[syslinux] comments about 5.00pre10

Ady ady-sf at hotmail.com
Sun Nov 18 05:28:15 PST 2012


> Op 18-11-2012 5:56, Ady schreef:
> 
> > "syslinux.exe --directory /boot/syslinux --install a:" (empty fat12
> > formatted volume, so directory not yet created). The command errors
> > out, as it should, but it still leaves ldlinux.sys on "a:/". Do you
> > mean that the file(s) are first copied to the root of the volume and
> > then moved to the "--directory"? If that's the case, maybe it should
> > FIRST check for the existence of the destination directory (together
> > with any other condition to be met), and only _then_ install the
> > files if appropriate?
> 
> I think it might have always done this. In DOS at least, Syslinux 
> installer can choke on an already present "\LDLINUX.SYS" with RHS 
> attributes (read-only, hidden, system) when trying to move its location, 
> even if that location already exists.
> 
> e.g.:
> 
> SYSLINUX A:
> echo A:\LDLINUX.SYS should now exist
> MD A:\BOOT
> SYSLINUX -d /BOOT --install A:
> echo A:\BOOT\LDLINUX.SYS should exist..
> 
> I don't know if it's the project's intention to only allow 1 LDLINUX.SYS 
> per medium or if multiple are allowed. If only 1, the previous 
> LDLINUX.SYS could be deleted from root and/or target install dir.
> 
> Bernd

syslinux.com is defaulting the installation to the root of the 
destination device when the destination directory doesn't exist. This 
could be an acceptable behavior (as oppose to completely failing the 
installation).

What I requested to improve for 5.00pre10 was not necessarily this 
fallback behavior (although I probably wasn't as clear as I should 
have been), but the fact that the command line was falsely behaving 
as a complete success. Although SYSLINUX gets to be installed, it is 
wrong to accept that installation as a complete success without 
notifying the user, since the files are not located in the desired 
destination directory (because such directory doesn't exist).

So, to be more clear, the fallback rule behavior may probably be 
acceptable and useful, but the command line should not react as if 
each and all the conditions were met when they are not.

If the fallback behavior is acceptable, then both ldlinux.sys and 
ldlinux.c32 indeed should be copied to the root of the volume when 
the desired destination directory doesn't exist, but the user should 
be aware (with some exit note) of such "partial" success result (as 
oppose to exiting the command line with a "false" 100% success).

Whichever the behavior, it should be consistent between the 
installers (DOS/WIN32/WIN64/mtools/nomtools/EXTLINUX...).

Hopefully Matt will review this for the next 5.00-pre-release.




More information about the Syslinux mailing list