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Re: [OCLUG-Tech] multiboot liveCD isos on external HDD

I have a setup like that on a 16GB usb key.  I forget the name, but it was
a pretty basic syslinux based boot, and it would scan a directory for ISOs
and present them all as "boot options".  It "just worked" on the computers
I tested it on, I used it mainly for debian-live and for
debian-testing-netinstall images...

I can't remember the name now, but I'll try and remember when I get home to
check the key...




On Tue, Mar 12, 2013 at 10:35 PM, Prof J C Nash (U30A) <nashjc [ at ] uottawa [ dot ] ca>wrote:

> THanks. I'd thought of the XXXLinux approaches, but have only used them
> for individual images (and frankly used them but did not learn much how
> they work). I should probably look further into it.
>
> However, by using archivemount I found the name of the initrd and kernel
> for TinyCore-current and got it to boot with grub2. So far no joy with
> gparted iso. The hint came from a page
>
> http://www.pendrivelinux.com/**boot-multiple-iso-from-usb-**
> via-grub2-using-linux/<http://www.pendrivelinux.com/boot-multiple-iso-from-usb-via-grub2-using-linux/>
>
> However, they show a grub.cfg file with lots of different setups for
> different iso's, and it looks like they change with the flavour of the
> month of each distro.
>
> If I figure out the "rules" I'll try to write them up and post a link
> here. In the meantime, if anyone is interested in sharing the
> investigation, contact me off list. This is obviously not top of the todo
> list, but it struck me as a nice way to have iso's bootable, including the
> boot-repair disks.
>
> Best, JN
>
>
> On 13-03-12 10:18 PM, Richard Guy Briggs wrote:
>
>> On Tue, Mar 12, 2013 at 06:36:14PM -0400, Prof J C Nash (U30A) wrote:
>>
>>> I've an old 40G 2.5" drive from a dead laptop that is in a USB case.
>>>
>>> My thought was to use it for holding a bunch of .iso images of
>>> liveCDs. However, I've had no joy trying to set up booting of these.
>>>
>>> Multisystem "sort of" worked once. Seems glitchy, and attached to
>>> different systems had different behaviour.
>>>
>>> Gujin (following some suggested approaches on net) did not fire up.
>>>
>>> Grub seems needs an interface to the isos, and instructions I found
>>> seemed to suggest I could simply specify the isos in the grub.cfg,
>>> which failed when I tried. (The recipe I tried was not clear if it
>>> wanted grub or grub2, and I suspect therein lies some of the
>>> trouble.)
>>>
>>> Has anyone done something like this. I'd be happy to get some
>>> advice, get it working and write a 1-pager. I've rather put the isos
>>> on an external drive than burn them to cd/dvd.
>>>
>>
>> Peter Anvin's SYSLINUX or ISO LINUX would be the way I'd go.
>>
>>         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/**SYSLINUX<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SYSLINUX>
>>         http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/**index.php/The_Syslinux_Project<http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php/The_Syslinux_Project>
>>
>> I'm already using pxelinux on my network to boot a number of
>> distributions.
>>
>>  Cheers, JN
>>>
>>
>>         slainte mhath, RGB
>>
>> --
>> Richard Guy Briggs               --  ~\    -- ~\            <
>> hpv.tricolour.net>
>> <www.TriColour.net>                --  \___   o \@       @       Ride
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Aidan Van Dyk                                             Create like a god,
aidan [ at ] highrise [ dot ] ca                                       command like a king,
http://www.highrise.ca/                                   work like a
slave.