾Floppy

Introduction

Floppinux is a Linux distribution designed to run on a single floppy disk. It is characterized by its small size, flexibility, and support for udf and msdos file systems.

Features

• Small footprint: Floppinux occupies only 1.4M of space, making it suitable for older computers.
• Flexible customization: Customizable rootfs and streamlined Busybox.
• Built-in tools: Includes hush and vi, meeting basic user needs in a command-line environment.
• Mounting support: Supports mounting CD/DVD in UDF format and floppy disks in FAT format.
• Strong compatibility: Minimum support for 486SX processor and sb16 sound card.

Supported Internet Cards

• 3c509/3c579 "EtherLink III"
• 3c515 ISA "Fast EtherLink"
• 3c590/3c900 series (592/595/597) "Vortex/Boomerang"
• 3cr990 series "Typhoon"
• AMD 8111 (new PCI LANCE)
• AMD LANCE and PCnet (AT1500 and NE2100)
• AMD PCnet32 PCI
• Intel(R) PRO/100+
• Intel(R) PRO/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
• Intel(R) PRO/1000 PCI-Express Gigabit Ethernet
• Novell NE1000/NE2000 compatible ISA cards
• RealTek RTL-8139 C+ PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter
• RealTek RTL-8129/8130/8139 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter
• Realtek 8169/8168/8101/8125 ethernet

Compilation

1. Ensure the necessary packages for compilation are installed:
   • dosfstools syslinux make build-essential nasm libc6-dev-i386 qemu-system-i386 (required for testing)
   • On Debian/Ubuntu, use the following command to install:

     sudo apt install -y dosfstools syslinux make build-essential nasm libc6-dev-i386 qemu-system-i386

2. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Steve3184/floppinux
   cd floppinux

3. Compile Floppinux using make:

   make all                  # Full compilation
   make rebuild              # Re-compile kernel, busybox and rootfs after deleting previously compiled ones
   make rebuild_floppy_image # Re-compile floppy image after deleting previously compiled ones
   make clean                # Delete built bzImage, busybox, and rootfs
   make reset                # Reset (clear all content)
   make size                 # Get size after compilation of floppinux

4. Test the generated image file (default saved as floppinux.img):
   • If you have a floppy disk, write it using dd:

     sudo dd if=floppinux.img of=/dev/fdX bs=1k count=1440

   • If you do not have a floppy disk or want to test it in qemu, use this to start qemu:

     make test_floppy_image

5. You can add files to overlay the rootfs under configs/overlay/, and compile after modification:

   make clean_filesystem rootfs

Compiled sizes:

File	Size
bzImage	1.3M
ldlinux.sys	32K
rootfs.cpio.xz	118K
syslinux.cfg	126B
mod.dat	1.1M
box.dat	523K

Networking

umount /mnt # Make sure no disk mounted on /mnt
# Insert 'floppinux-box.img'
mount -o ro /dev/fd1 /mnt
cd /mnt
loadbusybox
exit
# Press Enter
# Insert 'floppinux-mod.img'
umount /mnt
mount -o ro /dev/fd1 /mnt
cd /mnt
loadmod
cd /root
umount /mnt

modprobe pcnet32  # Install driver for VritualBox
modprobe snd-sb16 # Enable Sound
modprobe vfat     # Enable FAT32 Support
#modprobe ne2k-pci

/etc/init.d/02network start
# or
exit
# Press Enter
ifconfig

Notes

If you are unable to access Github or the speed is slow, modify the URLs used for downloading in the Makefile:

# GIT Urls
LINUX_GIT   = Change to the Kernel Git mirror in your region, for example, for Chinese users:
                https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/git/linux.git
              Default:
                https://github.com/torvalds/linux.git
BUSYBOX_GIT = Change to the Busybox Git mirror in your region, for example, for Chinese users:
                https://gitee.com/Steve3184/busybox.git
              Default:
                https://github.com/mirror/busybox.git
CHECK_UPDATE = Whether to check for updates (yes/no), default is no