isolinux and cdrpack13, None of my "img" boots Options

[skyliner]

Hi there,

Since this site is heavily utilizing Bart's tools, I am hoping someone out there can help me. I have a few .img files and I want to create a multi-boot CD for personal use. Something similar to UBCD4Win and UBCD. This is what I have done so far.

- I can successfully create the menu
- I can successfully burn the files onto a CD and when the CD boots, my custom menu appears on screen however whenever I select an option, the booting sequence starts and then it says "Booting" and it just sits there.

Let me explain, there is a file: \isolinux\cdrpack13\cds\multi_memdisk\disk1\isolinux.cfg

In the same firectory I have a few img files: freedos.img, gag.img, ranish.img etc.

Here are the contents of isolinux.cfg. My belief is, some of the parameters are incorrect but I don't know what to pass:

CODE

default 0
display bootmsg.txt
prompt 1
label 0
    localboot 0x80
label a
    localboot 0x00
label q
    localboot -1
label 1
    kernel memdisk
    append initrd=cdrom.img
label 2
    kernel memdisk
    append initrd=msnet.img
label 3
    kernel memdisk
    append initrd=tomsrtbt.img
label 4
    kernel memdisk
    append initrd=freedos.img
label 5
    kernel memdisk
    append initrd=gag.img
label 6
    kernel memdisk
    append initrd=memtest.iso
label 7
    kernel memdisk
    append initrd=ntfs4dos.img
label 8
    kernel memdisk
    append initrd=ntpass.img
label 9
    kernel memdisk
    append initrd=ranish.img
label 10
    kernel memdisk
    append initrd=gparted.iso
label 11
    kernel memdisk
    append initrd=sysrescue.iso
timeout 300

Please ignore the "iso" entries. I have learned my lesson after spending literally entire day that an img file is not the same as an iso. An img file is basically a compressed instance of a running/bootable system.

Here are the contents of bootmsg.txt:

CODE

                 1fÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿07
                 1f³1e Bart's way to create bootable CD-Roms    1f³07
                 1f³1e http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/                1f³07
                 1fÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ07

              0) Boot from first harddisk (0x80)

              1) Boot Dos with CD-Rom support
              2) Boot Dos with Network support
              3) Boot Linux (tomsrtbt)
              4) FreeDOS
              5) GAG Boot Manager
              6) memtest86
              7) NTFS4DOS
              8) NT Password
              9) Ranish Partition Manager
              10) GParted
              11) System Rescue CD

              a) Boot from first floppy drive (0x00)
              q) Skip CD-Rom boot (try next boot device)

When no key is pressed for 30 sec, or when you hit Enter "0" will be run...

Type command at the prompt...

I am trying to boot FreeDOS and GAG in this case. It does seem like it will work, it prints out a few messages but then it displays: Booting.... and that's it. It just sits there. Please tell me where I have gone wrong. I think the parameters are incorrect in isolinux.cfg. They must be incorrect. If someone can give me a little bit of an insight of what I should put in my isolinux.cfg it will be great. Even one example but then is that why it doens't boot? I have a feeling I am very close but I just can't get there.

This post has been edited by skyliner: Mar 9 2008, 02:52 AM

[skyliner]

Small update, I noticed one of the messages prior the "Booting", it says: "Image has fractional end sector"

[cdob]

A .iso file is often a CD image. This reminds to file system ISO9660.

A .img file is often a disk image. This can be a hard disk or a floppy.

What's file size of your freedos.img? Is this 1474560 bytes?

Try current isolinux amd memdisk files. http://syslinux.zytor.com/iso.php

[skyliner]

My freedos.img is 762,311 bytes - Does size have to do something with it?

[cdob]

Size may matter. Error message indicates this.

As far as I remember, memdisk support truncated files. Size does not matter in that cases.
However cdrpack13 is several years old. No idea about this version.

Try a classic 1.44mb floppy image: fdboot.img
http://freedos.sourceforge.net/freedos/files/
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/.../1.0/fdboot.img

[skyliner]

Hey thanks for that. I will try it.

