Anyone pls tell me how to boot knoppix (gnoppix, morphix, etc) with cdshell. i can't make them work in my multi boot cd.

You must use mkisofs -J switch ! Did You use it ?

I use Nero to compile my images. o.O

I think what he wants is to be spoonfed the whole process of making boot floppies/images and loading the rest of the data on to the disc. It's a very horrible procedure that I have not found a way to automate and it has successfully eaten about a month of my time for troubleshooting and figuring out what the hell goes wrong after that.

To this day I can state I have successfully added:
Damn Small Linux 2.3RC1
FreeNAS 0.6 (ISO emulation)
IP Cop 1.4.10 (ISO emulation)
P.H.L.A.K 0.2-1 (0.3 littleboy gives me really weird desktop problems)
R.I.P. Linux 14.9 (ISO emulation)
SLAX Linux 5.0.8 Standard Edition

Right now I'm working on Deep Water but I'm not having any luck. It seems making a 16MB boot floppy is out of the question. I'm thinking of dropping this to add KNOPPIX but my problem with it is that it's so big that it might really be a burden.

@kreator

CD Shell support boot loader isolinux and Knoppix use boot loader isolinux.

Edit a CD Shell menu *.scn and load:
isolinux 'kernel file name' 'kernel settings'.

Set kernel file, initrd file and BOOT_IMAGE file.
Change examples, use your file names and your path.

Knoppix

PHLAK v0.3

Use file system
-ISO9660 and Joliet
-ISO9660 and Rock Ridge
-ISO9660, Joliet and Rock Ridge

I'm using file system ISO9660:1999 and Rock Ridge.

Uhmmm....cdob those settings worry me a lot. I don't use ISOLINUX to boot my linux. Instead I forge a boot image from scratch(4MB Floppy) along with LDLINUX.SYS and changing ISOLINUX.CFG to SYSLINUX.CFG. The changes I make to that file bring me to trial and error. PHLAK 0.3 Littleboy is one that I've had the most problems with. It used to boot into the GUI and immediately shut down. Adding Desktop=Fluxbox seemed to fix this but the desktop doesn't load correctly. Is there any way of fixing this and preserving my boot method?

@Daemonforce

I've no idea fixing your boot solution.

You use a rather strange solution: cdshell and syslinux.
Syslinux and isolinux are from the same author.
http://syslinux.zytor.com/iso.php
syslinux: floppy boot
isolinux : CD boot

Peter's opinion: http://syslinux.zytor.com/faq.php#bootCDs
CD shell support chainloading isolinux.
Why do you ensist on a floppy image?

PHLAK 0.3 does boot and desktop does load correctly.

Correct.

I really don't like the idea of chainloading linux because then I run the risk of having ISOLINUX/BOOT/GRUB entries running rampant all over the drive root and quite possibly overwriting one another. My method is an attempt at avoiding this. I believe a true multiboot shouldn't be limited to a few linux distributions. But my method causes some problems all its own. Also I don't want to run diskemu on a huge ISO image because the kernel usually dies or the OS can't find its file system. If I create a boot image, the OS usually boots without a problem. It can locate the file system on hdc(the cd drive) and everything else loads fine. I use the boot image method simply because it's cleaner.

I know you probably don't understand that but when you have about 8 or 9 different kinds of linux where half of them may be sharing the same file system design, that can get quite messy. Strangely enough, I have yet find any severe problem from this method. The only open source operating systems that are giving me trouble with this are PHLAK and Deep Water. PHLAK loads to a bright white screen and some other theme while Deep Water just doesn't load at all. I guess emulating a 14MB boot image is out of the question when system.gz is 12MB. I can change my boot method for this one OS and maybe for PHLAK if it really becomes that big of a problem. I'll just limit your idea to these two since that's the end of my multiboot.

