Building Blocks

[Bogomips]

Update by Way of Rootcopy Please see !st Post this Thread.

@aus9 yes. Saw it a while back.

Same results with all 3 "Starting init" then "waiting for ptest.sgn file".

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set ISOz=abSlak_030216.iso
 :
 :
title abSlak   1                 \n 316MB\n %ISOz%
find --set-root                       /ISOs/%ISOz%
map --heads=0 --sectors-per-track=0   /ISOs/%ISOz% (0xff) 
map --hook
root (0xff)
kernel /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz   from=/ISOs/%ISOz%  3 
initrd /boot/syslinux/initrd.img

title abSlak           2          \n 316MB\n %ISOz%
find --set-root                       /ISOs/%ISOz%
map --heads=0 --sectors-per-track=0   /ISOs/%ISOz% (0xff) 
map --hook
root (0xff)
kernel /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz    iso=/ISOs/%ISOz%  3 
initrd /boot/syslinux/initrd.img

title abSlak           3         \n 316MB\n %ISOz%
find --set-root                       /ISOs/%ISOz%
map --heads=0 --sectors-per-track=0   /ISOs/%ISOz% (0xff) 
map --hook
root (0xff)
set iso=/dev/sda5/ISOs/abSlak_030216.iso
kernel /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz   from=/ISOs/%ISOz%  3 
initrd /boot/syslinux/initrd.img

@Ed_P Just inherited that Porteus directory. The first case we can keep on ice. The second has no from=. The third I am using. So should work, although I notice you have a small iso which does not feature in kernel command line from= argument. btw which fs on sda5?

[Ed_P]

The third I am using. So should work

Not according to this.

This is my Grub Legacy menu.lst:

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title           Alien Bob Adaptation Iso Test
root		(hd0,0)
kernel          /bab/vmlinuz  base_only noauto from=/dev/sda10/tmp/iso/abSlak.iso
initrd          /bab/initrd.img

You are using files in the ISO but your boot files are in your /bab/ directory.

I notice you have a small iso which does not feature in kernel command line from= argument. btw which fs on sda5?

Never mind Bogomips. I just thought I could help.

It appears that you should denote somewhere that your ISO only works on systems with Porteus installed. Since I only boot ISOs I can't test it. Sorry.

[Bogomips]

Never mind Bogomips. I just thought I could help.

Thanks for trying to help

You are using files in the ISO but your boot files are in your /bab/ directory.

Normal for Grub 1. Kernel & initrd have to be extracted from iso.

It appears that you should denote somewhere that your ISO only works on systems with Porteus installed.

Not just yet.

Have not looked into Grub 2, but was trying to point out what looked like a discrepancy:

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set iso=/dev/sda5/ISOs/abSlak_030216.iso
kernel /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz   from=/ISOs/%ISOz%  3 

In the from= of 2nd Line there is no iso, that's all.

Edit

My Oh My!
So sleepy last night. Did not realise we have had an August Personage come visit this Umble Thread! A Dark Star in the Slackware Firmament!

[donald]

@ Bogomips
Well, the CD booted into "darkstar"...but lsmod showed only 5:
ipv6
overlay
squashfs
loop
isoFs

Now what?

[Bogomips]

^ Use Iso Editor and porteusify darkstar Please see steps to take given in first post of this thread. Or just extract and rootcopy. Enjoy Darkstar Exploration!

Now what?

Might be a good idea to check if symbolic links in rcs got clobbered as result of rootcopy.. If they have, to see how to restore them or preserve them so that rcs get invoked on entry to darkstar, or how to find them and invoke them after entry to darkstar, should before entry not be possible. (Myself not so au fait with symbolic links.)

BTW doesn't hurt to cast a glance at my previous posts leading up to the rootcopy, as we are in the process of feeling our way forward slowly, and trying to gradually work out what to do next. As they say in the best teachings, the journey itself is the goal

[donald]

BTW doesn't hurt to cast a glance at my previous posts

my eyes are bleeding..

Howsoever
done that rootcopy way...looks a bit better now..(lsmod)

