[syslinux] [Feature-Request] syslinux in linux kernel format

[Kim Mik]

Syslinux in kernel format won't be that usefull, because it needs to find the correct partition.
But a chainloadable syslinux would be great.

A possible way that I see, with my limited knowledge of asm.

Change ldlinux.asm:
- add a extra variable in the first 512 bytes: eg. chainload [values: 0 or 1]
- If variable chainload=1, assume that the whole ldlinux..bin is already loaded in RAM,
  so don't try to read the sectors of that file from the partition
- Skip all the checks to see if ldlinux.sys (.bin) is correctly loaded from the media.
- If chainload=0, use the current way of booting

- Compile ldlinux.asm, by default with chainload=0 (so the current form) ==> ldlinux.bin
- Chance the byte which codes for the zero in 'chainload=0' to a one ==> chainsys.bin

The same can be done for extlinux.bin and isolinux.bin (didn't look into it, so can be wrong).
This allows you to use syslinux/extlinux on a partition without installing syslinux/extlinux to
the partition, so it can be chainloaded as a file by a bootloader like grub or grub4dos.

Gert Hulselmans




----- Original Message ----
From: Michael Reichenbach <michael_reichenbach at freenet.de>
To: syslinux at zytor.com
Sent: Wednesday, 25 February, 2009 16:33:27
Subject: [syslinux] [Feature-Request] syslinux in linux kernel format

Hi

It would be pretty useful to have syslinux in linux kernel format so it
can be chainloaded easy and directly by other bootloaders such as grub4dos.

related topics:
http://www.boot-land..net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7013
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=6119&view=findpost&p=59236
http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=7077&view=findpost&p=59230

regards,
-mr

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