So you're all about the free software. But you've just obtained a new (or old) machine. And its firmware is out of date and in need of updates. It doesn't have a floppy drive, just a CD or DVD drive and USB hard drive support. There aren't any copies of DOS or Windows in the house that might be used to for a firmware update. Ah, but it will netboot!

set up DHCP to point net-booting machines at a TFTP server

install a TFTP server

install pxelinux and create a config file

default config file

PXElinux's memdisk driver

create a floppy image to netboot

Get FreeDOS bits

mtools to format

update /etc/mtools.conf:
- specify a file instead of a floppy special device
- specify 12-bit FAT
use FreeDOS boot sector

copy FreeDOS programs into floppy image

copy BIOS updater into floppy image

boot client machine

PXE booting for BIOS updates

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