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219 lines
6.9 KiB
219 lines
6.9 KiB
= syslinux(1) = |
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:doctype: manpage |
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:revdate: 2013-06-12 |
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:author: H. Peter Anvin |
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:author-email: hpa@zytor.com |
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:editor1: Gene Cumm |
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:editor1-email: gene.cumm@gmail.com |
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:editor1-revlast: 2013-06-12 |
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== NAME == |
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syslinux - Install SYSLINUX to a file system |
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== SYNOPSIS == |
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[verse] |
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*syslinux* ['OPTIONS'] 'DEVICE' |
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*extlinux* ['OPTIONS'] 'PATH' |
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*syslinux* [-h | --help | -v | --version] |
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*extlinux* [-h | --help | -v | --version] |
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== DESCRIPTION == |
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Install *SYSLINUX* to the 'DEVICE'/'PATH', altering the boot sector and |
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installing the 'ldlinux.sys' boot loader file. For the Linux installer |
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extlinux, 'PATH' is the desired path for the control files on a mounted, |
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supported file system and sets the install-time working directory. For |
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all others, 'DEVICE' must specify a FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 file system. For |
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the Linux installers syslinux and syslinux-mtools, 'DEVICE' should be an |
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unmounted file system. For the DOS/Win32/Win64 installers, 'DEVICE' |
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should be a drive like 'a:' (case insensitive). |
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For versions ~4.00 and later, either -i/--install or -U/--update must be |
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specified unless modifying the ADV of an existing install (options |
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tagged with 'ADV') or requesting the help/usage or version info, . |
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If, during boot, the Shift or Alt keys are held down, or the Caps or |
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Scroll locks are set, *Syslinux* will display a *lilo*(8) -style "boot:" |
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prompt. The user can then type a kernel file name followed by any kernel |
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parameters. The *Syslinux* bootloader does not need to know about the |
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kernel or config files in advance. |
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*Syslinux* supports the loading of initial ramdisks (initrd) and the |
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bzImage kernel format. |
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Please note, the ldlinux.sys boot loader file is flagged as immutable |
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(where applicable) and is modified after copying in to help ensure |
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boot-time integrity. File systems with a sufficiently large boot loader |
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reserved area, like btrfs, will have ldlinux.sys installed there rather |
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than as a normal file. Prior to version 4.00, extlinux would install a |
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file extlinux.sys which versions 4.00 and later installers will replace with ldlinux.sys. |
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== OPTIONS == |
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// "See"/"See also" notes should reference long options. |
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=== Standalone options === |
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*-i*, *--install*:: |
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(~4.00+) Install SYSLINUX, regardless of an existing install. |
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*-U*, *--update*:: |
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(~4.00+) Update an existing SYSLINUX/EXTLINUX install. If no Syslinux |
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boot loader is present, return an error. |
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*-h*, *--help*:: |
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Display help/usage information. |
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*-v*, *--version*:: |
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Display version information and exit immediately. |
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=== Regular Options === |
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// Sorted generally by short argument |
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*-a*, *--active*:: |
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(DOS/Win32/Win64 ONLY) Mark the install target file system's partition |
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active. |
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*-d*, *--directory* 'subdirectory':: |
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(Not necessary for extlinux as it is implied by 'PATH') Install the |
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*SYSLINUX* control files in a subdirectory with the specified name |
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(relative to the root directory on the device). |
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*--device* 'DEVICE':: |
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(extlinux ONLY; 4.06+) Force use of a specific block device (experts |
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only). |
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*-f*, *--force*:: |
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Force install even if it appears unsafe. Before 4.00, -f was used for |
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--offset in the Linux installers. |
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*-H*, *--heads* 'head-count':: |
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Override the detected number of heads for the geometry. See also |
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*--sector*. |
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*-m*, *--mbr*: |
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(DOS/Win32/Win64 ONLY) Install the regular Syslinux MBR code to the MBR. |
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*-M*, *--menu-save*:: |
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(4.00+; ADV) Set the label to select as default on the next boot. |
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*-o*, *--once* 'command':: |
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(ADV) Declare a boot command to be tried on the first boot only. The |
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use of *-o* for the Linux installers syslinux or syslinux-mtools has |
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been deprecated as of \~4.00 and is no longer valid as of ~4.02. |
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*-O*, *--clear-once*:: |
