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#1 2004-12-06 13:16:29

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

Hi,
I've been used to launch Knoppix from DOS with loadlin like this:

loadlin.exe linux26 initrd=minirt26.gz fromhd=hda6 knoppix_dir=KNOPPIX37 lang=fr ramdisk_size=100000 vga=791

where Knoppix files are placed on my hda6 drive;

I tried to do the same with Archi Linux;
It starts correctly, but I am stuck and requested for a loaddisk command at prompt;

     1. what should I answer to inform that files (extracted from iso file) are on hda6

     2. who knows if the "BOOTMEDIA=cd" found in isolinux.cfg can be used to make it compatible with HD (I tried BOOTMEDIA=hd or hda or hda6 , with no success)

Thanks !

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#2 2004-12-07 17:47:49

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

Hello,
Nobody on this forum ?  :?:
If somebody reads this page, thanks to inform on which forum or where we can get info on Archilinux;
I made a google on "archilinux", but without real success.
Rgds

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#3 2004-12-07 18:38:42

phrakture
Arch Overlord
From: behind you
Registered: 2003-10-29
Posts: 7,879
Website

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

•Adrien wrote:

Hello,
Nobody on this forum ?  :?:
If somebody reads this page, thanks to inform on which forum or where we can get info on Archilinux;
I made a google on "archilinux", but without real success.
Rgds

this forum is active.  if nobody knows the answer they won't post - I have no clue what's up with your issue... i would suggest looking into some HOWTOs on bootable cds and reading knoppix docs maybe

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#4 2004-12-08 03:46:27

rayjgu3
Member
From: Chicago IL usa
Registered: 2004-07-04
Posts: 695

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

if im reading correctly you have knoppix & arch both on hda6?
if so im sure thats your problem
you have to put each distro on its own partition i know this much
as for your booting method i am unfamiliar with that
  i have  used  lilo & grub
i do believe knoppix is a live distro meaning it runs from cd so you can just boot from the cd instead of using prompt
arch is made to be installed if your using the install disc
(its also for 686 machine)
if your using the arch live disc then it should work providing you put it on its own partition only a guess i could very well be wrong ???
hope i helped somehow

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#5 2004-12-08 09:31:46

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

Thanks for your reply;
In fact,  there is no mix at all with Knoppix install; I try to find a similar way to launch Archi install from HD, which is possible with Knoppix; Knoppix is liveCD, but can also be HD installed;
In order to avoid burning CD each time I want to play with a distro, I try to find a trick to extract files from the archi.iso file, put these files on a partition, and try to launch the installation process from HD, instead of CD.

This can actually be very easily done with Knoppix, DSL, Feather distros....;
I'm bored to burn/waste CDs for each release just to have a look, and would find very convenient to find a similar process with Archi.
I then just wonder if the BOOTMEDIA option found in isolinux/isolinux.cfg file could be used as an option like:

loadlin.exe vmlinuz initrd=initrd.img fromhd=hda6 load_ramdisk=1  BOOTMEDIA=hd (or hda or hda6 ??)

My primary partition is DOS/WIN, which explains why I use loadlin as a starting point.
Of course, as soon as linux is properly installed, lilo or grub can be used.

All tricks in order to avoid CD burning is welcome !
Hope it helps to clarify.

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#6 2004-12-08 10:08:40

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

To be even more precise, the boot process with loadlin is OK, until following linux prompt:

   » to load from floppy disk: loaddisk /dev/floppy/0
   » to load from CD :            loaddisk /dev/CDROMS/CDROM0
   » When you are ready, run /arch/setup to install Archi Linux.

At prompt, "ls" shows that /arch/setup exists, but setup command has no effect.
   •  What should I answer to loaddisk request ?
   •  How to launch installation process at this point ?

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#7 2004-12-08 11:08:45

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

In summary, in order to make it even clearer:

• How to inform the installation process before executing the /arch/setup command, that the files are not on a CD, not on floppies, not FTP site, but simply locally on a partition of the hard drive  !!

On hda6 FAT32 partition, I have archi.iso, and also extracted directories/files.
I tried to mount hda6 partition, but it seems that HD partitions are not yet accessible at this stage before setup.

Would a trick like this work [assuming that hda6 can be mounted] ?

     1. creation of /mnt/hda6 and /mnt/iso
     2. hda6 mounted
     3. mount -t iso9660 /mnt/hda6/archi.iso /mnt/iso -o loop

Well, I can admit that my problem is may be a bit exotic, but prevents me having a look to Archilinux (I now stop burning distro CDs for a while....)
Solution should be easy.....

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#8 2004-12-08 21:34:06

rayjgu3
Member
From: Chicago IL usa
Registered: 2004-07-04
Posts: 695

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

interesting method of running the iso
i have heard bout it but havent tried it
i know you can run live cds from hard drive
i only done it with 1 so far puppy linux


yes i understand all those discs add up,   i got a pile myself
then i started using cdrw's if i dont like it i erase

as for>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
   » to load from floppy disk: loaddisk /dev/floppy/0
   » to load from CD :            loaddisk /dev/CDROMS/CDROM0
   » When you are ready, run /arch/setup to install Archi Linux.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

when you get to this part type
"/arch/setup"  hit enter
that will bring you to installer
i believe thats the answer your looking for
now if im understanding correctly the way your installing
i dont think you will be able to install arch on the partition your installing from ....   at least i wouldnt try it

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#9 2004-12-08 21:44:00

phrakture
Arch Overlord
From: behind you
Registered: 2003-10-29
Posts: 7,879
Website

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

in the booted image, just make sure to manually mount where the setup files are and run the setup binary.... that should work

if you really want I can mail you a blank CDR - they're like $0.10 or something.... hell I'll even burn you a copy of arch...

