Making Syslinux boot a different partition also with Syslinux.

tokico · 02-27-2009, 04:14 PM

I'm trying to make a multi-boot Syslinux USB flash drive. I want to do the following:

/dev/sda1 -> Boot partition, very small, just for Syslinux main menu.
/dev/sda2 -> eg: Damn Small Linux with Syslinux installed.
/dev/sda3 -> eg: Puppy Linux with Syslinux installed.
...

But how can I, from the syslinux installed on sda1 boot sda2 or sda3? And if possible, using "relative paths"? Let me explain: if I go to a computer with a SATA drive, the USB disk will be /dev/sdb* and not sda, so Syslinux can't boot sda2 or 3. Those are partitions of the SATA disk, not of the USB disk.

It could be something like in GRUB:

root(hd0,1)
chainloader +1

And that will boot /dev/sda2, from a GRUB installation on sda1.

Hope anybody understood, ToKico

frieza · 02-27-2009, 06:01 PM

you would edit the syslinux.cfg in a similar way that you would edit /boot/grub/grub.conf
although the syntax is probably different, same concept

this is the relevant part of the isolinux.cfg from the lfs live boot cd, which is the same syntactically i believe as syslinux.cfg

Code:

label linux
  kernel linux
  append initrd=initramfs_data_cpio.gz quiet

label linux64
  kernel linux64
  append initrd=initramfs_data64_cpio.gz quiet

tokico · 02-28-2009, 07:32 AM

That's not what I want. I want to boot a kernel/initrd located on another partition, not on the same.

frieza · 02-28-2009, 11:28 AM

that was an example..
here is some documentation on syslinux
http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/SYSLINUX

tokico · 03-01-2009, 08:49 AM

I've read that and I saw a kernel append option: "root=". Will that solve my problem? And for the "relative drive" I could use by-uuid, right?

frieza · 03-02-2009, 11:00 AM

probably,

wont know for sure until ya try it but that would be my guess, or use the same scheme as grub uses

tokico · 03-04-2009, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frieza

probably,

wont know for sure until ya try it but that would be my guess, or use the same scheme as grub uses

Thanks anyway, but I'm going to use GRUB.

Mods: close the topic, please.