[syslinux] chain loading Syslinux 3.86 from 6.04

[Max]

Thanks.
That gets me further.
Syslinux 4.07 loads from Syslinux 6.04 now.  For some reason though it
reread D:\syslinux.cfg instead of D:\ESXi\syslinux.cfg . I don't see the
directive that tells Syslinux(4) to look in the sub directory for
syslinux.cfg instead of the root.

The only thing (right now) I can see that is different, is my
D:\syslinux.cfg is one file while yours loads other files to make the menu.

On Tue, May 12, 2020 at 6:22 PM Adan Calderon <adancalderon at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I usually use the 64 bit windows executable on a command prompt ran as
> administrator.  The exact version of 4 I have uses with my "multiboot
> syslinux usb pen drive with vmware" is
>  4.07.
>
> My main syslinux.cfg (6.04) that's actually installed as the boot sector
> on a FAT-32 USB formatted pen drive is:
>
> default LOCAL
> timeout 80
> prompt 0
> noescape 1
>
> MENU TITLE UTILITY BOOT MENU
>
> MENU INCLUDE defaults.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE slackware64.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE pmagic.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE kali.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE SYS407.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE dell-esxi-5.5.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE msdos710.cfg
>
>
> MENU INCLUDE slax.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE liveslak.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE xcp-ng.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE xenserver.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE sysresc.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE pfSense.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE vmware.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE hdd.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE hddiag.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE memory.cfg
> MENU INCLUDE netboot.cfg
>
> LABEL LOCAL
> MENU LABEL Local operating system in harddrive (if available)
> kernel chain.c32
> append hd0
>
>
>
>
>
> The dell-esxi-5.5.cfg is:
> MENU BEGIN DELL-E55
> MENU TITLE Dell-ESXi-5.5U3-5230635-A09 Boot Menu
>
> LABEL Dell-ESXi-5.5U3-5230635-A09
> COM32 chain.c32
> APPEND fs file=/dell-esxi-5.5/bootsect.bin nosect
>
> MENU SEPARATOR
> LABEL return_main
> MENU LABEL ^.. Return to Previous Menu
> MENU EXIT
>
> MENU END
>
> When installing the boot sector from 4.07  I use something like
> G:\syslinux-4.07\win64>syslinux64.exe -d \dell-esxi-5.5 G:
> G:\dell-esxi-5.5\bootsect.bin
>
> I then have a syslinux.cfg for version 4.07 that goes with the created
> boot sector inside the directory G:\dell-esxi-5.5\
>
> This syslinux.cfg looks like this:
>
> DEFAULT install-dell-esxi-5.5
> LABEL install-dell-esxi-5.5
>   KERNEL /dell-esxi-5.5/mboot.c32
>   APPEND -c /dell-esxi-5.5/boot.cfg
>
> I think I sometimes modify the boot.cfg file, but I don't remember.
>
>
> On Tue, May 12, 2020, 1:23 PM Max <max at dontlookhere.net> wrote:
>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> The only way I could see to write to a file is using the win32 version
>> and specifying a file after the drive letter.
>> syslinux.exe D: syslinux.bin
>>
>> This throws the same message on to boot and just says Boot error.
>>
>> Is that what you meant to write it to a file?  I tried in Linux:
>> syslinux --install syslinux.bin
>> and that did not work(throws an error that syslinux.bin does not exist).
>> I checked the docs and don't see any flags to tell syslinux to install to a
>> file instead of a device.
>>
>> I tried this with 3.86 and 4 (as Wes suggested he has had success with
>> this in the past).
>>
>> On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 5:01 PM Adan Calderon <adancalderon at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> try installing syslinux 3.86 or 4 to a boot sector "file" not the actual
>>> boot sector.  then chainload that file.
>>>
>>> On Mon, May 11, 2020, 3:57 PM Adan Calderon <adancalderon at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> the mboot file from esxi is not the same as syslinux.  i once saw the
>>>> source as it is avilable from vmware and it's not the same as the one from
>>>> syslinux.  you can chain load an older syslinux (4.something works) that
>>>> then can run vmware's version of mboot.  or maybe you make vmware's version
>>>> work  i think the source was GPL.
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, May 11, 2020, 3:45 PM Max via Syslinux <syslinux at syslinux.org>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>    I was wondering if someone might give me a hand.  I have a multiboot
>>>>> drive I maintain and I am trying to add the ESXi installer to it.
>>>>>    It seems well documented that VMWare uses their own mboot.c32 file
>>>>> which
>>>>> is built from not the same code in SYSLINUX mboot.c32 3.86 . I'm using
>>>>> the
>>>>> Syslinux 6.04 from the Ubuntu repositories.   I have compiled Syslinux
>>>>> 3.86
>>>>> .  I thought I could try to load the older version of syslinux by
>>>>> chainloading it.
>>>>>
>>>>> This is what I have in the config:
>>>>> COM32 chain.c32
>>>>> APPEND FILE=/ESXi/syslinux
>>>>>
>>>>> syslinux is the compiled 3.86 binary.
>>>>>
>>>>> I get :
>>>>> "WARN: The sector won't be mmapped, as it would conflict with the boot
>>>>> file.
>>>>> Booting...."
>>>>> It just hangs there.
>>>>>
>>>>> I am doing this in good old BIOS mode.
>>>>>
>>>>> Can you guys shed any light on the error and give me some indication of
>>>>> what documentation to read next?
>>>>>
>>>>> Is this even possible?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>     Max
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Syslinux mailing list
>>>>> Submissions to Syslinux at syslinux.org
>>>>> Unsubscribe or set options at:
>>>>> https://lists.syslinux.org/syslinux
>>>>>
>>>>