I was looking at a source file and look what I saw:

http://www.vortex.prodigynet.co.uk/x86test/mboard2.scn

I am looking at the parameters passed. I will be honest, I have no idea when I should use "memdisk" and what it indicates so I came up with something like this which I am not even sure whether it makes any sense since I don't know when to use memdisk:

Original:

label 4
kernel memdisk
append initrd=freedos.img

New:

label 4
kernel isolinux memdisk
append initrd=freedos.img

I did the new one based on the source file above. Any ideas when I should use memdisk and isolinux? I need to understand the cfg file.

This post has been edited by skyliner: Mar 9 2008, 05:29 PM

[skyliner]

Ok the above post of mine was a silly move (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I will try those other links from above. I just wonder, if there is there a better way of implementing my multi-boot CD. Because if it turns out all img files to be truncated then the tools I am using are pointless...

I have looked at UBCD4WIN's settings and they seem to be a bit different and it's using SYSLINUX.CFG instead of isolinux and the menu looks better. I will read that link above in your first post and I will see if I can come up with something.

If anyone knows how to use UBCD4Win's tools of creating the multi boot CD, please reply. I can see it's using "cdrecord" and it has a few batch files "autobuild.cmd" etc but they are linked to the I386 directory. Is there any way I can by pass this and create a stand alone boot CD, without involving Windows? Also, what is the path of the "cfg" file responsible for creating the menus? I found one in C:\UBCD4Win\plugin\Multiboot-003 in one of those folders but it seems to change after the creation of the ISO.

What I would like now to do is, use UBCD4WIN's make tools to create my own boot CD. I am aware partially of the needed tools such as cdrecord.exe mkisofs.exe and some cfg files. I am just not sure how to utilize them. I want to make it work similar to Bart's version where you specify the images that you want to boot and run a batch file and it does the ISO for you.

As you can see, I do have a bit of a background so you can freely speak to me.


This post has been edited by skyliner: Mar 9 2008, 08:04 PM

[pcuser]

The first thing you need to do is figure out which boot loader you want to use. UBCD4Win uses BCDW by default but I made a post here on the forum recently with instuctions on how to use Isolinux instead. Look at THESE multiboot plugins and use them as a guide.

[skyliner]

Oh I see, I found their web site before but I was focused on isolinux but I don't have to be. I just want a start-up menu that will be able to load operating system images. I will check BCDW out, I downloaded it already. I will let you know how I went...

[skyliner]

Ok, I got BCDW working, I customized the ini file to my style:

\freedos.img ; FreeDOS (BCDW) ; ^ Example of floppy images using
:reboot ; Reboot ; ^ Reboot PC

I added the freedos.img from the "Custom" files and folders in PEBuilder....*however* when I select "FreeDOS" from the nice menu, the blinking caret just moves once and it sits there doing nothing. I think something is wrong with my *img* file. I got it of a CD. I will now try the one cdom mentioned. http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/.../1.0/fdboot.img using BCDW.

This post has been edited by skyliner: Mar 10 2008, 02:50 AM

[skyliner]

Ladies and Gentlemen of the forum! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

It workkkssssss!! WOOHOOOO!!! http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/.../1.0/fdboot.img works!!! This only means, the files I got of the CD, the img files could be faulty!!?? *But they work from the original CD!!!* Probably they are some kind of different img files. This also means, my original boot loader configuration involing isolinux will also work!! I went through a whole pack of CDs - 10 pack to get this going (didn't have a CDRW disk)


I wonder if for example (linux): "dd if=/dev/sda1 of=./myimage.img" will make a bootable img of the current system?? This way I can create my own images.

This post has been edited by skyliner: Mar 10 2008, 03:15 AM

[skyliner]

This is just great! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I found this utility DiskImg.exe in UBCD4WIN's folder and it can create IMG files! Guess what I will be doing. I will pick the ISO I want, burn it on CD and then use this extremely helpful utility to create img files which I can *hopefully* then use them with BCDW to launch them! I have another 9 CDs remaining but first I am getting a CD-RW disk (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I am still curious if "dd" (disk dump) works...I will try it once I get a CD-RW disk.

[skyliner]

For up to date explaination about this issue see http://www.ubcd4win.com/forum/index.php?showto...amp;#entry57954