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diff --git a/contrib/syslinux-4.02/doc/syslinux.txt b/contrib/syslinux-4.02/doc/syslinux.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..51d1332 --- /dev/null +++ b/contrib/syslinux-4.02/doc/syslinux.txt @@ -0,0 +1,788 @@ + The Syslinux Project + + A suite of bootloaders for Linux + + Copyright 1994-2010 H. Peter Anvin and contributors + +This program is provided under the terms of the GNU General Public +License, version 2 or, at your option, any later version. There is no +warranty, neither expressed nor implied, to the function of this +program. Please see the included file COPYING for details. + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + Syslinux now has a home page at http://syslinux.zytor.com/ + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The Syslinux suite contains the following boot loaders +("derivatives"), for their respective boot media: + + SYSLINUX - MS-DOS/Windows FAT filesystem + PXELINUX - PXE network booting + ISOLINUX - ISO9660 CD-ROM + EXTLINUX - Linux ext2/ext3 filesystem + +For historical reasons, some of the sections in this document applies +to the FAT loader (SYSLINUX) only; see pxelinux.txt, isolinux.txt and +extlinux.txt for what differs in these versions. The all-caps term +"SYSLINUX" generally refers to the FAT loader, whereas "Syslinux" +refers to the project as a whole. + +Help with cleaning up the docs would be greatly appreciated. + + + ++++ Options ++++ + +These are the options common to all versions of Syslinux: + + -s Safe, slow, stupid; uses simpler code that boots better + -f Force installing + -r Raid mode. If boot fails, tell the BIOS to boot the next + device in the boot sequence (usually the next hard disk) + instead of stopping with an error message. + This is useful for RAID-1 booting. + +These are only in the Windows version: + + -m Mbr; install a bootable MBR sector to the beginning of the + drive. + -a Active; marks the partition used active (=bootable) + + + ++++ CREATING A BOOTABLE LINUX FLOPPY +++ + +In order to create a bootable Linux floppy using SYSLINUX, prepare a +normal MS-DOS formatted floppy. Copy one or more Linux kernel files to +it, then execute the DOS command: + + syslinux [-sfrma][-d directory] a: [bootsecfile] + +(or whichever drive letter is appropriate; the [] meaning optional.) + +Use "syslinux.com" (in the dos subdirectory of the distribution) for +plain DOS (MS-DOS, DR-DOS, PC-DOS, FreeDOS...) or Win9x/ME. + +Use "syslinux.exe" (in the win32 subdirectory of the distribution) for +WinNT/2000/XP. + +Under Linux, execute the command: + + syslinux [-sfr][-d directory][-o offset] /dev/fd0 + +(or, again, whichever device is the correct one.) + +This will alter the boot sector on the disk and copy a file named +LDLINUX.SYS into its root directory (or a subdirectory, if the -d +option is specified.) + +The -s option, if given, will install a "safe, slow and stupid" +version of SYSLINUX. This version may work on some very buggy BIOSes +on which SYSLINUX would otherwise fail. If you find a machine on +which the -s option is required to make it boot reliably, please send +as much info about your machine as you can, and include the failure +mode. + +The -o option is used with a disk image file and specifies the byte +offset of the filesystem image in the file. + +For the DOS and Windows installers, the -m and -a options can be used +on hard drives to write a Master Boot Record (MBR), and to mark the +specific partition active. + +If the Shift or Alt keys are held down during boot, or the Caps or Scroll +locks are set, Syslinux will display a LILO-style "boot:" prompt. The +user can then type a kernel file name followed by any kernel parameters. +The Syslinux loader does not need to know about the kernel file in +advance; all that is required is that it is a file located in the root +directory on the disk. + +There are two versions of the Linux installer; one in the "mtools" +directory which requires no special privilege (other than write +permission to the device where you are installing) but requires the +mtools program suite to be available, and one in the "unix" directory +which requires root privilege. + + + ++++ CONFIGURATION FILE ++++ + +All the configurable defaults in SYSLINUX can be changed by putting a +file called "syslinux.cfg" in the root directory of the boot disk. + +This is a text file in either UNIX or DOS format, containing one or +more of the following items (case is insensitive for keywords; upper +case is used here to indicate that a word should be typed verbatim): + +Starting with version 3.35, the configuration file can also be in +either the /boot/syslinux or /syslinux directories (searched in that +order.) If that is the case, then all filenames are assumed to be +relative to that same directory, unless preceded with a slash or +backslash. + +All options here applies to PXELINUX, ISOLINUX and EXTLINUX as well as +SYSLINUX unless otherwise noted. See the respective .txt files. + +# comment + A comment line. The whitespace after the hash mark is mandatory. + +INCLUDE filename + Inserts the contents of another file at this point in the + configuration file. Files can currently be nested up to 16 + levels deep, but it is not guaranteed that more than 8 levels + will be supported in the future. + +DEFAULT kernel options... + Sets the default command line. If Syslinux boots automatically, + it will act just as if the entries after DEFAULT had been typed + in at the "boot:" prompt. + + If no configuration file is present, or no DEFAULT entry is + present in the config file, an error message is displayed and + the boot: prompt is shown. + +UI module options... + Selects a specific user interface module (typically menu.c32 + or vesamenu.c32). The command-line interface treats this as a + directive that overrides the DEFAULT and PROMPT directives. + +APPEND options... + Add one or more options to the kernel command line. These are + added both for automatic and manual boots. The options are + added at the very beginning of the kernel command line, + usually permitting explicitly entered kernel options to override + them. This is the equivalent of the LILO "append" option. + +IPAPPEND flag_val [PXELINUX only] + The IPAPPEND option is available only on PXELINUX. The + flag_val is an OR of the following options: + + 1: indicates that an option of the following format + should be generated and added to the kernel command line: + + ip=<client-ip>:<boot-server-ip>:<gw-ip>:<netmask> + + ... based on the input from the DHCP/BOOTP or PXE boot server. + + NOTE: The use of this option is no substitute for running a + DHCP client in the booted system. Without regular renewals, + the lease acquired by the PXE BIOS will expire, making the + IP address available for reuse by the DHCP server. + + 2: indicates that an option of the following format + should be generated and added to the kernel command line: + + BOOTIF=<hardware-address-of-boot-interface> + + ... in dash-separated hexadecimal with leading hardware type + (same as for the configuration file; see pxelinux.txt.) + + This allows an initrd program to determine from which + interface the system booted. + + 4: indicates that an option of the following format + should be generated and added to the kernel command line: + + SYSUUID=<system uuid> + + ... in lower case hexadecimal in the format normally used for + UUIDs (same as for the configuration file; see pxelinux.txt.) + +LABEL label + KERNEL image + APPEND options... + IPAPPEND flag_val [PXELINUX only] + Indicates that if "label" is entered as the kernel to boot, + Syslinux should instead boot "image", and the specified APPEND + and IPAPPEND options should be used instead of the ones + specified in the global section of the file (before the first + LABEL command.) The default for "image" is the same as + "label", and if no APPEND is given the default is to use the + global entry (if any). + + Starting with version 3.62, the number of LABEL statements is + virtually unlimited. + + Note that LILO uses the syntax: + image = mykernel + label = mylabel + append = "myoptions" + + ... whereas Syslinux uses the syntax: + label mylabel + kernel mykernel + append myoptions + + Note: The "kernel" doesn't have to be a Linux kernel; it can + be a boot sector or a COMBOOT file (see below.) + + Since version 3.32 label names are no longer mangled into DOS + format (for SYSLINUX.) + + The following commands are available after a LABEL statement: + + LINUX image - Linux kernel image (default) + BOOT image - Bootstrap program (.bs, .bin) + BSS image - BSS image (.bss) + PXE image - PXE Network Bootstrap Program (.0) + FDIMAGE image - Floppy disk image (.img) + COMBOOT image - COMBOOT program (.com, .cbt) + COM32 image - COM32 program (.c32) + CONFIG image - New configuration file + Using one of these keywords instead of KERNEL forces the + filetype, regardless of the filename. + + CONFIG means restart the boot loader using a different + configuration file. + + APPEND - + Append nothing. APPEND with a single hyphen as argument in a + LABEL section can be used to override a global APPEND. + + LOCALBOOT type [ISOLINUX, PXELINUX] + On PXELINUX, specifying "LOCALBOOT 0" instead of a "KERNEL" + option means invoking this particular label will cause a local + disk boot instead of booting a kernel. + + The argument 0 means perform a normal boot. The argument 4 + will perform a local boot with the Universal Network Driver + Interface (UNDI) driver still resident in memory. Finally, + the argument 5 will perform a local boot with the entire PXE + stack, including the UNDI driver, still resident in memory. + All other values are undefined. If you don't know what the + UNDI or PXE stacks are, don't worry -- you don't want them, + just specify 0. + + On ISOLINUX, the "type" specifies the local drive number to + boot from; 0x00 is the primary floppy drive and 0x80 is the + primary hard drive. The special value -1 causes ISOLINUX to + report failure to the BIOS, which, on recent BIOSes, should + mean that the next boot device in the boot sequence should be + activated. + + INITRD initrd_file + Starting with version 3.71, an initrd can be specified in a + separate statement (INITRD) instead of as part of the APPEND + statement; this functionally appends "initrd=initrd_file" to + the kernel command line. + + It supports multiple filenames separated by commas. + This is mostly useful for initramfs, which can be composed of + multiple separate cpio or cpio.gz archives. + Note: all files except the last one are zero-padded to a + 4K page boundary. This should not affect initramfs. + +IMPLICIT flag_val + If flag_val is 0, do not load a kernel image unless it has been + explicitly named in a LABEL statement. The default is 1. + +ALLOWOPTIONS flag_val + If flag_val is 0, the user is not allowed to specify any + arguments on the kernel command line. The only options + recognized are those specified in an APPEND statement. The + default is 1. + +TIMEOUT timeout + Indicates how long to wait at the boot: prompt until booting + automatically, in units of 1/10 s. The timeout is cancelled as + soon as the user types anything on the keyboard, the assumption + being that the user will complete the command line already + begun. A timeout of zero will disable the timeout completely, + this is also the default. + +TOTALTIMEOUT timeout + Indicates how long to wait until booting automatically, in + units of 1/10 s. This timeout is *not* cancelled by user + input, and can thus be used to deal with serial port glitches + or "the user walked away" type situations. A timeout of zero + will disable the timeout completely, this is also the default. + + Both TIMEOUT and TOTALTIMEOUT can be used together, for + example: + + # Wait 5 seconds unless the user types something, but + # always boot after 15 minutes. + TIMEOUT 50 + TOTALTIMEOUT 9000 + +ONTIMEOUT kernel options... + Sets the command line invoked on a timeout. Normally this is + the same thing as invoked by "DEFAULT". If this is specified, + then "DEFAULT" is used only if the user presses <Enter> to + boot. + +ONERROR kernel options... + If a kernel image is not found (either due to it not existing, + or because IMPLICIT is set), run the specified command. The + faulty