On 4/28/07, Duke McAllister <mr-roboto at linuxmail.org>
wrote:>
> >
> > Message: 5
> > Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2007 11:37:51 -0700
> > From: "J.H." <warthog19 at eaglescrag.net>
> > Subject: Re: [syslinux] USB stick meets ISO system
> > To: Geert Stappers <stappers at stappers.nl>
> > Cc: syslinux at zytor.com
> > Message-ID: <1177785471.25140.29.camel at localhost.localdomain>
> > Content-Type: text/plain
> >
> > On Sat, 2007-04-28 at 12:57 +0200, Geert Stappers wrote:
> > > Op 23-04-2007 om 17:59 schreef Christopher R. Parr:
> > > > Hi!
> > > > > I'm trying to build a Installation usb stick (4GB)
with several Linux
> > > > System iso's on the stick.
> > > > > Now my question:
> > > > > Can I tell Syslinux to mount the required iso inti /
and then to boot
> > > > that system?
> > > >
> >
> > Not really - you have the problem the syslinux (or memdisk)
doesn't
> > internally know or want to know how to deal with CD iso's (the
reasons
> > for that are in the archives)
> >
> > There are some exceptions to this rule - Redhat/Fedora based
installers
> > internal to their installation mechanism know how to deal with loop
back
> > mounting an iso, so it's possible to use their kernel+initrd to
boot
> > from pxelinux and than it will deal with the iso after that (basically
> > just loop back mount it). I haven't seen many others that do this
but
> > the rule more or less boils down to syslinux + cd iso's don't
mix.
> >
> > - John 'Warthog9' Hawley
> >
>
> John: There are a few popular distros that do permit this. Knoppix and
the
> ones based on the Linux-Live scripts are ones that I'm most familiar
with.
> OTOH, mounting an ISO from linuxrc isn't as tough as writing an
ISO-compatible
> memdisk. It mite take a few days, but given that there are several working
> examples of doing this very task, the orig inquiry illustrates a lack of
> understanding of 'hacking' a custom solution. *And* one mite
realize a
> solution w/o even touching the init ramdisk, by dismantling the indiv ISOs
and
> "wiring" their contents into a custom SYSLINUX menu.
>
> Yes, multiple solutions are possible and available...
>
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I personally have seen first hand the live distros doing this -- one
of my favorites being Finnix (very similar to Knoppix in some ways, a
bit more compact and cleaned up for smaller size though, overall
oriented towards rescue operations.) In fact, they have since some
time ago taken the concept further and instead of mounting an ISO
image, they mount a more direct filesystem image, such as SquashFS.
There are a couple of catches to this method where an ISO mounting
memdisk could be a real lifesaver. First, it's basically impossible
for the average user to create the scripts and such to actually create
such a disc out of something they want to get working -- their only
hope is to find something else that is already live which meets their
needs. This can be a bit tough since it must support whatever it
needs to look on to find the image, and for flash drives it's a bit
more complex than just having IDE support (not just for the USB
drivers themselves, but actually FINDING the drive and partition to
use since they can move around all over the place.) Personally, I'm
somewhere between average joe and the more advanced users (like
admitedly many that read this list) when it comes to linux and while I
know the basics of maybe being able to create a script under the
assumption that the drive and partition will always be the same, I
think I couldn't do anything any more complex than that. In the end,
I have to say that a memdisk supporting an ISO image might be pretty
useful for a lot of less advanced users...
The other thing I can think of is more custom built things. For
example, there is a tool "Acronis Disk Manager" that seeks to replace
the now defunct Partition Magic (linux fdisk is great and all, and
there are an infinite number of linux tools that can do things like
resizing, but in the end I'd rather trust something that licenses the
filesystem information from Microsoft even if it must be commercial --
at least, for a little while longer while opensource handling of NTFS
is still notably below 100%.) It's just one of many examples mind.
Also, some things such as Windows installations (yes you can use a
harddrive image, but then you must run it from DOS and must install to
a FATxx partition first -- well, I'm not sure about Vista since I
haven't had call to ever even try it, but I know this goes for XP and
Win2K.) I could think of a number of other examples of things that
run best directly from a CD image but I think you get the idea. In
the end, you can try to trick these things some, or you could even
resort to tricks like putting an ISO9660 filesystem on a flashdrive as
some brave person has done, but in the end, all such solutions either
fail on some tool or leave you with reduced capabilities (I know that
I wouldn't want my good flash drive to be ISO9660, and I can't really
afford to carry two large enough to hold all the tools I need for
example.)
All I'm saying is that I, for one, would welcome ISO memdisk support,
but I'm not going to be surprised if it never happened. I can wish
though...