[syslinux] UEFI bootable USB stick to allow PXE booting with USB ethernet adaptors?

[Dan Jackson]

Hello,

Thanks for the suggestion regarding imgexec, I'll give that a try.

Unfortunately we don't have the time or resources to set up and support a Linux machine, so we don't have any way in which to recompile iPXE and must instead use the pre-existing binary files.

Kind regards,
Dan Jackson (Network & Systems Engineer)
Long Road Sixth Form College
Cambridge, UK

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Brown <mcb30 at ipxe.org>
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2023 12:33 PM
To: Dan Jackson <djackson at longroad.ac.uk>; Frantisek Rysanek <Frantisek.Rysanek at post.cz>; Dan Jackson via Syslinux <syslinux at syslinux.org>
Subject: Re: [syslinux] UEFI bootable USB stick to allow PXE booting with USB ethernet adaptors?

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of Long Road Sixth Form College. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.

On 21/07/2023 08:54, Dan Jackson via Syslinux wrote:
> I think this should be possible to automate using a combination of
> startup.nsh and autoexec.ipxe, though automatically locating the
> filesystem in the EFI shell might prove somewhat tricky. I think I
> saw flow control commands in the help though, so I can maybe put
> together some kind of DOS-like script to do it.
>
> The Realtek UEFI drivers are available for download freely on
> Realtek's web site (they're a separate download from the regular
> drivers, a bit further down the page).

For anyone else trying this in future: a much, much simpler approach is
to build a bootable iPXE USB key that already includes the relevant USB
NIC driver.  For example:

   make bin-x86_64-efi/ipxe--ecm.usb

There is no need to involve the UEFI shell, startup.nsh, or the Realtek
UEFI drivers in any way.

> Booting iPXE directly does not work as it provides no means (as far
> as I could tell from the command help) to load the Realtek driver at
> the iPXE shell prompt.

The standard "imgexec" command should work to load a driver.  But you
don't need to use it, because it's simpler to just use a bootable iPXE
USB key as described above.

Thanks,

Michael
Thank you for your email which we will respond to as quickly as we can. Please be aware that to support the wellbeing of our staff and students, Long Road Sixth Form College does not routinely respond to emails outside of our usual working hours.

--

[https://www.longroad.ac.uk/_site/data/files/images/logos/F077AFDB9FEBB77F977D7E6C09DA751F.png]<https://www.longroad.ac.uk>

[https://www.longroad.ac.uk/_site/data/files/images/76DB28695AB2A957B1812BD75CC585E1.png]<https://www.facebook.com/LongRoadSixthFormCollege/> [https://www.longroad.ac.uk/_site/data/files/images/CE703F46CFAF86CA4D3BBF0AB2232A7F.png] <https://twitter.com/LR6FC>  [https://www.longroad.ac.uk/_site/data/files/images/3DF251EAAF6B9B15CF4C8EC453B73AFA.png] <https://www.instagram.com/lr6fc/>

This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual(s) to whom it is addressed. If you receive this email by mistake please notify the sender and delete it immediately. This communication represents the originator's personal views and opinions which do not necessarily reflect those of Long Road Sixth Form College. Please be aware that any encrypted files emailed to Long Road may be subject to a delay.