[syslinux] Trying to build bootable iso but very confused by syslinux documentation

John Lewis
Tue, 10 May 2016 06:40:19 -0000

On 05/03/2016 02:31 AM, Thomas Schmitt via Syslinux
wrote:
> Hi,
>
> John Lewis wrote:
>> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCDCustomizationFromScratch
>>
>> The show stopper for me was the mkisofs because the closest command I
>> had available was xorrisofs and I think a switch was different.
> If you have questions about xorrisofs, then just ask me. :))
>
> The web page advises to install genisoimage, a mkisofs clone, but
> shows its examples with mkisofs. Replace "mkisofs" by
"geisoimage"
> and you should be on the track which the author of the page intends.
>
> As for xorrisofs options, all three programs mkisofs, genisoimage, and
> xorrisofs are supposed to perform the shown ISO production run:
>
>   sudo mkisofs -r -V "$IMAGE_NAME" -cache-inodes -J -l -b
isolinux/isolinux.bin -c isolinux/boot.cat -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4
-boot-info-table -o ../ubuntu-remix.iso .
>
> (But i really wonder why one needs to be superuser to create an
>  ISO 9660 filesystem.)
>
> So what are your actual symptoms of failure with ISO production ?
>
>
> Have a nice day :)
>
> Thomas
>
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I got the command working.

I feel like I am missing a college level course (which doesn't seem to
exist) on iso creation and boot loading. I only have the vaguest
understand of what the flags in the man page of xorrisofs and xorriso are.

That normally wouldn't be an issue at all, but there doesn't seem to
exist a hello word like exercise that is simple and predictable. If I
can get a memtest86+
booting and running from an iso I generated I wouldn't feel like I would
need to get an Electrical Engineer to translate the parts I don't
understand.