command line is appended to the specified options, so + if the ONERROR directive reads as: + + ONERROR xyzzy plugh + + ... and the command line as entered by the user is: + + foo bar baz + + ... Syslinux will execute the following as if entered by the + user: + + xyzzy plugh foo bar baz + +SERIAL port [[baudrate] flowcontrol] + Enables a serial port to act as the console. "port" is a + number (0 = /dev/ttyS0 = COM1, etc.) or an I/O port address + (e.g. 0x3F8); if "baudrate" is omitted, the baud rate defaults + to 9600 bps. The serial parameters are hardcoded to be 8 + bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. + + "flowcontrol" is a combination of the following bits: + 0x001 - Assert DTR + 0x002 - Assert RTS + 0x008 - Enable interrupts + 0x010 - Wait for CTS assertion + 0x020 - Wait for DSR assertion + 0x040 - Wait for RI assertion + 0x080 - Wait for DCD assertion + 0x100 - Ignore input unless CTS asserted + 0x200 - Ignore input unless DSR asserted + 0x400 - Ignore input unless RI asserted + 0x800 - Ignore input unless DCD asserted + + All other bits are reserved. + + Typical values are: + + 0 - No flow control (default) + 0x303 - Null modem cable detect + 0x013 - RTS/CTS flow control + 0x813 - RTS/CTS flow control, modem input + 0x023 - DTR/DSR flow control + 0x083 - DTR/DCD flow control + + For the SERIAL directive to be guaranteed to work properly, it + should be the first directive in the configuration file. + + NOTE: "port" values from 0 to 3 means the first four serial + ports detected by the BIOS. They may or may not correspond to + the legacy port values 0x3F8, 0x2F8, 0x3E8, 0x2E8. + + Enabling interrupts (setting the 0x008 bit) may give better + responsiveness without setting the NOHALT option, but could + potentially cause problems with buggy BIOSes. + +NOHALT flag_val + If flag_val is 1, don't halt the processor while idle. + Halting the processor while idle significantly reduces the + power consumption, but can cause poor responsiveness to the + serial console, especially when using scripts to drive the + serial console, as opposed to human interaction. + +CONSOLE flag_val + If flag_val is 0, disable output to the normal video console. + If flag_val is 1, enable output to the video console (this is + the default.) + + Some BIOSes try to forward this to the serial console and + sometimes make a total mess thereof, so this option lets you + disable the video console on these systems. + +FONT filename + Load a font in .psf format before displaying any output + (except the copyright line, which is output as ldlinux.sys + itself is loaded.) Syslinux only loads the font onto the + video card; if the .psf file contains a Unicode table it is + ignored. This only works on EGA and VGA cards; hopefully it + should do nothing on others. + +KBDMAP keymap + Install a simple keyboard map. The keyboard remapper used is + *very* simplistic (it simply remaps the keycodes received from + the BIOS, which means that only the key combinations relevant + in the default layout -- usually U.S. English -- can be + mapped) but should at least help people with AZERTY keyboard + layout and the locations of = and , (two special characters + used heavily on the Linux kernel command line.) + + The included program keytab-lilo.pl from the LILO distribution + can be used to create such keymaps. The file keytab-lilo.txt + contains the documentation for this program. + +DISPLAY filename + Displays the indicated file on the screen at boot time (before + the boot: prompt, if displayed). Please see the section below + on DISPLAY files. + + NOTE: If the file is missing, this option is simply ignored. + +SAY message + Prints the message on the screen. + +PROMPT flag_val + If flag_val is 0, display the boot: prompt only if the Shift or Alt + key is pressed, or Caps Lock or Scroll lock is set (this is the + default). If flag_val is 1, always display the boot: prompt. + +NOESCAPE flag_val + If flag_val is set to 1, ignore the Shift/Alt/Caps Lock/Scroll + Lock escapes. Use this (together with PROMPT 0) to force the + default boot alternative. + +NOCOMPLETE