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#10 2004-12-08 22:18:53

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

Thanks for feedback; in fact I was very close to solve the issue:

what I did not catch is that /arch/setup and setup in arch dir are not equivalent !!?? (very strange to me).

Only /arch/setup works !

Of course, I will install on a different partition (not hda6 where iso files are)

Thanks for the CDR proposal, but will not solve my problem because I would spend my time burning/erasing/burning again etc....
Furthermore, I am not 100% sure of the reliability of a bootsector on a CDR.

Will now continue installation process.
Thanks again !

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#11 2004-12-08 23:04:43

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

Well, I can now launch /arch/setup (and not directly setup in arch dir !!???), but I still don't find the trick to inform the process that packages are not on cdrom or ftp, but on hda6, and how to mount hda6 at this stage of installation;

If you don't easily find the answer, don't spend time on it especially if you don't find any interest to this installation method;

I will then try archilinux the day I will buy CD or CDrs (don't have any more CDs....).

Have a nice day.

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#12 2004-12-09 00:34:00

iphitus
Forum Fellow
From: Melbourne, Australia
Registered: 2004-10-09
Posts: 4,927

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

I dont see why you cant boot the Arch CD from your CD drive, then install it like a normal user onto it's own proper partition.

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#13 2004-12-09 09:08:53

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

I am not sure you really catched the purpose; (please read again).
The question is not about booting archi from CD, but without CD, as I usually do with many other distros !!

  1. an iso file can be seen exactly like a cdrom with following code:      mount -t iso iso9660 /../archi.iso /mnt/iso -o loop
  2. or the files embedded in the iso can be fully extracted on the HD
  3. there is a BOOTIMAGE=cd option (have a look to isolinux.cfg file), which we can suppose could be replaced by hd ? or hda ? or hdax ? instead of cd !! [not yet feedback on this point]

Then, why burning CDs just to try archilinux ? What does it bring ? Why setup files are only fetched only on a CD or FTP according to installation process, and not simply locally on the HD !!

This was the question !! wink

[... and when you don't have anymore CDs available of free CDrs, you are stuck, and cannot test archilinux !]

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#14 2004-12-09 13:34:08

vacant
Member
From: downstairs
Registered: 2004-11-05
Posts: 816

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

Have you read this Wiki page?

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#15 2004-12-09 15:54:31

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

I just have had a look; seems interesting and very close to what I am looking for;
But.... you need a linux system already installed !

I would appreciate to find something to be launched with loadlin under dos.
It works pretty well for all distros I test (I just copy the kernel and the init + some options and that's generally so simple !)

I am pretty sure either a solution already exists (need to find the right guy), or will exist with very minimum effort....

Thanks anyway !

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#16 2004-12-09 22:01:30

vacant
Member
From: downstairs
Registered: 2004-11-05
Posts: 816

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

•Adrien wrote:

I just have had a look; seems interesting and very close to what I am looking for;
But.... you need a linux system already installed!

I would appreciate to find something to be launched with loadlin under dos.
!

Yes, I felt the same as you, why burn a CD? I wrote the Wiki page and was hoping someone would add a bit for grub. If you get it working, please modify for loadlin!

I looked at the "/isolinux/isolinux.cfg" and adapted the boot parameters there to work with lilo.

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#17 2004-12-09 23:13:59

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

Well, to summarize my current achievement:

1. I can boot archi from DOS without problem: loadlin.exe vmlinuz initrd=initrd.img fromhd=hda6 load_ramdisk=1
with /arch extracted from iso, put on hda6 (FAT32)
nb: I don't know how to use BOOTMEDIA option to replace cd by hda6

2. I can then launch installation menu with  /arch/setup but I am stuck to find the packages to install;

What I still don't know with archi, is how inform the installation process where the packages the process will look for are placed (for me: hda6);

Do I have to pass this info with an option during boot process ? or do I have to mount hda6 partition at linux prompt ?

(I tried to mount hda6 without success may be because /etc/fstab is quite empty at this stage / I am not a specialist);
Can somebody explain how to mount hda6 at this stage, and what would be the next step ?

For your info, I just tried Beatrix distro, and within 2 mn (!) it works !

• What is so specific in archi which prevents the installation process to look for the package files on a HD partition instead of a CD of FTP ???
I don't know, but somebody should know.....

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#18 2004-12-13 23:10:38

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

Finally, in order to close this discussion, based on the ArchWiki page proposed by Vacant, the solution is simply to type these 3 lines at linux prompt, before launching /arch/setup:

     mkdir /mnt/archCD
     mount /dev/hda12 /mnt/archCD
     mount -t iso9660 /dev/discs/disc0/part12 /src

and all is OK ! (except that I have troubles with some packages which stop installation process, but this is an other story)

Thanks to Vacant !

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#19 2004-12-13 23:13:28

•Adrien
Member
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 12

Re: Boot: Loadlin & BOOTMEDIA option

just to be complete: assuming that archCD is on a linux partition (ext2/ext3)

My first trials were with archCD on a fat32 partition, and did not find a solution.

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