Multiboot CD-ROM via Grub4DOS External links Options

[SamK]

After working with Grub4DOS for a few days the construction of a multiboot CD-ROM toolkit is progressing well. Currently working are the following applications for linux and FreeDOS using ISO & floppy disk images:
DBAN v 1.0.7, CopyWipe 1.14, Ghost 2003, Super Grub 0.9725.

To complete this stage of the construction two additional ISOs are to be added, Parted Magic and Clonezilla. Both of these are proving difficult to incorporate. Has anyone succeeded in booting these ISOs via Grub4DOS? If so would you be willing to post how this was achieved?

Research conducted in various forums generally point to using isolinux or BCDW. The toolkit currently under construction is an attempt to unify a collection of multiboot and single boot CD-ROMs which variously use isolinux and BCDW into a single CD-ROM using only Grub4DOS. Ultimately booting only ISOs (no floppies).

Grub4DOS
Version Downloaded - grub4dos-0.4.3-2008-05-14.zip
Downloaded From - http://grub4dos.jot.com/WikiHome

Parted Magic
Version Downloaded - pmagic-svn.iso-08Jun,134947.zip (Extracted and renamed pmagic.iso)
Downloaded From - http://partedmagic.com/beef_drapes/
This will be released as version 3.0 "...wait until linux 2.6.26 comes out before 3.0 is called stable."

Clonezilla
Version Downloaded - clonezilla-live-20080511-hardy.iso (Renamed clonzlla.iso)
Downloaded From - http://www.clonezilla.org/


MENU.LST

CODE

# menu.lst - User configurable menu of available boot-time options provided by Grub4DOS
#
# ISO Information
# Command to create
# mkisofs -R -b grldr -no-emul-boot -boot-load-seg 0x1000 -volid "XXX" -o bootable.iso iso_root
# or
# mkisofs -R -b grldr -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -volid "XXX" -o grldr.iso iso_root
#
# ISO Burning Application
# ImgBurn


color black/cyan yellow/cyan


title TEST 1 --- Parted Magic via ISO
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/pmagic.iso
map /img-iso/pmagic.iso (hd32)
map --hook
chainloader (hd32)
rootnoverify
boot


title TEST 2 --- Clonezilla via ISO
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/clonzlla.iso
map /img-iso/clonzlla.iso (hd32)
map --hook
chainloader (hd32)
rootnoverify
boot


title WIPE DISKS --- DBan 1.0.7
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/dban.iso
map /img-iso/dban.iso (hd32)
map --hook
chainloader (hd32)
boot


title WIPE DISKS --- CopyWipe 1.14
find --ignore-floppies /img-fd/bootfd06.img
map /img-fd/bootfd06.img (fd0)
map --hook
chainloader (fd0)+1
rootnoverify (fd0)
boot


title CREATE/RESTORE IMAGES --- Ghost 2003
find --ignore-floppies /img-fd/bootfd06.img
map /img-fd/bootfd06.img (fd0)
map --hook
chainloader (fd0)+1
rootnoverify (fd0)
boot


title MANAGE BOOT LOADER --- Super Grub 0.9725
find --ignore-floppies /img-fd/suprgrub.img
map /img-fd/suprgrub.img (fd0)
map --hook
chainloader (fd0)+1
rootnoverify (fd0)
boot


title WARM BOOT --- Reboot the PC
savedefault --wait=2
reboot


title SWITCH OFF --- Power Down the PC
savedefault --wait=2
halt

RESULT - PARTED MAGIC
File found and mapped
Chainloader = Load Segment: 0x0 System Type: 0x0 Sector Count: 0x4
Load RBA: 0x1E Boot Type: 0 = No Emulation
Boot = ISOLINUX 3.63 2008-04-10
Stalls at this point

RESULT - CLONEZILLA
File found and mapped
Chainloader = Load Segment: 0x0 System Type: 0x0 Sector Count: 0x4
Load RBA: 0xB9CE Boot Type: 0 = No Emulation
Boot = ISOLINUX 3.62 2008-03-01
Stalls at this point


ALTERNATIVE TRIED

CODE

find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/pmagic.iso
map --mem /img-iso/filename.iso (hd32)
map --hook
chainloader (hd32)
rootnoverify
boot

RESULT - PARTED MAGIC
PC reboots

RESULT- CLONEZILLA
Symptoms unchanged

[was_jaclaz]

You may want to try the kernel and initrd directives, instead of chainloading the bootsector thus bypassing the isolinux inside the .iso image.

jaclaz

[SamK]

You may want to try the kernel and initrd directives, instead of chainloading the bootsector thus bypassing the isolinux inside the .iso image.

jaclaz

Thanks for a very swift reply, jaclaz. I am not sure I fully understand your suggestion. Would it be possible to give an example?

