[syslinux] a few sys/isolinux questions

[Giulio Orsero]

On Fri, 20 Dec 2002 15:47:18 +0000, Roberto De Leo <deleo at unica.it> wrote:


>My main question is the following: a few (windows) users burned an isolinux
>image I prepared with isolinux and could not boot the CD, so they tried
>to make it bootable with Nero choosing the floppy image as "Nero boot image"
>and it worked! How can it be possible that the CD produced with isolinux
>does not boot and the one made with Nero/syslinux does with the very same
>BIOS?

If you use isolinux you are booting with El Torito in "no emulation" mode,
while if you use a floppy boot image you're likely booting in "floppy
emulation mode". Maybe that bios is ok with emulation mode and not the other
way.

The advantage of isolinux is that you can ignore the limits of floppy images
(large initrd's)  and/or choose at boot which floppy image to boot.

However, if all you need is the equivalent of a floppy image on CD, you can
produce the image with mkisofs and a floppy image (maybe with syslinux)
without using isolinux. This would be more similar to what those windows
users did.

-- 
giulioo at pobox.com