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Clear the boot-once command. See also *--once*. |
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*-r*, *--raid*:: |
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(ADV) RAID mode. If boot fails, tell the BIOS to boot the next device |
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in the boot sequence (usually the next hard disk) instead of stopping |
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with an error message. This is useful for RAID-1 booting. |
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*--reset-adv*:: |
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(ADV) Reset auxilliary data vector. |
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*-S*, *--sectors* 'sector-count':: |
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Override the detected number of sectors for the geometry. See also |
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*--head*. |
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*-s*, *--stupid*:: |
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Install a "safe, slow and stupid" version of *SYSLINUX*. This version |
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may work on some very buggy BIOSes on which *SYSLINUX* would otherwise |
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fail. If you find a machine on which the -s option is required to make |
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it boot reliably, please send as much info about your machine as you |
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can, and include the failure mode. |
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*-t*, *--offset* 'offset':: |
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(Linux syslinux/syslinux-mtools ONLY) Indicates that the filesystem is |
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at an offset from the base of the device or file. |
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*-z*, *--zipdrive* |
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Assume zipdrive geometry ('--heads 64 --sectors 32'). See also *--head* |
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and *--sector*. |
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== EXAMPLES == |
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=== Booting DOS === |
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For booting DOS and other similar operating systems, there is an easy |
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and generally reliable solution to substitute in SYSLINUX as the primary |
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boot loader. |
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- Make a DOS-bootable disk; The following are possible commands: |
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format a: /s |
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sys a: |
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- Copy the DOS boot sector off using Linux or copybs.com: |
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dd if=/dev/fd0 of=dos.bss bs=512 count=1 |
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copybs a: a:dos.bss |
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- Install SYSLINUX using one of: |
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syslinux a: |
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syslinux /dev/fd0 (before 4.00) |
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syslinux -i /dev/fd0 (4.00+) |
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- For Linux, mount the disk and copy the dos.bss to the disk: |
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mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /mnt |
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cp dos.bss /mnt |
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- Copy a Linux kernel image and initrd payload files: |
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*Linux:*:: |
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cp vmlinux /mnt |
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cp initrd.gz /mnt |
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*DOS/Windows:*:: |
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copy vmlinux a: |
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copy initrd.gz a: |
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- For Linux, umount the disk (if applicable): |
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umount /mnt |
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=== MBR === |
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In order to boot from a hard disk (or hard disk-like device) in BIOS |
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mode, an appropriate MBR boot block must also be installed in the MBR |
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(first sector or 512 bytes of the disk), occupying at most 440 bytes. |
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*DOS/Windows:*:: |
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If using FDISK, FDISK or a similar application must also be used to mark |
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the partition as active. |
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+ |
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fdisk /mbr |
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OR |
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syslinux -ma c: |
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*Linux:*:: |
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+ |
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dd bs=440 count=1 conv=notrunc if=mbr/mbr.bin of=/dev/sda |
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+ |
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For altmbr.bin, an easy way to overwrite the MBR boot block and specify |
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the partion number is: |
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+ |
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printf '\1' | cat altmbr.bin - | dd bs=440 count=1 \ |
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iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc of=/dev/sda |
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+ |
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Note: using 'cat' for writing the MBR can under some circumstances cause |
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data loss or overwritting. For this reason, using 'dd' is recommended |
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for all situations. |
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//[FIXME]: any clean way to handle the above long command for manpage? |
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== SEE ALSO == |
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*syslinux.cfg*(5), *syslinux-cli*(1), *lilo*(8), *keytab-lilo.pl*(8), |
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*fdisk*(8), *mkfs*(8), *superformat*(1). |
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== AUTHOR == |
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This AsciiDoc derived document is a modified version of the original |
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*SYSLINUX* documentation by {author} <{author-email}>. The conversion to |
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a manpage was made by Arthur Korn <arthur@korn.ch>. The conversion to |
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an AsciiDoc was made by {editor1} <{editor1-email}> |
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== COPYRIGHT == |
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Copyright \(C) 1994-2012 {author}. Free use of this software is granted |
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under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL), version 2 |
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(GPLv2) (or, at your option, any later version).
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