flag_val + If flag_val is set to 1, the Tab key does not display labels + at the boot: prompt. + +F1 filename +F2 filename + ...etc... +F9 filename +F10 filename +F11 filename +F12 filename + Displays the indicated file on the screen when a function key is + pressed at the boot: prompt. This can be used to implement + pre-boot online help (presumably for the kernel command line + options.) Please see the section below on DISPLAY files. + + When using the serial console, press <Ctrl-F><digit> to get to + the help screens, e.g. <Ctrl-F><2> to get to the F2 screen. + For F10-F12, hit <Ctrl-F><A>, <Ctrl-F>B, <Ctrl-F>C. For + compatibility with earlier versions, F10 can also be entered as + <Ctrl-F>0. + +Blank lines are ignored. + +Note that the configuration file is not completely decoded. Syntax +different from the one described above may still work correctly in this +version of Syslinux, but may break in a future one. + + + ++++ DISPLAY FILE FORMAT ++++ + +DISPLAY and function-key help files are text files in either DOS or UNIX +format (with or without <CR>). In addition, the following special codes +are interpreted: + +<FF> <FF> = <Ctrl-L> = ASCII 12 + Clear the screen, home the cursor. Note that the screen is + filled with the current display color. + +<SI><bg><fg> <SI> = <Ctrl-O> = ASCII 15 + Set the display colors to the specified background and + foreground colors, where <bg> and <fg> are hex digits, + corresponding to the standard PC display attributes: + + 0 = black 8 = dark grey + 1 = dark blue 9 = bright blue + 2 = dark green a = bright green + 3 = dark cyan b = bright cyan + 4 = dark red c = bright red + 5 = dark purple d = bright purple + 6 = brown e = yellow + 7 = light grey f = white + + Picking a bright color (8-f) for the background results in the + corresponding dark color (0-7), with the foreground flashing. + + Colors are not visible over the serial console. + +<CAN>filename<newline> <CAN> = <Ctrl-X> = ASCII 24 + If a VGA display is present, enter graphics mode and display + the graphic included in the specified file. The file format + is an ad hoc format called LSS16; the included Perl program + "ppmtolss16" can be used to produce these images. This Perl + program also includes the file format specification. + + The image is displayed in 640x480 16-color mode. Once in + graphics mode, the display attributes (set by <SI> code + sequences) work slightly differently: the background color is + ignored, and the foreground colors are the 16 colors specified + in the image file. For that reason, ppmtolss16 allows you to + specify that certain colors should be assigned to specific + color indicies. + + Color indicies 0 and 7, in particular, should be chosen with + care: 0 is the background color, and 7 is the color used for + the text printed by Syslinux itself. + +<EM> <EM> = <Ctrl-Y> = ASCII 25 + If we are currently in graphics mode, return to text mode. + +<DLE>..<ETB> <Ctrl-P>..<Ctrl-W> = ASCII 16-23 + These codes can be used to select which modes to print a + certain part of the message file in. Each of these control + characters select a specific set of modes (text screen, + graphics screen, serial port) for which the output is actually + displayed: + + Character Text Graph Serial + ------------------------------------------------------ + <DLE> = <Ctrl-P> = ASCII 16 No No No + <DC1> = <Ctrl-Q> = ASCII 17 Yes No No + <DC2> = <Ctrl-R> = ASCII 18 No Yes No + <DC3> = <Ctrl-S> = ASCII 19 Yes Yes No + <DC4> = <Ctrl-T> = ASCII 20 No No Yes + <NAK> = <Ctrl-U> = ASCII 21 Yes No Yes + <SYN> = <Ctrl-V> = ASCII 22 No Yes Yes + <ETB> = <Ctrl-W> = ASCII 23 Yes Yes Yes + + For example: + + <DC1>Text mode<DC2>Graphics mode<DC4>Serial port<ETB> + + ... will actually print out which mode the console is in! + +<SUB> <SUB> = <Ctrl-Z> = ASCII 26 + End of file (DOS convention). + +<BEL> <BEL> = <Ctrl-G> = ASCII 7 + Beep the speaker. + + + ++++ COMMAND LINE KEYSTROKES ++++ + +The command line prompt supports the following keystrokes: + +<Enter> boot specified command line +<BackSpace> erase one character +<Ctrl-U> erase the whole line +<Ctrl-V> display the current Syslinux version +<Ctrl-W> erase one word +<Ctrl-X> force text mode +<Tab> list matching labels +<F1>..