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Module                  Size  Used by
ext2                   63745  1
mbcache                 7115  1 ext2
uas                    13555  0
usb_storage            51599  2 uas
cpufreq_ondemand        8797  0
ipv6                  322874  14
ath9k_htc              56265  0
ath9k_common           20226  1 ath9k_htc
ath9k_hw              421219  2 ath9k_common,ath9k_htc
nouveau              1315437  1
ath                    19282  3 ath9k_common,ath9k_htc,ath9k_hw
snd_hda_codec_hdmi     38246  1
mxm_wmi                 1443  1 nouveau
mac80211              554014  1 ath9k_htc
video                  13104  1 nouveau
ttm                    72844  1 nouveau
cfg80211              443381  4 ath,ath9k_common,mac80211,ath9k_htc
snd_hda_codec_realtek    59675  1
snd_hda_codec_generic    58678  1 snd_hda_codec_realtek
snd_hda_intel          22097  0
snd_hda_controller     20472  1 snd_hda_intel
snd_hda_codec          81582  5 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_controller
powernow_k8            10926  0
drm_kms_helper         93902  1 nouveau
kvm_amd                53819  0
drm                   272154  4 ttm,drm_kms_helper,nouveau
ppdev                   5846  0
rfkill                 15626  1 cfg80211
evdev                  11690  0
kvm                   420349  1 kvm_amd
psmouse               107191  0
agpgart                27124  2 drm,ttm
serio_raw               4689  0
snd_hda_core           21053  5 snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_controller
k8temp                  3482  0
i2c_algo_bit            5392  1 nouveau
acpi_cpufreq            7138  0
snd_hwdep               6218  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm                82785  4 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_controller
parport_pc             20026  0
parport                30421  2 ppdev,parport_pc
shpchp                 25618  0
snd_timer              19393  1 snd_pcm
8250_fintek             2555  0
snd                    60816  7 snd_hwdep,snd_timer,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_pcm,snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel
thermal                 8855  0
processor              23895  2 powernow_k8,acpi_cpufreq
fan                     3800  0
ohci_pci                3176  0
ohci_hcd               28860  1 ohci_pci
soundcore               5347  1 snd
thermal_sys            27265  4 fan,video,thermal,processor
i2c_nforce2             5303  0
ehci_pci                3903  0
ehci_hcd               43914  1 ehci_pci
wmi                     8259  2 mxm_wmi,nouveau
i2c_core               37899  5 drm,drm_kms_helper,i2c_algo_bit,nouveau,i2c_nforce2
hwmon                   3026  3 k8temp,nouveau,thermal_sys
button                  4692  1 nouveau
overlay                30198  1
squashfs               32668  2
loop                   18219  4
isofs                  32862  1

oops..eject..not found

[Ed_P]

Bogomips I would like to help you test your system and have tried to rename or remove the /porteus director in the .img file but haven't been successful. Can you create a version without the directory or walk me thru how to do it? I've tried both Porteus and Windows tools and failed.

-edit-

Another would be to put a copy of the missing ptest.sgn file into the .img file's /porteus directory.

BTW This menu didn't work either.

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title abSlak                     \n 323,838KB\n %ISOz%
find --set-root                       /ISOs/%ISOz%
map --heads=0 --sectors-per-track=0   /ISOs/%ISOz% (0xff) 
map --hook
root (0xff)
set iso=/dev/sda5/ISOs/abSlak_030216.iso
kernel /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz   from=iso  3 
initrd /boot/syslinux/initrd.img

Same error.

All my hard drive file systems are NTFS. And the grub4dos system I've been using boots everything from the ISO file system independently of whatever file system the ISO is stored on. Thus the initrd that gets used is the one inside the ISO not one outside the ISO.

[Bogomips]

Ed_P, putting iso together that should not give trouble. ntfs among systems for testing.

[Ed_P]

Thank you Bogomips.

But rest assured the grub4dos and grub2 approaches I use are drive format independent. All booting is done with files inside the ISO file and the ISO file only needs the isofs driver support.

Oh wait, I think I read somewhere recently that we are not suppose to use abbreviations when posting.

All booting is done with files inside the International Standards Organization's file and the International Standards Organization's file only needs the International Standards Organization's file system driver support.

Don't want to break any rules and have my posting deleted.

[Bogomips]

But rest assured the grub4dos and grub2 approaches I use are drive format independent. All booting is done with files inside the ISO file and the ISO file only needs the isofs driver support.

No problem there, but it is the initrd which has to be able to read ntfs in order to mount the iso file in its search for the sign file. The initrd as it stands at the moment cannot read ntfs, so cannot find iso file on ntfs filesystem.

[Ed_P]

but it is the initrd which has to be able to read ntfs in order to mount the iso file in its search for the sign file.

Not with grub4dos, or grub2. They have mounted the iso file and made it accessible to initrd.

First grub4dos finds the ISO.

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find --set-root                       /ISOs/%ISOz%

Then it maps the the ISO as a super floppy drive.

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map --heads=0 --sectors-per-track=0   /ISOs/%ISOz% (0xff)

Then it mounts the ISO as root.

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map --hook
root (0xff)

Then it executes the kernel and initrd inside the mounted ISO.

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kernel /boot/syslinux/vmlinuz    iso=/ISOs/%ISOz%  3 
initrd /boot/syslinux/initrd.img

And all the files they search for and use begin inside the mounted ISO.

