[syslinux] syslinux 6.03 does not boot some kernels

Gene Cumm gene.cumm at gmail.com
Sat Dec 6 06:12:19 PST 2014


On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 9:51 AM, Ady <ady-sf at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Am 02.12.2014 schrieb Ady:
>> >
>> ( ... )
>> >
>> > Since we are in the Syslinux Mailing List, please let me rephrase the
>> > most relevant part of this case: syslinux.efi 6.03 is incapable of
>> > booting some kernel, whereas syslinux.efi 6.01 can successfully boot it
>> > under the same conditions.
>> >
>> I can now confirm that this can be replicated on hardware, a
>> ThinkCentre M93 will reboot when pushed the 3.2-kernel with syslinux 6.03.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>>       Hardy
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>
> I really wish one of the (past or present) Syslinux developers would
> reply to this issue.
>
> Last month, a stable standard Slackware kernel could not be booted by
> syslinux.efi. It had to be customized with "CONFIG_RELOCATABLE".
>
> Now a standard Debian Wheezy stable kernel 3.2 is being reported as not
> bootable with Syslinux 6.03, but successfully bootable with Syslinux
> 6.01.
>
> IMHO, this should be considered a Syslinux regression.
>
> It sounds as if syslinux.efi 6.03 is only capable of booting a Linux
> kernel 3.3+ with an adequate config with EFISTUB. Considering that some
> relevant changes were introduced to the Linux kernel in its 3.3 branch,
> are these reported behaviors mean that prior kernels (such as the
> current stable Debian Wheezy with kernel 3.2) are not bootable in UEFI
> mode by Syslinux 6.03?
>
> Is Syslinux adding more conditions than really necessary so to boot
> Linux kernels in UEFI mode?
>
> If I understand correctly, a Linux kernel 3.2 might not be able to
> follow newer conventions, considering that such conventions /
> conditions were implemented / refined with kernel 3.3, not before.
>
> Following adequate standards, rules and common conventions is fine, but
> there should be some flexibility (or "fallback") for other cases, such
> as for kernel 3.2 (which is going to be alive in Debian Wheezy for at
> least a couple more years).
>
> So, can someone please clarify this situation?

In an effort to get things started, I just wrote
http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php/Common_Problems#Linux_EFI_kernels

I understand the CONFIG_RELOCATABLE issue well enough to write about
it however Ady seems to have stumbled upon a real key for the
pre-Linux-3.3 kernels.

-- 
-Gene


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