388 lines
15 KiB
Groff
388 lines
15 KiB
Groff
.TH SYSLINUX 1 "19 July 2010" "SYSLINUX"
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.SH NAME
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syslinux \- install the \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 bootloader on a FAT filesystem
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.SH SYNOPSIS
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.B syslinux
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[\fBOPTIONS\fP]
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.I device
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.SH DESCRIPTION
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\fBSyslinux\fP is a boot loader for the Linux operating system which
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operates off an MS-DOS/Windows FAT filesystem. It is intended to
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simplify first-time installation of Linux, and for creation of rescue
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and other special-purpose boot disks.
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.PP
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In order to create a bootable Linux floppy using \fBSyslinux\fP, prepare a
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normal MS-DOS formatted floppy. Copy one or more Linux kernel files to
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it, then execute the command:
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.IP
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.B syslinux \-\-install /dev/fd0
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.PP
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This will alter the boot sector on the disk and copy a file named
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.I ldlinux.sys
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into its root directory.
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.PP
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On boot time, by default, the kernel will be loaded from the image named
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LINUX on the boot floppy. This default can be changed, see the section
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on the \fBsyslinux\fP configuration file.
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.PP
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If the Shift or Alt keys are held down during boot, or the Caps or Scroll
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locks are set, \fBsyslinux\fP will display a
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.BR lilo (8)
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-style "boot:" prompt. The user can then type a kernel file name
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followed by any kernel parameters. The \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 bootloader
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does not need to know about the kernel file in advance; all that is
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required is that it is a file located in the root directory on the
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disk.
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.PP
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\fBSyslinux\fP supports the loading of initial ramdisks (initrd) and the
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bzImage kernel format.
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.SH OPTIONS
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.TP
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\fB\-i\fP, \fB\-\-install\fP
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Install \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 on a new medium, overwriting any previously
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installed bootloader.
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.TP
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\fB\-U\fP, \fB\-\-update\fP
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Install \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 on a new medium if and only if a version of
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\s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 is already installed.
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.TP
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\fB\-s\fP, \fB\-\-stupid\fP
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Install a "safe, slow and stupid" version of \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1. This version may
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work on some very buggy BIOSes on which \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 would otherwise fail.
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If you find a machine on which the \-s option is required to make it boot
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reliably, please send as much info about your machine as you can, and include
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the failure mode.
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.TP
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\fB\-f\fP, \fB\-\-force\fP
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Force install even if it appears unsafe.
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.TP
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\fB\-r\fP, \fB\-\-raid\fB
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RAID mode. If boot fails, tell the BIOS to boot the next device in
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the boot sequence (usually the next hard disk) instead of stopping
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with an error message. This is useful for RAID-1 booting.
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.TP
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\fB\-d\fP, \fB\-\-directory\fP \fIsubdirectory\fP
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Install the \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 control files in a subdirectory with the
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specified name (relative to the root directory on the device).
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.TP
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\fB\-t\fP, \fB\-\-offset\fP \fIoffset\fP
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Indicates that the filesystem is at an offset from the base of the
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device or file.
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.TP
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\fB\-\-once\fP \fIcommand\fP
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Declare a boot command to be tried on the first boot only.
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.TP
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\fB\-O\fP, \fB\-\-clear-once\fP
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Clear the boot-once command.
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.TP
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\fB\-H\fP, \fB\-\-heads\fP \fIhead-count\fP
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Override the detected number of heads for the geometry.
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.TP
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\fB\-S\fP, \fB\-\-sectors\fP \fIsector-count\fP
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Override the detected number of sectors for the geometry.
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.TP
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\fB\-z\fP, \fB\-\-zipdrive\fP
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Assume zipdrive geometry (\fI\-\-heads 64 \-\-sectors 32).
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.SH FILES
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.SS "Configuration file"
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All the configurable defaults in \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 can be changed by putting a
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file called
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.B syslinux.cfg
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in the install directory of the boot disk. This
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is a text file in either UNIX or DOS format, containing one or more of
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the following items (case is insensitive for keywords).
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.PP
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This list is out of date.
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.PP
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In the configuration file blank lines and comment lines beginning
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with a hash mark (#) are ignored.
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.TP
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\fBdefault\fP \fIkernel\fP [ \fIoptions ...\fP ]
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Sets the default command line. If \fBsyslinux\fP boots automatically,
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it will act just as if the entries after "default" had been typed in
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at the "boot:" prompt.
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.IP
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If no DEFAULT or UI statement is found, or the configuration file is missing
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entirely, \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 drops to the boot: prompt with an error message (if
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NOESCAPE is set, it stops with a "boot failed" message; this is also the case
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for PXELINUX if the configuration file is not found.)
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.TP
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NOTE: Until \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 3.85, if no configuration file is present, or no
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"default" entry is present in the configuration file, the default is
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"linux auto".
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.TP
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Even earlier versions of \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 used to automatically
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append the string "auto" to whatever the user specified using
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the DEFAULT command. As of version 1.54, this is no longer
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true, as it caused problems when using a shell as a substitute
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for "init." You may want to include this option manually.
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.TP
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.BI append " options ..."
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Add one or more \fIoptions\fP to the kernel command line. These are added both
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for automatic and manual boots. The options are added at the very beginning of
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the kernel command line, usually permitting explicitly entered kernel options
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to override them. This is the equivalent of the
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.BR lilo (8)
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"append" option.
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.PP
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.nf
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.BI label\ label
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.RS 2
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.BI kernel\ image
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.BI append\ options\ ...
