I am wondering if it is possible to install syslinux manually, without the actual syslinux utility. Basically I have a little linux distro that uses syslinux. I have an automated upgrade system that also updates the bootloader before rebooting. I currently compile syslinux (and mtools) statically, so that the new syslinux will not depend on any libraries on the old software version (since they may be different than what it was compiled with). This was OK until I realized that if I change the kernel compatibility level when I build glibc, syslinux still may not run on the older host systems to do the bootloader update. So basically I want to see if there is a (stable) way to install syslinux manually. By manually, I mean using utilities on the old host version that I know are there (like dd, cp, mount), and not using any utilities I compiled for the new os version (so I won't run into kernel version compatibility errors). I was thinking something like: mount /boot r/w copy ldlinux.sys to /boot umount /boot dd something to the device file for the /boot partition. I can do the ldlinux.sys thing easy (since it looks like the same file is unmodified in the tarball as gets installed by syslinux itself), but I am undertain what to write at the start of the partition. Is this possible & a good idea?
> I am wondering if it is possible to install syslinux manually, without > the actual syslinux utility. > > Basically I have a little linux distro that uses syslinux. I have an > automated upgrade system that also updates the bootloader before > rebooting. I currently compile syslinux (and mtools) statically, so > that the new syslinux will not depend on any libraries on the old > software version (since they may be different than what it was compiled > with). > > This was OK until I realized that if I change the kernel compatibility > level when I build glibc, syslinux still may not run on the older host > systems to do the bootloader update. > > So basically I want to see if there is a (stable) way to install > syslinux manually. By manually, I mean using utilities on the old host > version that I know are there (like dd, cp, mount), and not using any > utilities I compiled for the new os version (so I won't run into kernel > version compatibility errors). > > I was thinking something like: > > mount /boot r/w > copy ldlinux.sys to /boot > umount /boot > > dd something to the device file for the /boot partition. > > I can do the ldlinux.sys thing easy (since it looks like the same file > is unmodified in the tarball as gets installed by syslinux itself), but > I am undertain what to write at the start of the partition. > > Is this possible & a good idea?There's no need to reinvent the weel !! :-) A static syslinux-nomtools is the way to go, since it does everything you describe but without the use of the mtools utility.
If the older system's glibc was compiled with the oldest compatible kernel set to 2.4.20, and the new system has glibc compiled with the oldest compatible kernel set to 2.4.26, then the new static binary will not run on the old system. I would like to be able to use new kernel features as they come out, and basically I want something that I know will work in the future reguardless of what I feel like changing in the new versions.> On Wed, Jun 30, 2004 at 06:43:44AM -0500, Nick Bartos wrote: >> but if it is still a compiled program, I will still have the kernel >> backwards compatability problem, which doesn't solve anything. > > What exactly is the problem? What keeps the static binary from working in > the old system? > > Regards, > Luciano Rocha > > -- > Consciousness: that annoying time between naps. >
> -----Original Message----- > From: Nick Bartos [mailto:spam99 at 2thebatcave.com] > Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2004 4:17 PM > To: Luciano Miguel Ferreira Rocha > Cc: syslinux at zytor.com > Subject: Re: [syslinux] Manually installing syslinux? > Importance: High > > Is what the syslinux install does really all that > complicated? I would > have thought there wouldn't be much too the actual install. > > So no one actually has any thoughts on my actual question of > doing this > process manually? > > I have thought this through quite a bit, and just wanted to > know if there > was a (stable) way to install the syslinux bootloader without > using the > compiled syslinux installer. > > I realize that there are other potential options, but I wanted to know > about this one first as it would seem to be the simplest & cleanest > solution. > > Does anyone actually have any idea/info for the original question?Nick, we may not understand what your problem is. You say that you have managed to compile syslinux statically. This is all you will ever need to do. How far did you go with your tests, in which you can proove that this process is wrong? Please point out an actual problem and not just a 'what if' type of question. Luis