<F12> help screens (if configured) +<Ctrl-F><digit> equivalent to F1..F10 +<Ctrl-C> interrupt boot in progress +<Esc> interrupt boot in progress +<Ctrl-N> display network information (PXELINUX only) + + + ++++ COMBOOT IMAGES AND OTHER OPERATING SYSTEMS ++++ + +This version of Syslinux supports chain loading of other operating +systems (such as MS-DOS and its derivatives, including Windows 95/98), +as well as COMBOOT-style standalone executables (a subset of DOS .COM +files; see separate section below.) + +Chain loading requires the boot sector of the foreign operating system +to be stored in a file in the root directory of the filesystem. +Because neither Linux kernels, boot sector images, nor COMBOOT files +have reliable magic numbers, Syslinux will look at the file extension. +The following extensions are recognized (case insensitive): + + none or other Linux kernel image + .0 PXE bootstrap program (NBP) [PXELINUX only] + .bin "CD boot sector" [ISOLINUX only] + .bs Boot sector [SYSLINUX only] + .bss Boot sector, DOS superblock will be patched in [SYSLINUX only] + .c32 COM32 image (32-bit COMBOOT) + .cbt COMBOOT image (not runnable from DOS) + .com COMBOOT image (runnable from DOS) + .img Disk image [ISOLINUX only] + +For filenames given on the command line, Syslinux will search for the +file by adding extensions in the order listed above if the plain +filename is not found. Filenames in KERNEL statements must be fully +qualified. + +If this is specified with one of the keywords LINUX, BOOT, BSS, +FDIMAGE, COMBOOT, COM32, or CONFIG instead of KERNEL, the filetype is +considered to be the one specified regardless of the filename. + + + ++++ BOOTING DOS (OR OTHER SIMILAR OPERATING SYSTEMS) ++++ + +This section applies to SYSLINUX only, not to PXELINUX or ISOLINUX. +See isolinux.txt for an equivalent procedure for ISOLINUX. + +This is the recommended procedure for creating a SYSLINUX disk that +can boot either DOS or Linux. This example assumes the drive is A: in +DOS and /dev/fd0 in Linux; for other drives, substitute the +appropriate drive designator. + + ---- Linux procedure ---- + +1. Make a DOS bootable disk. This can be done either by specifying + the /s option when formatting the disk in DOS, or by running the + DOS command SYS (this can be done under DOSEMU if DOSEMU has + direct device access to the relevant drive): + + format a: /s + or + sys a: + +2. Boot Linux. Copy the DOS boot sector from the disk into a file: + + dd if=/dev/fd0 of=dos.bss bs=512 count=1 + +3. Run SYSLINUX on the disk: + + syslinux /dev/fd0 + +4. Mount the disk and copy the DOS boot sector file to it. The file + *must* have extension .bss: + + mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /mnt + cp dos.bss /mnt + +5. Copy the Linux kernel image(s), initrd(s), etc to the disk, and + create/edit syslinux.cfg and help files if desired: + + cp vmlinux /mnt + cp initrd.gz /mnt + +6. Unmount the disk (if applicable.) + + umount /mnt + + ---- DOS/Windows procedure ---- + +To make this installation in DOS only, you need the utility copybs.com +(included with Syslinux) as well as the syslinux.com installer. If +you are on an WinNT-based system (WinNT, Win2k, WinXP or later), use +syslinux.exe instead. + +1. Make a DOS bootable disk. This can be done either by specifying + the /s option when formatting the disk in DOS, or by running the + DOS command SYS: + + format a: /s + or + sys a: + +2. Copy the DOS boot sector from the disk into a file. The file + *must* have extension .bss: + + copybs a: a:dos.bss + +3. Run SYSLINUX on the disk: + + syslinux a: + +4. Copy the Linux kernel image(s), initrd(s), etc to the disk, and + create/edit syslinux.cfg and help files if desired: + + copy vmlinux a: + copy initrd.gz a: + + + ++++ COMBOOT EXECUTABLES ++++ + +Syslinux supports simple standalone programs, using a file format +similar to DOS ".com" files. A 32-bit version, called COM32, is also +provided. A simple API provides access to a limited set of