[syslinux] Adding image file support for Windows

[Phil Garcia]

Hi Shao -

SYSLINUX would only need to find the ldlinux.sys file within an existing
virtual disk image with a FAT filesystem and patch it appropriately. On
Linux, it can already do this. Thus no NTFS required, no special drivers,
and no administrator privileges. 

I wrote a tool that does this for Syslinux v3.72, but by v6.03 the data
structures changed significantly. Rather than re-invest in updating the
tool, it would be better to add this feature upstream into SYSLINUX.

-----Original Message-----
From: Syslinux [mailto:syslinux-bounces at zytor.com] On Behalf Of Shao Miller
via Syslinux
Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2016 9:22 AM
To: syslinux at zytor.com
Subject: Re: [syslinux] Adding image file support for Windows

On 3/11/2016 22:32, Phil Garcia via Syslinux wrote:
> I would like to request that SYSLINUX be extended to install on a 
> filesystem image file on the Windows platform. This feature is 
> available on Linux (option -t); however, on Windows SYSLINUX only 
> installs with a raw device path.
>
> This feature would be use by another open source project. As an small 
> incentive, I'll offer a small, token bounty ($50) for the developer 
> that implements and successfully merges the code into the SYSLINUX 
> source code repository.

Which filesystem(s) and which Windows version(s)?

For NTFS, there is a significant challenge: Windows' NTFS driver is the only
reliable driver for writing new files to a Windows-formatted NTFS
filesystem.  That driver happens to require a disk, as opposed to an
image-file.

Depending on your Windows version, drivers such as WinVBlock, Firadisk,
ImDisk might be options for you.  Newer Windows versions support certain
image-file formats as virtual disks, as well.

- Shao Miller
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