[SamK]

You may want to try the kernel and initrd directives, instead of chainloading the bootsector thus bypassing the isolinux inside the .iso image.

jaclaz

On the assumption that I have correctly understood your suggestion the following steps have been conducted for each of Parted Magic and Clonezilla:

1. Establish the contents of isolinux.cfg
2. Select the "failsafe" option (being the most likely to work)
3. Transfer the kernel and initrd lines to Grub4DOS
4. Boot using transferred parameters
5. Report results

PARTED MAGIC - EXTRACT FROM ISOLINUX.CFG
...
LABEL failsafe
MENU LABEL ^4. Failsafe Settings
TEXT HELP
vga=normal, acpi=off, noapic, nolapic, nopcmcia, noscsi, nogpm, nosmart, & boots to console
ENDTEXT
KERNEL /pmagic/bzImage
APPEND noapic initrd=/pmagic/initrd root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc keymap=us livecd vga=normal sleep=0 acpi=off noapic nolapic nopcmcia noscsi nogpm consoleboot nosmart ramdisk_size=25000
...


CLONEZILLA - EXTRACT FROM ISOLINUX.CFG
...
label Clonezilla live failsafe mode
# MENU DEFAULT
# MENU HIDE
MENU LABEL Clonezilla live (Failsafe mode)
# MENU PASSWD
kernel /live/vmlinuz1
append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs hostname=hardy acpi=off irqpoll noapic noapm nodma nomce nolapic nosmp ip=frommedia vga=normal
TEXT HELP
acpi=off irqpoll noapic noapm nodma nomce nolapic nosmp vga=normal
ENDTEXT
...


MENU.LST - PARTED MAGIC

CODE

title TEST 1 --- Parted Magic via ISO
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/pmagic.iso
map /img-iso/pmagic.iso (hd32)
map --hook
kernel (hd32)/pmagic/bzImage
initrd (hd32)/pmagic/initrd root=/dev/ram0 init=linuxrc keymap=uk livecd vga=normal sleep=0 acpi=off noapic nolapic nopcmcia noscsi nogpm consoleboot nosmart ramdisk_size=250000
rootnoverify
boot

MENU.LST - CLONEZILLA

CODE

title TEST 2 --- Clonezilla via ISO
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/clonzlla.iso
map /img-iso/clonzlla.iso (hd32)
map --hook
kernel (hd32)/live/vmlinuz1
initrd (hd32)/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs hostname=hardy acpi=off irqpoll noapic noapm nodma nomce nolapic nosmp ip=frommedia vga=normal
rootnoverify
boot

RESULT - PARTED MAGIC
File found and mapped
Kernel = [Linux-bzImage, setup=0x2800, size=0x1dc910]
Initrd = [Linux-initrd @ 0x1f407000, 0xbe5d9d bytes]
Decompressing Linux
...
RAMDISK: Compressed image found at block 0
RAMDISK: Incomplete write (-28 !=32768) 4194304
VFS: Cannot open root device "<NULL>" or unknown-block (8,8)
Please append the correct "root=" boot option; here are the available partitions:
Kernel panic - not syncing :
VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown-block (8,8)
Stalls at this point


RESULT - CLONZILLA
File found and mapped
Kernel = [Linux-bzImage, setup=0x2a00, size=0x1ce278]
Initrd = Linux-initrd @ 0x1f71f000, 0x8cdc53 bytes]
Decompressing Linux
...
sda: sda1
sd 1:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI disk
hda: max request size: 128KiB
hda: 8405775 sectors (4303MB) x/512KiB cache, CHS: 8195/15/63
hda: cache flushes not supported
hda: <5>sdf 1:0:0: Attached SCSI generic sg0 type 0
hda1 hda2 < hda5 >
hdb ATAPI 40X CD-ROM CD-R/RW drive 2048kB cache
Uniform CD-ROM driver revision 3.20
sd 1:0:0:0 Attached SCSI generic sg0 type 0
long pause at this point
DONE
Check root= bootarg cat /proc/cmdline
or missing modules, devices: cat /proc/modules ls /dev
Reading all physical Volumes. This may take a while...
ALERT! does not exist. Dropping to shell!
(initramfs)

[tinybit]

Parameters should be placed in the kernel line, not in the initrd line. Try with this:

CODE

title TEST 1 --- Parted Magic via ISO
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/pmagic.iso
map /img-iso/pmagic.iso (hd32)
map --hook
kernel (hd32)/pmagic/bzImage root=/dev/ram0 init=linuxrc keymap=uk livecd vga=normal sleep=0 acpi=off noapic nolapic nopcmcia noscsi nogpm consoleboot nosmart ramdisk_size=250000
initrd (hd32)/pmagic/initrd
boot

title TEST 2 --- Clonezilla via ISO
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/clonzlla.iso
map /img-iso/clonzlla.iso (hd32)
map --hook
kernel (hd32)/live/vmlinuz1 boot=live union=aufs hostname=hardy acpi=off irqpoll noapic noapm nodma nomce nolapic nosmp ip=frommedia vga=normal
initrd (hd32)/live/initrd1.img
boot