PHLAK 0.3 has been absolute hell. I can get 0.2-1 working without a problem but I'm attracted to the newer build simply because it's smaller and more effective. I could never get GRUB to work correctly so I just used the last preconstructed LILO and alter it for the new PHLAK. Doing this gets rid of the missing GRUB issue for me. However, I had to do a bit of troubleshooting because the file system wouldn't load the first few times and if it got to the GUI, it would immediately kick out and crash. NOW my problem is that the GUI and desktop DO load, but the settings are weird and the controls are very limited. I get a really light blue background with a Meta theme, no desktop shortcuts, there are no root consoles and the whole environment just sucks. I have no idea what could have gone wrong. =/

@Daemonforce

Yes, mixing different kinds of linux is a pain.

There are three most importand files each:
-kernel file
-initrd file
-BOOT_IMAGE file

I prefer a solution as near as possible to existing solutions.
That's using isolinux, moving files, renaming files and editing text files.
I dislike floppy images. I use floppy images as last possibility.

You prefer a different solution, that's pretty fine to me.

Do you like another challenge? Add SchilliX, a solaris live cd.

Just to clarify:
PHLAK 0.3 does load desktop and there are desktop shortcuts and root consoles.

I must be doing something wrong then. Can you give me an example of your sysli......Isolinux.cfg?
I'm sure there is at least ONE way of moving the boot information to floppy!

I use floppy images simply because I can. Hardware Engineers are removing floppy drives from their builds and that creates a problem for some people when they need to use the legacy device. I admit it's long overdue, but I need to port my stuff to an optical disc.

I'll look into adding PHLAK your way. It seems I may have to do that.

@Daemonforce

No I can't give you a Isolinux.cfg example, because there dosn't exist one at that boot DVD.

As said, cdshell support chainloading isolinux, that's cdshell load isolinux with given command line.
There exist a cdshell menu. I posted active PHLAK v0.3 part already.
Default PHLAK path and filenames are used.

Be aware:
don't mix kernel file, initrd file and BOOT_IMAGE file from different linux versions.
Filenames may be equal, but contents may be different.

By the way:
All my machines pocess a floppy drive still. There is even a single 5.25" drive active.

LOL - Do you still have working disks too?

@d4vr0s

having disks: sure. I like remembering some original pieces, e.g. Nels Anderson's Mah Jongg. My first high resolution game, EGA graphic card.

working: I don't know. Haven't used drive in many years.

This is even worse because you left out desktop=fluxbox. It allows PHLAK to boot. Without it I just get to the GUI then BAM! Shutdown process. =/

I'm starting to believe my problem may be coming from an inferior CDFS write. I am using ISO9660 and Joliet. Could it be that RockRidge could fix this? How do I burn an image with RockRidge?

I'm using 'mkisofs -r -iso-level 4' by default.

I crosschecked and tried file systems ISO9660 and Joliet.
Plack v0.3 does boot still, desktop appear and is usable.

Did you tried cdshell chainloading isolinux?

Does your downloaded phlak-03.iso MD5sum match?

Which media do you use? Try high quality media.
Do you burn a DVD greater 4 GB? Try include less data.

I'm going to grab PHLAK 0.3 and see if the problem is with the USB build. I rip PHLAK 0.3 Littleboy and rebuild it and I wind up with the same problem.

As for the master build, it used to be an overburned DVD. Now I finally have it refined just under 3GB.

I currently have a knoppix and an insert on my dvd... what i did to run both...

I made sure i hade one isolinux configuration (the one from insert)
I placed the kernel and initrd in isolinux dir.
I created a neat cdshell menu for knoppix that supports cheat codes and pops up with a nice picture...

on cdshell site is the example code the cheats... should be something like this..

set string = ""

Set textCursorX = 0
Set textCursorY = 6
Set
build_string:
getkey
if $lastKey == key[enter]; then goto done
set string = "$(string)$lastChar"
print c "$lastChar"
Set textCursorX = length($string)
Set textCursorY = 6
goto build_string
done:
Set textCursorX = 0
Set textCursorY = 7
print "The cheatcode is: $string"

[edit]

and i saw a question about a linux.cfg... cdob is right..... look at this



this is in a cd shell menu... its the standard knoppix isolinux.cfg.... but in cdshell.....

