[syslinux] Request for built-in DOS launch module

[Denie Andriessen]

Hi Alexander,

Overhere we use a slight different procedure.

We have a freedos PXE image that has network support.
It connects to a share where we collect all the BIOS flash tools.

We run it from there.

Cheers,
Denie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alexander Perlis" <aperlis at math.lsu.edu>
To: <syslinux at zytor.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2013 6:21 PM
Subject: [syslinux] Request for built-in DOS launch module


> To make say a BIOS flash tool available over PXE, my impression is that 
> a typical procedure goes like this: modify a generic FreeDOS 1440K disk 
> image to contain the EXE and change the AUTOEXEC.BAT to launch that EXE, 
> then make the 1440K IMG available on the PXE server. But more recent 
> BIOS flash EXE are too large and won't fit on the 1440K, not even 3840K, 
> so now we have to look into making a custom FreeDOS ISO image or FreeDOS 
> USB stick image or FreeDOS HD image, for which recipes don't seem to be 
> readily available. In a changing enterprise environment involving many 
> different computer models, you find yourself over time trying to recall 
> and repeat these fragile steps of trying to prepare FreeDOS autoexec 
> images...
> 
> Perhaps there is already a better way available? But if not, it would be 
> wonderful if SYSLINUX had a built-in module that automagically 
> accomplishes all of the tediousness described above, e.g.:
> 
> LABEL biosflash
> KERNEL doslaunch.c32
> INITRD flashtool.exe or files.zip or files.tar.gz
> APPEND exec=flashtool.exe
> 
> I would imagine this would do something along the following lines: set 
> up a DOS-like environment with an extra drive letter for a growable 
> ramdisk, copy the INITRD file or archive (unpacking as necessary) into 
> that ramdisk, switching to the ramdisk drive letter, and then launching 
> whatever file is listed in the exec parameter.
> 
> Does something like that already exist?
> 
> Alex
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