With grub2, it finds the ISO.

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     search -f $iso --set=root

Then it mounts the ISO as a loop.

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     loopback loop $iso

Then it executes the kernel and initrd inside the mloop file.

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     linux (loop)/boot/syslinux/vmlinuz from=$iso $porteus_parms
     initrd (loop)/boot/syslinux/initrd.img

And all the files they search for and use begin inside the mounted ISO.

Only the boot loaders access the NTFS formatted partition. The kernel and initrd are read from the ISO and read files inside the mounted ISO file's files.

Even if you add NTFS support to the ISO, initrd will still not find /porteus/ptest.sgn on my hard drive. I don't have any Porteus systems installed on my hard drive, they are all booted ISO systems.

Comprendez vous?

[Bogomips]

@Ed_P Understand what you are saying, but do not agree with it.

@Jack Could you be so kind as to extract new iso ( Link on 1st Post of Thread ) to your ntfs usb the way you explained for mc, and see if able to boot from it?

@Ed_P Will explain how I see Grub working tomorrow. Got to hit hay now.

[Jack]

@Bogomips, This might be off topic.

I been using Midnight Commander for about 30 years now. I had it when I use MS-Dos 2.0. It the best tool I ever used. In fact when I put Porteus on a thumb drive from ISO that what I use is Midnight Commander.

Here how I make a bootable Porteus in Linux.

1. Open terminal in guest then type su password after in root type mc
2. Open ISO with Midnight Commander
3. Copy files to thumb drive using Midnight Commander
4. Change to boot directory on thumb drive using Midnight Commander
5. Hit F10 to quit Midnight Commander
6. At prompt in terminal type sh Porteus-installer-for-Linux.com
7. Answer question type OK and then press ENTER
8. Close all programs and shut down
9. Reboot thumb drive in to Porteus

That has work for me for years. It might not be the right way but it works.

Jack

Do you mean this way? And you want me to format the USB thumb drive with NTFS format? If I do then you want me to boot in TEXT mode or Always Fresh? Cause Graphics mode won't work cause it not ext4.

UPDATE It did not bootup but did try to start to. That way dose works when I make Porteus USB.
UPDATE1 I forgot to add it stop right after this "searching for ptest.sgn".
Below is my 0.02cent
I think it will bootup off of CD but not any USB thumb drive.

[Ed_P]

@Ed_P Understand what you are saying, but do not agree with it.

Just so you know, abSlax isn't my 1st ISO, but it is the only one that doesn't boot.

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 Directory of d:\isos

02/04/2016  05:29 PM       331,610,112 abSlak_030216.iso
02/07/2016  01:25 AM        17,942,528 cd140201.iso
04/22/2014  02:14 PM       661,499,904 pebuilder.iso
07/10/2015  08:03 PM        36,700,160 Porteus-Kiosk-3.4.0-i486.iso
02/02/2015  11:46 PM       194,439,168 Porteus-LXQT-v3.1-x86_64-nu.iso
12/14/2014  04:55 PM       195,305,472 Porteus-LXQT-v3.1-x86_64.iso
01/07/2016  12:33 AM       260,876,288 porteus-nemesis-v3.5-lxde-x86_64.iso
01/31/2015  07:56 AM       190,763,008 Porteus-RazorQT-v3.0.1-i486-nu.iso
09/15/2014  06:19 PM       224,536,576 Porteus-RazorQT-v3.0.1-i486.iso
01/30/2015  11:12 PM       198,993,920 Porteus-RazorQT-v3.0.1-x86_64-nu.iso
08/05/2014  09:08 AM       233,545,728 Porteus-RazorQT-v3.0.1-x86_64.iso
08/29/2015  09:36 PM            34,816 Recovery.iso
06/07/2012  03:40 PM       191,782,912 REPAIR_DISC_WINDOWS_7_64_BIT.iso
02/27/2013  06:23 PM       237,113,344 REPAIR_DISC_WINDOWS_8_64_BIT.iso
02/07/2016  05:45 PM       304,087,040 ubuntu-mini-remix-15.10-amd64.iso
              15 File(s)  3,279,230,976 bytes

And whether a Porteus ISO has NTFS capabilities or not, there is no .sgn file on my hard drives for them to find.

-EDIT-

But in looking at the contents of an initrd.xz file in a Porteus 3.1 ISO I see that it has an empty \initrd\porteus directory similar to the one in the .img file. So that's not the problem.