the only problem i seem to have is that mkisofs wont take more than 6 directory's. i've included 28 windows directory's.. 16x windows xp setup and 4 windows 2003 setup.. also 4 different winpe installations from dvd and 4 from sdl ramdisk winpe injected in a winimage file.

if i use the -r switch then it creates an rr_moved directory and symbolic links to /i386/asms/6000/mft/windows/asms/1/whatever and my windows installation don't work saying nothing left to copy

if i use the -D switch in combination with -r it fails to load txtsetup.sifs (why??)....

if i then force uppercase all setup files it still doesn't do poo!

whats wrong???

this is my current mkisofs

"mkisofs.exe" -iso-level 4 -force-uppercase -l -r -N -v -T -D -joliet-long -hide-list "d:\hide.txt" -duplicates-once -sort "D:\SORT.TGLS" -o "D:\WINUBCD.iso" -b "boot/loader.bin" -no-emul-boot -volid "WinUBCD" -A PEBUILDER/MKISOFS -boot-load-size 4 "D:\Xpins1"

can i drop the joliet extension???? no i can't.... can i drop the rock-ridge extension?? no!!
maybe someone knows an answer to this...

@cgroenheide

Cdshell respect ISO9660:1999. Case does matter. Don't uppercase cdshell files.

Uppercase needed files at hard disk first, most likely some windows files.

Drop Joliet, but keep Rock Ridge.

Remember:
Setupldr.bin access first 4 GB only. Sort windows boot files below 4 GB limit.

Try

I used Joliet i think because pebuilder-mkisofs standard uses it, and as i recall i constantly was playing with the switches.. adding. removing.. and i just ran back to what was provided in the beginning..

thanks about the information on setupldr, but in uppercasing i meant the i386 directories..

i recalled hearing that microsoft doesn't support lowercase files in its initial loading environment (setupldr/i386?)

about version omitting, i have used the microsoft bootloader alot and its sensitive to the version number... so it could be removed with reanimatologo's ntboot.bin.. but i recall it being important to UltimatebootCD. checking this out!

so the problem is ofcourse time... why not just use 2 dvd's?? from 2 come 3 and from 3 come 5 dvd's.. that's why!

i think the best extension to cdshell would be a compiler with encryption so loader.bin would load loader.img or so and decrypt its content, including scripts, images, bootloaders, etc.. even up to the floppy disk images.
but then all modules would have to be adapted to load virtual offset and not look in iso 9660 table.

btw.. i'm gonna try ditching the joliet, see what nags come my way.. i have almost 700mb on filestables extension and translation only!!!

what i was thinking to resolve the filetable translation size issue was to make a hiden boot.iso and stuffing the linux images there, but it doesn't support loading of the images since isolinux gets totally screwed on the hidden iso. is there maybe another way to include a linux image and leave out the option of rockridge extension on the rest of the image?? no huh!!

Maybe something like putting insert and knoppix on floppy images?? in combination of syslinux?? i guess that would work untill kernel starts using its own access routines?? Well.. i'll try your advice and let my other thoughts sleep for a while since this community is expanding.. New meat means new sollutions to mutual problems

Bart dosn't use Joliet
You may use Joliet at own risk, BartPE does work at certain circumstances.

Yes, setupldr.bin access uppercased ISO9660 files only.

UltimatebootCD is not sensitive to version number, but to upper case.

Good luck

Thanks d00d.. Usefull info... I checked to see in what way it is relevant to ubcd to include version omitting. But it doesn't matter since i haven't found a patched bootloader for 2003 server. So i had to keep that one....

Btw... I misspelled your name in my splash screen thanks..
That won't happen again!

Man, so many people who i have to thank for bringing such a fine compilation of administration tools... I used to carry large boxes stacked fully with cd's and dvd's.. no more.. everything i need at my fingertips! the only thing i need now is a software/virus update script to either update whilst running the dvd or whilst compilinh it.

I forgot to thank highlander, paraglider, and so many i can't even recall but who's posts were so darn helpfull in setting up my tools in a way they function rapidly, safe and stabile....