I'd like to start this post off by saying, Hello forum!

I am having a rather small problem with my rather complex setup. This is not aided by the fact that my desktop's copy of windows 7 has rampant system file corruption (already).

I have a 500GB portable harddrive which I want to use as an installation source for many different operating systems all at the same time. I have divided it into the following partitons:


I have these partitioned for each operating system as I hope to be able to deploy the operating systems from this drive. The rest of the space is unpartitioned so I can add more OS's later (when I find a reliable way of booting and installing the ones I have currently).

I am currently using GRUB Legacy on sdb5 as a bootloader.
Maintenance partition contains a fully installed copy of OpenSuSE 11.2 and is used to make new partitions, prep content, and configure GRUB.

I have managed to boot into the Maintenance partition without any trouble (currently writing to all of you on it). I have also managed to load up the Fedora 13 x86 installer with little trouble (though I hope to be able to find the configuration file that controls the default install source so I'm not asked to pick between the choices every time).

Understanding full well that GRUB Legacy can not boot BartPE by itself, I installed MEMDISK to that partition so that GRUB could hand off control to MEMDISK and MEMDISK could go do it's own thing. This has proved a mixed bag as to whether it has been able to progress me further or not. On one hand I can't get GRUB to do anything with that partition (doesn't like .bin files) so GRUB will just sit there... MEMDISK can load setupldr.bin, but it hangs on "Loading..............." with a bunch of other output above it.

OpenSuSE 11.3 comes out in 2 days with GRUB2 support, which if I'm not mistaken, can boot from essentially anything you throw at it. I can wait until then if absolutely necessary, though if we can work this out on GRUB Legacy just in case GRUB2 has major bugs and requires me to switch back, that would be fantastic. I will post all my other content and such below so you can see where I am at.

menu.lst


Perhaps SYSLINUX can manage what I am looking for. Would anybody know how to configure it the way it needs to be in order to work? Let me know if you need more info. I'm going to try and smuggle the portable hard drive into work so I have it handy if you guys need more information.

Hello LostFate, welcome.

I guess you are making it at the same time really more complex than needed and too simple to actually work.

However it is pretty much pointless to "boot BartPE through memdisk" unless you use a Windows driver in the PE hooking the memdisk drive.

Once you have managed (IF you manage it) to load BartPE, this does NOT mean that an XP install will work (please read as "it won't work so simply").

What do you mean by:

• BartPE/XP Home
• BartPE/XP Pro x86
• BartPE/XP Pro x64

Are you planning to use the BartPE to install various version of XP? Then you need NOT separate partitions (actuallly you don't even need them for "plain" SETUPLDR.BIN started install), in case you can use a "replacement" for WINNT32.EXE:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?...ic=7721&hl=

If I were you I would:
1) read about grub4dos
2) use it (chainloading grub.exe as linux kernel from GRUB legacy or simply replacing GRUB legacy with it)
3) learn about the different methods for having XP install from USB media
4) learn about different methods to boot a PE 1.x, including the newish Firadisk and Winvblock drivers (WinVblock can hook memdisk drives)
5) overall start with a step by step approach - (learn to walk before starting to run)

1) & 2):
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showforum=66
3):
http://www.msfn.org/board/forum/157-instal...ndows-from-usb/
4)
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=23924
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showforum=94


5) Take some time....

jaclaz

Sorry, and may be I haven't seen the real question, but:
- GRUB Legacy can 'chainload' from any partition (the good message)
- it is not so easy, to boot Bart-PE directly from a logical drive (see http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=17144; the bad mesage)

And yes, GRUB2 supports ISO-mapping (like GRUB4DOS does too), but I'm not sure if this helps for an WIN-installation? After the reboot during installation your mapped ISO will has gone ...

Greetings, FM_81

I'd really rather avoid GRUB4DOS (I'm not going to get into it but from a moral stand point I'd really just rather have a non-DOS affiliated bootloader) so I'm rather excited about GRUB2 being included in the next OpenSuSE release. I realize I am biting off way to much and I'm not exactly sure where to start. As i won't be using the PE for anything other than deploying the OS i figured I would setup the 3 of them and configure them to automatically kick me into the installation when they finished booting. I wouldn't mind installing using a different approach but most everything is setup using GUIs that format the whole drive and PEs seem to be the most widespread way to do it that I've seen.

During the restart it shouldn't be a problem, or at least i wouldn't think it would. Installation files have been copied to the destination hard drive by that point.

Don't be confused about GRUB4DOS name - you can start it from DOS - but you must not. It can also work as standalone-loader ...

You don't have to wait. Other distros are using it yet! But I'm not sure, if it is possible to map a NON-LINUX-ISO with GRUB2? And if it can be mapped - can it also be started correct?

Greetings, FM_81

Moral standpoint?

DOS affiliated?

What the HECK are you talking about?

grub4dos is GNU licensed, freware and Open Source, as it is Legacy GRUB, it is written (also) by some of the guys that wrote/are writing GRUB2.

It's just a name, it's simply the missing evolution of GRUB legacy, or if you prefere a fork with additional functions.

Obviously you are perfectly free to choose to not use grub4dos and use a more complex workaround (that may include Syslinux/Memdisk - that I hope it is at least "kosher" for you) but doing so for NON existing "moral reasons" on something you clearly have not even taken the time to read the license for is, besides crazy, completely void of any basis.

