Syslinux - Aug 2012 - syslinux 4.06pre11 issues

I've recently purchased an SSD with the goal of having a portable 
MS-Windows installation, something which Windows 8's "Windows to
Go"
feature allows (install to, and boot/run from, USB flash device).

Housing the SSD in an external Zalman VE300 case allows presenting ISO 
files as hardware CD/DVD/BD drive with inserted medium. Having the ISO 
files present, it's tempting to use them also with Memdisk, thus my wish 
to install Syslinux on this NTFS-formatted device/partition


Issues I'm experiencing with the experimental 4.06 NTFS branch:
* pre5 installs just fine, lacks ls.c32 and cptime.c32
* pre11: "invalid media signature" (syslinux -f -d _iso/syslinux H:)
* ls.c32 at most only displays 1 file or directory.
* cptime.c32 missing in general
* no bootsector backup tool present like COPYBS for DOS.
   (FreeDOS SYS 3.8pre works: SYS H: /GETBS H:\_ISO\SYSLINUX\NTFS.BSS).
* pre5: chain.c32 doesn't work for Windows 8 BCD, not tested pre11
* bootsector chaining does work ( kernel /_iso/syslinux/ntfs.bss)

Is there any solution available to fixing 1 or more of the above items?

Should I discuss these issues here on this mailinglist or at the proper 
Reboot.pro forum thread?

And slightly offtopic: how do I determine an Isohybrid imagefile's disc 
geometry? Bochs insists on specifying chs in config file.

With best regards,

Bernd Blaauw

2012/8/30 Bernd Blaauw <bblaauw at home.nl>:
> Issues I'm experiencing with the experimental 4.06 NTFS branch:
> * pre5 installs just fine, lacks ls.c32 and cptime.c32
> * pre11: "invalid media signature" (syslinux -f -d _iso/syslinux
H:)
Try the linux installer for installing pre11. There is something wrong
with the Windows compiled binaries
(compiled on the last Fedora). Recompiling them youself from Ubuntu works.

- Gert Hulselmans

> Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2012 04:04:37 +0200
> From: bblaauw at home.nl
> To: syslinux at zytor.com
> Subject: [syslinux] syslinux 4.06pre11 issues
> 
> 
> Issues I'm experiencing with the experimental 4.06 NTFS branch:
> * pre5 installs just fine, lacks ls.c32 and cptime.c32
> * pre11: "invalid media signature" (syslinux -f -d _iso/syslinux
H:)
 
 Although you are using the old command line arguments, the official
 Windows-based SYSLINUX 4.06-pre11 installer will fail anyway (HPA needs to
 find a solution).
 
 
> * ls.c32 at most only displays 1 file or directory.
 
 I don't have such issue in 4.06-pre11.
 
 
> * cptime.c32 missing in general
 
 That's because cptime is for 4.10, not 4.06.
 
 
> * no bootsector backup tool present like COPYBS for DOS.
> (FreeDOS SYS 3.8pre works: SYS H: /GETBS H:\_ISO\SYSLINUX\NTFS.BSS).
> * pre5: chain.c32 doesn't work for Windows 8 BCD, not tested pre11
> * bootsector chaining does work ( kernel /_iso/syslinux/ntfs.bss)
 
 I have not tested syslinux.com in 4.06, and last time I wanted to boot DOS
 with Syslinux I used either chain.c32 or MEMDISK, not the *.bss method.
 I guess that including a backup tool (under Windows and/or DOS) for boot
 sectors is useful for some users, but Syslinux is not the only way to
 obtain such backup.
 I have no Win8 image, so I can't comment on that one.
 
 
> And slightly offtopic: how do I determine an Isohybrid imagefile's disc
> geometry? Bochs insists on specifying chs in config file.
 
 Do you mean that you need to find out the specific CHS parameters of a
 specific isohybrid image? Under Linux, fdisk can read those parameters
 from the ISO image. I have not tested this under FreeDOS.
 
HTH.

>  Although you are using the old command line arguments, the official
>  Windows-based SYSLINUX 4.06-pre11 installer will fail anyway (HPA needs to
>  find a solution).
A temporary solution to get windows-based syslinux installers for
SYSLINUX 4.06 could be to recompile on ubuntu, using make -i
Binaries compiled that way works on my Windows 7 box.

Tomas M