[Bogomips]

abSlak_100216.iso equips somewhat in exploring alien territory (Please refer to 1st Post of this Thread for Download and Further Details):

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Installing package gpm-1.20.7-x86_64-2.txz:
PACKAGE DESCRIPTION:
# gpm (general purpose mouse server)
#
# The general purpose mouse server, or gpm, allows you to use the mouse
# to cut and paste text from the screen.  It also acts as a mouse
# server for applications running on the Linux console, such as the
# Midnight Commander file manager.
#
# NOTE:  This program may cause problems when you start X on systems
# that use a bus mouse (not common).  If you get an 'unable to open
# mouse device' error from X, disable /etc/rc.d/rc.gpm.
#
Executing install script for gpm-1.20.7-x86_64-2.txz.
Package gpm-1.20.7-x86_64-2.txz installed.

Verifying package gettext-0.18.2.1-x86_64-2.txz.
Installing package gettext-0.18.2.1-x86_64-2.txz:
PACKAGE DESCRIPTION:
# gettext (internationalization framework)
#
# The GNU gettext package contains "gettext" and "ngettext", programs
# that are used to internationalize the messages given by shell scripts.
#
Executing install script for gettext-0.18.2.1-x86_64-2.txz.
Package gettext-0.18.2.1-x86_64-2.txz installed.

Verifying package usm-latest-0.0-noarch-1.txz.
Installing package usm-latest-0.0-noarch-1.txz:
PACKAGE DESCRIPTION:
Package usm-latest-0.0-noarch-1.txz installed.

Welcome to Linux 4.1.15 (tty1)
darkstar login: root
Linux.
You have new mail.

root@darkstar:~# usm -v
 You are using USM version:  3.1.9

root@darkstar:~# date
Thu Feb 11 15:21:20  2016

Boot Info:

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root@darkstar:~# cat /proc/cmdline
base_only noauto from=/dev/sdb1

root@darkstar:/# cat /var/log/porteus-livedbg
# Recognized devices:
/dev/sr0: LABEL="Porteus" TYPE="iso9660"
/dev/sda1: UUID="ca6ce5e1-1bbd-4170-87f7-5fd0448e5f56" TYPE="reiserfs"
/dev/sda3: SEC_TYPE="msdos" UUID="4B46-EEEA" TYPE="vfat"
/dev/sda4: UUID="966b254d-20de-4376-b736-ddf89150a6b3" TYPE="reiserfs"
/dev/sda5: LABEL="kix" UUID="e737efd6-32f4-4a80-bbc1-a6ad3114b4d5" TYPE="ext2"
/dev/sda6: UUID="f554b881-2089-4c0f-8de2-70900bdc4e14" TYPE="ext2"
/dev/sda7: UUID="0d2c9e21-5e47-4dd3-a279-38551711f3dd" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sda8: UUID="AF61-DAE9" TYPE="vfat"
/dev/sda9: LABEL="iso" UUID="5bf4078e-3d9c-46e6-8a43-2dfc0eef3aeb" TYPE="ext2"
/dev/sda10: LABEL="p_10" UUID="ed3f74cd-26bb-47bd-86b0-5e690663dd55" TYPE="ext2"
/dev/sda11: UUID="6a0167f6-5cf7-412d-b85f-0076ca590371" TYPE="swap"
/dev/sdb1: SEC_TYPE="msdos" UUID="12D4-A2F1" TYPE="vfat"
/dev/sdb2: UUID="ec468a0e-7848-416d-9d29-3c74a1bfb486" TYPE="ext4"

# Booting device:
/mnt/sdb1

# Porteus data found in:
/mnt/sdb1/porteus

# Changes are stored in:
memory

# Non standard /rootcopy dir:
none

# Modules activated during boot time:
/mnt/sdb1/porteus/base/000-kernel.xzm
/mnt/sdb1/porteus/base/001-core.xzm

Jack, thanks for your report. Just checking, to make sure we are on the same page. and that you followed these steps

1. Downloaded abslak_100216.iso and verified md5sum

2. And you want me to format the USB thumb drive with NTFS format?

   Formatted usb in nts format

3. That has work for me for years. It might not be the right way but it works. Do you mean this way?

   Yes, installed porteus to nts formatted usb

4. then you want me to boot in TEXT mode or Always Fresh?

   TEXT mode boot.

Below is my 0.02cent
I think it will bootup off of CD but not any USB thumb drive.

Disagree. As you can see, signfile on usb:

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guest@porteus:~$ sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/sdb1
guest@porteus:~$ ls /mnt/sdb1/porteus/
base/  modules/  optional/  ptest.sgn*  rootcopy/

And if you look at Boot Info above, you will see proteus data was specified to be on /dev/sdb1 in the Kernel Command Line. Also in porteus-livedbg listing it gives Porteus Data as being found on /dev/sdb1, sdb1 being in vfat format.