Also take into account that from your "moral stand-point" you are not-so-indirectly saying that - in answering your question - I suggested you something that is somehow morally reproachable! (which translates in doubting my moral integrity)

As well, you are perfectly free to re-invent both the wheel and hot water, good luck with it, but remember that your new wheel should be rounder and your new hot water should be hotter in order to justify the additional effort.


jaclaz

I had no desire to offend. Basically I just do not care for GRUB4DOS... it doesn't help at all that GRUB4DOS and GRUB Legacy are frequently just called GRUB all over the internet thus causing me a ridiculous amount wasted time looking at pages which don't apply to what I am looking for. I would much rather stick to the official fork than deviate from it.

I am doing this project for several reasons:
1) Gain knowledge of how boot loaders work.
2) Gain an appreciation for GRUB and the work the team has done.
3) To create a super simple way of deploying OS's without having to burn 3 million CDs... I am terrible at keeping track of disks.

As this is as much a learning experience as it is a practical thing, I'd like to make a it a challenge for myself (which it has proved to be) to keep my interest in it and to learn as much as possible. My netbook died so I'll have to wait till i get home to try modifying my extended partition that it might boot a BartPE.

Honestly, I am a huge Linux fan and not so much so for Microsoft. I use Microsoft for games and that it. As Microsoft is DOS based and Linux is Unix based, I would much rather stick to Unix implementations of various software (at least as much so as possible).

So I apologize and I'll try out your suggestions when i get home.

I suspect the confusion with the GRUB4DOS name is because the creators have/had the same impression of Windows as you. Windows hasn't been DOS based in a decade.

Would it make it easier for you to accept if you think of it as GRUB4WIN?

Not particularly... I can work my way around a command line just fine. Windows is the one i have a problem with. Currently, I am desperately trying to restore my desktop to it's former glory so I will have an alarm clock for work, so i can work on getting this PE to boot properly, so I can kick back and play some games, and just because I really hate typing on this netbook... Alas Windows is failing me horribly though i suspect my hardware to be the root of that particular problem... thus leading windows to corruption and me to several hours of unpaid labor (wouldn't it be cool to get paid to repair your own PC?)...

Well I am at a loss until that problem is fixed. Not sure if ptedit works within WINE... more so than that, not sure if i trust WINE with my MBR and partition tables... hopefully the problem is in fact just that Windows hates booting off extended partitions thus allowing me to chainload into the PE directly from GRUB after... all else fails OpenSuSE 11.3 comes out either right now or tomorrow.

I really don't understand.

You have just been told that:

• grub4dos is as GNU as any other "Linux" thing
• it is actually written (partially) by the same guys of GRUB2 (meaning that you should never use GRUB2 as it is definitely "contaminated")

and you continue babbling about the "DOS" word (which not necessarily means Microsoft, take FreeDOS for example)?

As I see it, you come to our city and ask one of the passers by how to get to the center of the town, and as soon as one points you towards it, you say:
"well no , I won't go North, I prefer to go South or East"


Anyway, once established that for NO VALID REASON you are going to not touch grub4dos , you should look into Syslinux, particularly in the new vesions that allow direct loading of NTLDR/SETUPLDR.BIN.

This attempt you made:


makes NO sense whatever, setupldr.bin is definitely NOT an initial ramdisk!

You probably want to look at chain.c32 syntax....or use an actual image as initrd.

Here you can find a number of possibly interesting things to learn on Syslinux/memdisk usage, expecially in connection with PE builds or - sorry but I have to mention the dreaded name "Windows" :
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showforum=92

If you want to use a RAMDISK approach, as already said, you will probably want to use/need WinVblock:
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=8168

From there to actually being able to install an XP () from USB the road will be looong and troublesome, though.

jaclaz

I apologize again. I do appreciate your help and i never asked to be torn apart for giving preference to GRUB Legacy (actually started off saying I'd really rather not get into the specifics). This thread went off on a tangent as soon as i said i'd prefer not to use GRUB4DOS. To be honest I find all of this rather fascinating and would love to become a decent member of this forum.

Regardless of all of that, SYSLINUX would be a perfectly acceptable way to boot the PE. I tried it briefly before trying MEMDISK but to no avail. The main reason i got stuck on using MEMDISK over SYSLINUX is that I at least got some output from MEMDISK to go by where as SYSLINUX just didn't work (as I haven't tried working with it enough and obviously have a huge misconfiguration with the extended partition). I actually still have SYSLINUX installed in a folder on that drive with a largely mis-configured... errm... configuration file.

So when i find a program to edit extended partition info (ptedit) in linux (?), I'll fix that problem and do a ton of research on SYSLINUX configurations and see what i can whip up.

EDIT:
I take it a long troublesome road translates to next to imposible without ripping ones hair out (and the hair of all nearby third parties if available)? Perhaps there is an easier way of installing XP from a USB Harddrive using a partitioning scheme such as mine? If so I am all ears. I am in no way stuck on using PEs to do this. I just figured (as 26 pages of google search results showed) that my options are limited to PEs or demolishing my whole drive using GUI software such as WinToFlash just to accommodate the win XP installer (which didn't work in the end just got a "C:/ corrupt unable to continue with installation. Press any key to restart." message).

Well, JFYI, grub4dos can do it.....
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=11054

ANY disk editor under ANY operating system will do (of course IF you know how to use it).

Using a partition related spreadsheet may help you (WARNING: file is an Excel format, and although it can be opened in OpenOffice.org allright it may be contaminated by MS ):
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/?showtopic=2959

About XP install, it has taken several months to devise a number of working methods that are all listed here:
http://www.msfn.org/board/forum/157-instal...ndows-from-usb/
you need to understand how they work and "transpose" them to Syslinux usage (where applicable) or anyway adapt them to your situation.


jaclaz