[syslinux] PXE booting BartPE ISO file to Eee Pc

[Claus Andersen]

On Mon, 10 Nov 2008, cr4z3d wrote:

> My pxelinux menu to boot startrom.bs:
>
> label bartacronis
> MENU LABEL ^BartPE w/ Acronis
> kernel startrom.bs
>
> Seems to just go to a screen with a blinking cursor and just hang there
> forever. I have other things in my boot menu that all work fine so I'm
> assuming it has to do with my BartPE setup.

Yes - this sounds more like a Windows issue than PXELINUX. When PXELINUX 
has handed over to "startrom" you can be fairly sure it is a Windows 
problem rather then PXELINUX.

1) Make sure you are using "ntdetect.com" and "setupldr.exe" (renamed to 
ntldr) from Windows 2003 SP1. You can download SP1 from Microsoft and 
unpack it locally to get those files. Earlier versions might/will have 
problems doing TFTP and ISO boot. You should however start by focusing on 
the NBP (startrom.com/n12)

2) Test with both "startrom.com" and "startrom.n12". If "startrom.com" was 
downloaded and executed correctly it will always display "Press F12 
to...". Then you know the NBP is loaded properly. This is good for 
debugging and you can always switch to "startrom.n12" later. The only 
difference between "startrom.com" and startrom.n12" is whether that 
message is displayed.

3) You have renamed the NBP to .bs - PXELINUX will then expect a bootsector 
image (bootstrap program). I would rename it to use the extension ".0". 
There are several extensions with special meaning see:
http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/Doc/syslinux#COMBOOT_IMAGES_AND_OTHER_OPERATING_SYSTEMS

4) Your best bet for debugging is to look in the TFTP log and see what 
files are requested from the client. The last succesful file will be your 
culprit. Following files not found might then be related to the problem.

5) You might want to use the "PXE" keyword rather than "KERNEL" in the 
"LABEL" section. Hence "kernel startrom.bs" should be "pxe startrom.bs" - 
or simply "pxe startrom.com".
http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/Doc/syslinux#CONFIGURATION_FILE

If you go directly from the PXELINUX menu to a blinking cursor I assume 
that either:
a) "startrom.com" was loaded the wrong way due to ".bs" - try renaming it. 
You will notice in your TFTP log that no other files are requested.
b) You are using "startrom.n12" as NBP. It will not prompt for anything 
but you will be able to see what files it requests from the TFTP log.

If I was you I would:
I) Copy "startrom.com" to the TFTP root
II) Rename "startrom.com" to "startrom.com.0"
III) Change "kernel startrom.bs" to "kernel startrom.com.0"
IV) Monitor the TFTP log.

A success would be to see the message "Press F12 to..." from the NBP right 
after the PXELINUX menu. If you do that and still have problems then the 
TFTP log is you friend and you should probably find a Windows related list 
for further troubleshooting.

I am sorry but I will not be able to follow up on this as I am off to Rome 
the next 14 days (yipee!).

-- 
Kind Regards,
Claus Andersen