[syslinux] Help Memdisk + Pxelinux hangs

[Peter.Leenders at computacenter.com]

Hello Eileen,

because of the *. ima extension I suppose you use using WinImage you create
your DOS Bootdisk. If you want to use ghost for imaging I suppose you don't
use a 1.4 MB Floppyimage. How do you you create your boot image and what's
the size.

To narrow your problem:
 * Try first to use a standard 1,4 MB floppy that also boots from floppy
drive.
 * Don't use the DOS-Version of Windows ME (Freedos, MS Dos 5.0 till Win 98
SE would bee ok) because this version will not boot via pxe.
 * If you use himem in your config.sys, use the /testmem:off switch
(otherwise this can overwrite pxe/memdisk).
 * Make sure (if possible at least for testing purpose) that a floppy drive
is attached to and activated in bios of the pxe-client (because of buggy
pxe implemetations).
 * If you want to create a 2,8MB floppy image with winimage, read first a
bootable normal 1,4 MB floppy, change format in WinImage to 2,8MB and add
then extra Files to image.
 * If you aren't experienced this WinImage and pxelinux/memdisk don't use
master boot images greater 2,8 MB
 * If you create boot floppies greater then 2,8MB with Winimage your config
file memdisk needs the floppy and c,h,s parameters (normaly something like
c=225 s=36 h=4,8 or 16).
 * Images greater 2,8MB must be uncompressed (ima) images, the smaller ones
can use compressed (imz) format.

If you need a greater bootimage please email me personaly and I can send
you a master image and the corresponding template for your config file
(just copy your files into this).

Mit freundlichen Gruessen - Yours sincerely

Peter Leenders




                                                                           
             Eileen.Mcnaughton                                             
             @alcatel-lucent.c                                             
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                                       [syslinux] Help Memdisk + Pxelinux  
             19.07.2007 23:43          hangs                               
                                                                           
                                                                           
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Hello,

I am a *nix newbie

I am trying to boot a DOS boot disk using PXE (to Ghost on windows
images).

We have an existing PXE server which successfully serves out PXElinux and
Fedora builds based on that but my floppy disk image with memdisk isn't
working

I have tried a few different floppy images which people have posted as
ones that work for them but I doubt the disk is the problem as the hang
occurs before memdisk itself seems to have even loaded:

Loading memdisk.....
Loading image.img .............
Loading Ready

and then nothing more....

I only found one other post with the same symptoms.
http://syslinux.zytor.com/archives/2002-April/000346.html

The guy who set up the server says that the versions of isolinux etc are
the latest.



This is from my config file (I tried all these variations but the same
result):


label 20
  kernel memdisk keeppxe
  append initrd=test.ima floppy

label test
  kernel memdisk
  append initrd=dos/bart.img keeppxe

label a
  kernel memdisk
  append initrd=dos/net.img floppy

label b
  kernel memdisk
  append initrd=dos/netlg.ima floppy

label c
  kernel memdisk
  append initrd=dos/net.img raw

label d
  kernel memdisk
  append initrd=dos/netlg.ima raw

label e
  kernel memdisk
  append initrd=dos/netlg.ima floppy raw


Any ideas much appreciated!

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