[syslinux] Linux boot hangs after/during read of initrd.img

[Didier Spaier]

Hell,

[quoted lines from Paul Smith]:
> Precis: I’m trying to debug a problem with CentOS7 failing to install from an ISO written to a USB pendrive – anyone got suggestions?
> 
> What works – installing on a modern, ‘standard PC’; the pendrive image boots and installs as I expect
> 
> What does not work – same pendrive booting in an ATCA blade.  What I’ve tried is…
> 
> 
>   1.  Boot the standard CentOS7 minimal image.  This seems to start but then just sits at a black screen
>   2.  Forcing ‘serial’ from the isolinux.cfg. This seems to have little effect.
>   3.  Rebuilding the CentOS7 minimal image but using the latest SYSLINUX/ISOLINUX source code compiled by me; rebuilding into an ISO then isohybrid.ed.  This shows ‘Loading vmlinux…ok’ and ‘loading initrd.img…ok’ and then hangs in a similar way to the vanilla image.
>   4.  Adding a printfs() into the SYS/ISOLINUX source code to try and narrow down the problem.  This seems to exhibit number of strange problems….

I have had more luck using xorriso to write an hybrid ISO than post-hybriding the ISO using isohybrid.

I am CCing Thomas Schmitt, xorriso mantainer who could shed more light.

Here is an example: 

# ISO is the path to the root of the ISO tree
# PATHTOISO is the path to the hybrid ISO being written, including its name. 
( cd $ISO
if [ "$SFX" = "64" ]; then
  EFIOPTIONS="-eltorito-alt-boot -e isolinux/efiboot.img -isohybrid-gpt-basdat -no-emul-boot"
fi
xorriso -as mkisofs \
    -isohybrid-mbr /usr/share/syslinux/isohdpfx.bin \
    -hide-rr-moved \
    -U \
    -V "MyCENTOS" \
    -J \
    -joliet-long \
    -r \
    -v \
    -o $PATHTOISO \
    -b isolinux/isolinux.bin \
    -c isolinux/boot.cat \
    -no-emul-boot \
    -boot-info-table $EFIOPTIONS . \
)

Have a good day,

Didier