[SamK]

Parameters should be placed in the kernel line, not in the initrd line. Try with this:

CODE

title TEST 1 --- Parted Magic via ISO
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/pmagic.iso
map /img-iso/pmagic.iso (hd32)
map --hook
kernel (hd32)/pmagic/bzImage root=/dev/ram0 init=linuxrc keymap=uk livecd vga=normal sleep=0 acpi=off noapic nolapic nopcmcia noscsi nogpm consoleboot nosmart ramdisk_size=250000
initrd (hd32)/pmagic/initrd
boot

title TEST 2 --- Clonezilla via ISO
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/clonzlla.iso
map /img-iso/clonzlla.iso (hd32)
map --hook
kernel (hd32)/live/vmlinuz1 boot=live union=aufs hostname=hardy acpi=off irqpoll noapic noapm nodma nomce nolapic nosmp ip=frommedia vga=normal
initrd (hd32)/live/initrd1.img
boot

Thanks for the guidance, tinybit.

RESULT - PARTED MAGIC
Boot starts normally
Decompressing Linux
...
Oops couldn't find the live media

fails to command line interface - root@PartedMagic
does not provide access to directories with suffix "@"

• etc@
• home@
• linuxrc@
• media@
• mnt@
• opt@
• root@
• tmp@
• var@

RESULT - CLONZILLA
Boot starts normally
Decompressing Linux
...
kjournald starting. Commit interval 5 seconds
EXT3-fs: mounted filesystem with ordered data mode.
end_request: I/O error, dev fd0, sector 0
At this point the preceding 3 lines are repeated many times
(initramfs)

[tinybit]

I see. Grub4dos worked fine by now, and no problems encountered(as far as grub4dos is concerned).

Oops couldn't find the live media

At this point the preceding 3 lines are repeated many times
(initramfs)

You may fix it by means of Linux shell programming and such. You need do some work to improve the ISO and let it boot just as what you expected.

[SamK]

I see. Grub4dos worked fine by now, and no problems encountered(as far as grub4dos is concerned).




You may fix it by means of Linux shell programming and such. You need do some work to improve the ISO and let it boot just as what you expected.

I find these conclusions slightly confusing. The applications work well if they are booted from CD-ROM burned from the downloaded ISOs using the in-built isoliunx. No errors are encountered during the boot process. When the boot has completed the applications can be used as expected.

When booting the downloaded ISOs directly using Grub4DOS the errors are encountered. The applications do not start correctly and are unusable.

In both of the above examples, the start parameters used during the boot process are identical. The only difference seems to be the use of Grub4DOS in preference to isolinux.

[was_jaclaz]

Cd emulation of a .iso image is something very "experimental".
Grub4dos gives "generic" support to access .iso images, other LiveCD Linux distributions work perfectly.
It's generally a "hit and miss" game, , where you might need to modify both the menu.lst and the "linux" part.

Another thing you can try:

CODE

title TEST 1 --- Parted Magic via ISO
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/pmagic.iso
map /img-iso/pmagic.iso (hd32)
map --hook
root (hd32)
chainloader --force /boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin
boot

This is an intermediate way, where you bypass the bootsector but use isolinux.bin as loader.

But cannot say if it would work.

jaclaz

[SamK]

Cd emulation of a .iso image is something very "experimental".
Grub4dos gives "generic" support to access .iso images, other LiveCD Linux distributions work perfectly.
It's generally a "hit and miss" game, :(, where you might need to modify both the menu.lst and the "linux" part.

Another thing you can try:

CODE

title TEST 1 --- Parted Magic via ISO
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /img-iso/pmagic.iso
map /img-iso/pmagic.iso (hd32)
map --hook
root (hd32)
chainloader --force /boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin
boot

This is an intermediate way, where you bypass the bootsector but use isolinux.bin as loader.

But cannot say if it would work. :unsure:


jaclaz

Jaclaz, thanks for the additional suggestion. Are you able to clarify this a little bit more? Is a directory structure /boot/isolinux required in addition to the existing directories on the CD-ROM (rather than attempting to use the isolinux within the ISO)?

@tinybit and @jaclaz
To clarify my earlier comment regarding confusion -
This was meant as an observation rather than a criticism. The comment from tinybit -

Grub4dos worked fine by now, and no problems encountered(as far as grub4dos is concerned).

- could be interpreted to mean that the problem does not relate to Grub4DOS. Indicating that the results obtained thus far can lead to a different conclusion was given in the spirit of helping the project develop further.