17.1. Why?

Some people, like myself, seldom have access to boxes running AIX or MS-DOS, so I thought it could be handy to show how to make these utility floppies from a system running Linux (or any other UNIX like box).

17.2. How?

To do this, you need the mtools package and the unzip program. Any reasonable Linux distribution should include these tools. I also use wget for downloading.

You will have to download the last version of SMS and firmware from IBM. If you want more information on the files, look here.

You also have to get a password to access the files. To obtain this, you have to agree to this EULA.

The downloaded file is nothing but a ZIP-archive in disguise. Download it to a suitable directory, and unzip ip like this:

mkdir ibmdownload; cd ibmdownload wget http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/server/mdownload2/7248100.exe unzip 7248100.exe

You will have to enter the mentioned password when prompted.

In the contents of the archive, there's among the files another ZIP archive, containg the SMS software. Put the contents of this into a subdirectory like this:

mkdir sms; cd sms unzip ../sms107.exe

Now label a floppy disk "SMS", and put it into your floppy drive. Then format the floppy and copy the SMS files to it like this:

mformat a: mcopy *.* a: cd ..

Remove the floppy, insert another labeled "Firmware", and continue with the firmware files:

mformat a: mcopy *.6xe a: mcopy p93h4940.im* a: cd ..

Woho! You're done. Now that wasn't difficult, was it?