filesystem +and console functions. + +See the file comboot.txt for more information on COMBOOT and COM32 +programs. + + + ++++ NOVICE PROTECTION ++++ + +Syslinux will attempt to detect booting on a machine with too little +memory, which means the Linux boot sequence cannot complete. If so, a +message is displayed and the boot sequence aborted. Holding down the +Ctrl key while booting disables this feature. + +Any file that SYSLINUX uses can be marked hidden, system or readonly +if so is convenient; SYSLINUX ignores all file attributes. The +SYSLINUX installed automatically sets the readonly/hidden/system +attributes on LDLINUX.SYS. + + + ++++ NOTES ON BOOTABLE CD-ROMS ++++ + +SYSLINUX can be used to create bootdisk images for El +Torito-compatible bootable CD-ROMs. However, it appears that many +BIOSes are very buggy when it comes to booting CD-ROMs. Some users +have reported that the following steps are helpful in making a CD-ROM +that is bootable on the largest possible number of machines: + + a) Use the -s (safe, slow and stupid) option to SYSLINUX; + b) Put the boot image as close to the beginning of the + ISO 9660 filesystem as possible. + +A CD-ROM is so much faster than a floppy that the -s option shouldn't +matter from a speed perspective. + +Of course, you probably want to use ISOLINUX instead. See isolinux.txt. + + + ++++ BOOTING FROM A FAT FILESYSTEM PARTITION ON A HARD DISK ++++ + +SYSLINUX can boot from a FAT filesystem partition on a hard disk +(including FAT32). The installation procedure is identical to the +procedure for installing it on a floppy, and should work under either +DOS or Linux. To boot from a partition, SYSLINUX needs to be launched +from a Master Boot Record or another boot loader, just like DOS itself +would. + +Under DOS, you can install a standard simple MBR on the primary hard +disk by running the command: + + FDISK /MBR + +Then use the FDISK command to mark the appropriate partition active. + +A simple MBR, roughly on par with the one installed by DOS (but +unencumbered), is included in the SYSLINUX distribution. To install +it under Linux, simply type: + + cat mbr.bin > /dev/XXX + +... where /dev/XXX is the device you wish to install it on. + +Under DOS or Win32, you can install the SYSLINUX MBR with the -m +option to the SYSLINUX installer, and use the -a option to mark the +current partition active: + + syslinux -ma c: + +Note that this will also install SYSLINUX on the specified partition. + + + ++++ HARDWARE INFORMATION +++ + +I have started to maintain a web page of hardware with known +problems. There are, unfortunately, lots of broken hardware out +there; especially early PXE stacks (for PXELINUX) have lots of +problems. + +A list of problems, and workarounds (if known), is maintained at: + + http://syslinux.zytor.com/hardware.php + + + ++++ BOOT LOADER IDS USED ++++ + +The Linux boot protocol supports a "boot loader ID", a single byte +where the upper nybble specifies a boot loader family (3 = Syslinux) +and the lower nybble is version or, in the case of Syslinux, media: + + 0x31 (49) = SYSLINUX + 0x32 (50) = PXELINUX + 0x33 (51) = ISOLINUX + 0x34 (52) = EXTLINUX + +In recent versions of Linux, this ID is available as +/proc/sys/kernel/bootloader_type. + + + ++++ BUG REPORTS ++++ + +I would appreciate hearing of any problems you have with Syslinux. I +would also like to hear from you if you have successfully used Syslinux, +*especially* if you are using it for a distribution. + +If you are reporting problems, please include all possible information +about your system and your BIOS; the vast majority of all problems +reported turn out to be BIOS or hardware bugs, and I need as much +information as possible in order to diagnose the problems. + +There is a mailing list for discussion among Syslinux users and for +announcements of new and test versions. To join, or to browse the +archive, go to: + + http://www.zytor.com/mailman/listinfo/syslinux + +Please DO NOT send HTML messages or attachments to the mailing list +(including multipart/alternative or similar.) All such messages will +be bounced. |