Booting with loadlin
Forum: HD Install
Topic: Booting with loadlin
started by: Hawk
Posted by Hawk on June 16 2004,15:30
I'm trying to get DSL to boot from a hard drvie using loadlin.So far I've downloaded the ISO, and extracted it to a folder on a DOS partition, and i've extracted the boot image too.
I've tried to boot using a batch file, which is essentially:
loadlin vmlinuz initrd=miniroot.gz root=/dev/hda2
It boots, but the kernel panics and says it can't open an inital console - apparently I should have to pass 'init=' to the kernel. I've read through the loadlin documentation and I can't see how you do that with loadlin.
hda2 is a DOS partition, md5sums match and i've had this problem with several versions (0.6 though to 0.71 - which is what I'm using now)
Any ideas? It's probably something obvious I'm missing
Thanks in advance...
Posted by skaos on June 17 2004,10:28
You should have the following files in the d:\knoppix directory (or is it d:\dsl?, assuming that hda2 is d:):loadlin.exe
vmlinuz
miniroot.gz
KNOPPIX
Then use:
loadlin vmlinuz initrd=miniroot.gz
Posted by Hawk on June 17 2004,13:14
I've got all those files in the folder (C:\Knoppix), and I'm using a batch file similar to the one you suggested but without "root=/dev/hda2" or similar then dsl complains about not being able to mount the root file system.What's confusing me is that I can't see what I'm doing wrong but the kernel still can't open an inital console.
Posted by skaos on June 17 2004,14:07
Seems like there is a problem with miniroot.gz. If I have understood the boot process correctly, miniroot is the initial root file system which is used to locate the compressed KNOPPIX file system image. KNOPPIX is then used for the rest of the boot process with autoconfiguring and so on. In your first try, you try to access /dev/hda2 as a native linux file system which should contain a linux system with init and so on. Since hda2 is a dos file system, it won't work. Your second try, it tries to access miniroot.gz and as this dosn't work, it could be a problem with this file; if you extracted miniroot.gz from a diskette, are you sure that the diskette is ok (no bad sectors)?
Posted by Hawk on June 30 2004,22:08
I'm actually trying to boot from a dos partition on my hard drive... Is that a problem?
Posted by skaos on July 01 2004,10:02
No, it should be able to boot from a dos partition - I have tried it and it works. Could you try to make a boot diskette and boot with that diskette and the CD on another PC? - i.e. to see if there is some problem with your PC or with diskette/CD.
Posted by cbagger01 on July 01 2004,11:50
FYI,loadlin will only work if you are using a "true" MSDOS prompt.
Example of a true MSDOS prompt:
Booting from a DOS disk (MSDOS 6.22 or older)
Booting from a Windows 95/98 boot floppy
Booting into MSDOS mode in Windows 95/98/98SE
The following are NOT a true MSDOS prompt:
Opening an MSDOS window inside Windows 95/98/98SE/ME
Opening a command prompt windows inside Windows NT/2000/XP
Hope this helps.
Posted by danini on July 01 2004,21:37
if somebody is interested, i run damnsmall with loadlin, using using this sequence in a bat file
loadlin.exe vmlinuz initrd=miniroot.img root=/dev/hda1 lang=en ro
and the miniroot and vmlinuz in the same directory that loadlin..
but the only condition is to boot into msdos w95 w98, command line..
using this way, i can test each new compilation of damnsmall without write a cd,
Posted by Hawk on July 16 2004,15:23
Sorry I'm replying a bit infrequently...Yeah I'm booting (or trying to) from "true" DOS, so that's not a problem. I 'm going to try what you suggested skaos, and see if that helps.
As far as I can see I'm pretty much doing what danini is doing, but I still doesn't seem to work.
Posted by 87C751 on July 30 2004,03:59
| Quote (skaos @ June 17 2004,06:28) |
| You should have the following files in the d:\knoppix directory (or is it d:\dsl?, assuming that hda2 is d:): loadlin.exe vmlinuz miniroot.gz KNOPPIX Then use: loadlin vmlinuz initrd=miniroot.gz |
I'm trying to get DSL to boot on a ThinkPad 760XL. The CD isn't bootable, and I can't use the CD and floppy concurrently. I have all those files in c:\dsl, copied from a CF card in the PCMCIA slot. When I try
loadlin vmlinuz initrd=miniroot.gz
I see "Uncompressing Linux...", followed by
Invalid compression format (Err=1)
System halted...
I grabbed loadlin.exe from Slackware 10. Any ideas? The machine is pretty much a brick as a Windows box, but it would make a decent thin client for the rest of my network.
Posted by Rapidweather on Aug. 08 2004,23:32
Here is how I get loadlin to work: (Don't have to use a boot floppy)---
First, I have my /knoppix folder in my Windows 98 partition, /dev/hda1.
There, the files are:
knoppix (using my remaster, it's 65MB)
boot.img
boot.cat
---
Then, I have a separate directory C:\DSL, where I have my vmlinuz, miniroot.gz, and my linux.bat file.
---
When I want to start DSL, I have to first start Windows with the F8 key, and use
choice 6, which starts windows to a command prompt only without any Autoexec.bat or Config.sys.
For now, I just cd to the C:\DSL directory, and type "linux" to run the
batch file.
---
I am running DSL now, so cannot get into the /dev/hda1 partition, as that
is my /cdrom directory in DSL, so I cannot show you my linux.bat file.
I will reboot into something else, maybe Windows, and post that file for you
to see in this thread.
---
If you start windows normally, and just exit to a msdos prompt, then your
autoexec.bat files and config.sys files are loaded, and although DSL will
boot, "X" will not, and you'll get this error message:
---
XIO: fatal IO error 104 (connection reset by peer) on X server ":0.0"
after 0 requests () known processed) with ) events remaining.
---
You will not be able to use startx, and running xsetup.sh won't get you
into X either. You must start Windows without any Autoexec.bat or
Config. sys.
---
Why do I have those files in my Windows 98?, I use Arachne 1.70, and
have to use them for upper memory support and mouse driver.
This machine also has Mandrake 8, and Debian 2.2 on it, with loadlin
shortcuts on the Windows 98 desktop, and also a msdos menu that can
select them, or Windows, or a msdos prompt.
---
I'm using System Commander also, but the OS choices there are only
Windows, Windows prompt, and boot from floppy.
---
I suppose I can start the machine to the Windows prompt, using the F8
key to get a clean (without autoexec.bat or config.sys) start, so I can
then run the linux.bat file.
Copies of the linux.bat file can be placed in C:windows, so I can start up
from there also.
Posted by Rapidweather on Aug. 08 2004,23:45
Here is the linux.bat file to go with the above post:---
@ECHO OFF
REM This is linux.bat
REM This file is in the C:\dsl directory
REM adjust the following for your installation:
REM Your DSL Linux system boots from hda1 (hopefully)
loadlin.exe vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 initrd=miniroot.gz lang=en ro console=ttyS2
---
You may use console=ttyS1 also. This is not
important, but keeps a lot of the linux bootup text from showing on your screen, and goes right to the files in miniroot.gz.
---
You do not get a boot: prompt with this setup, so if you restore
you'll have to do that after DSL boots up. Normally, I do this:
boot: knoppix restore=/dev/hdb1
The boot: prompt will appear if using a boot floppy, but not
with my loadlin setup.
---