[syslinux] memdisk and harddisk image creation under Linux

[Stefan Sonnenberg-Carstens]

I read the following about memdisk :

....
For any other size, the image is assumed to be a hard disk image, and
should typically have an MBR and a partition table.  The disk C/H/S
geometry is determined by examining the partition table, so the entire
image should be partitioned for proper operation.
....
I'd like to create a bootable cd, wich boots a linux and some other tools.
While el-torito limits the space to 2,88MByte, I would apreciate to use
memdisk.
The point is : How do I create a harddiskimage from scratch in a file, with
MBR, partition table, filesystem on it etc. without using dd ?
I tried with loopback, ramdisk etc.
I was able to create a MBR and such things in a regular file, also a primary
partition.

But, as expected a mke2fs /filename1 dows not work, clearly, because it is
not a special device.

Anyone out there to help me ?