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.RE
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.fi
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.RS
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Indicates that if \fIlabel\fP is entered as the kernel to boot, \fBsyslinux\fP should
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instead boot \fIimage\fP, and the specified "append" options should be used
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instead of the ones specified in the global section of the file (before the
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first "label" command.) The default for \fIimage\fP is the same as \fIlabel\fP,
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and if no "append" is given the default is to use the global entry (if any).
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Use "append -" to use no options at all. Up to 128 "label" entries are
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permitted.
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.IP
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The "image" doesn't have to be a Linux kernel; it can be a boot sector (see below.)
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.RE
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.TP
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.BI implicit\ flag_val
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If \fIflag_val\fP is 0, do not load a kernel image unless it has been
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explicitly named in a "label" statement. The default is 1.
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.TP
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.BI timeout\ timeout
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Indicates how long to wait at the "boot:" prompt until booting automatically, in
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units of 1/10 s. The timeout is cancelled as soon as the user types anything
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on the keyboard, the assumption being that the user will complete the command
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line already begun. A timeout of zero will disable the timeout completely,
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this is also the default. The maximum possible timeout value is 35996;
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corresponding to just below one hour.
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.TP
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\fBserial\fP \fIport\fP [ \fIbaudrate\fP ]
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Enables a serial port to act as the console. "port" is a number (0 = /dev/ttyS0
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= COM1, etc.); if "baudrate" is omitted, the baud rate defaults to 9600 bps.
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The serial parameters are hardcoded to be 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit.
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.IP
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For this directive to be guaranteed to work properly, it
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should be the first directive in the configuration file.
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.TP
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.BI font\ filename
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Load a font in .psf format before displaying any output (except the copyright
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line, which is output as ldlinux.sys itself is loaded.) \fBsyslinux\fP only loads
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the font onto the video card; if the .psf file contains a Unicode table it is
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ignored. This only works on EGA and VGA cards; hopefully it should do nothing
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on others.
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.TP
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.BI kbdmap\ keymap
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Install a simple keyboard map. The keyboard remapper used is \fIvery\fP
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simplistic (it simply remaps the keycodes received from the BIOS, which means
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that only the key combinations relevant in the default layout \- usually U.S.
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English \- can be mapped) but should at least help people with AZERTY keyboard
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layout and the locations of = and , (two special characters used heavily on the
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Linux kernel command line.)
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.IP
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The included program
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.BR keytab-lilo.pl (8)
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from the
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.BR lilo (8)
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distribution can be used to create such keymaps.
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.TP
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.BI display\ filename
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Displays the indicated file on the screen at boot time (before the boot:
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prompt, if displayed). Please see the section below on DISPLAY files. If the
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file is missing, this option is simply ignored.
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.TP
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.BI prompt\ flag_val
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If \fIflag_val\fP is 0, display the "boot:" prompt only if the Shift or Alt key
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is pressed, or Caps Lock or Scroll lock is set (this is the default). If
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\fIflag_val\fP is 1, always display the "boot:" prompt.
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.PP
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.nf
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.BI f1\ filename
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.BI f2\ filename
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.I ...
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.BI f9\ filename
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.BI f10\ filename
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.BI f11\ filename
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.BI f12\ filename
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.fi
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.RS
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Displays the indicated file on the screen when a function key is pressed at the
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"boot:" prompt. This can be used to implement pre-boot online help (presumably
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for the kernel command line options.)
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.RE
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.IP
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When using the serial console, press \fI<Ctrl-F><digit>\fP to get to
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the help screens, e.g. \fI<Ctrl-F>2\fP to get to the f2 screen. For
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f10-f12, hit \fI<Ctrl-F>A\fP, \fI<Ctrl-F>B\fP, \fI<Ctrl-F>C\fP. For
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compatiblity with earlier versions, f10 can also be entered as
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\fI<Ctrl-F>0\fP.
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.SS "Display file format"
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DISPLAY and function-key help files are text files in either DOS or UNIX
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format (with or without \fI<CR>\fP). In addition, the following special codes
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are interpreted:
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.TP
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\fI<FF>\fP = \fI<Ctrl-L>\fP = ASCII 12
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Clear the screen, home the cursor. Note that the screen is
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filled with the current display color.
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.TP
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\fI<SI><bg><fg>\fP, \fI<SI>\fP = \fI<Ctrl-O>\fP = ASCII 15
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Set the display colors to the specified background and foreground colors, where
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\fI<bg>\fP and \fI<fg>\fP are hex digits, corresponding to the standard PC
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display attributes:
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.IP
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.nf
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.ta \w'5 = dark purple 'u
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0 = black 8 = dark grey
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1 = dark blue 9 = bright blue
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2 = dark green a = bright green
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3 = dark cyan b = bright cyan
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4 = dark red c = bright red
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5 = dark purple d = bright purple
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6 = brown e = yellow
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7 = light grey f = white
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.fi
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.IP
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Picking a bright color (8-f) for the background results in the
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corresponding dark color (0-7), with the foreground flashing.
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.IP
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colors are not visible over the serial console.
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.TP
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\fI<CAN>\fPfilename\fI<newline>\fP, \fI<CAN>\fP = \fI<Ctrl-X>\fP = ASCII 24
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If a VGA display is present, enter graphics mode and display
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the graphic included in the specified file. The file format
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is an ad hoc format called LSS16; the included Perl program
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"ppmtolss16" can be used to produce these images. This Perl
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program also includes the file format specification.
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.IP
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The image is displayed in 640x480 16-color mode. Once in
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graphics mode, the display attributes (set by \fI<SI>\fP code
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sequences) work slightly differently: the background color is
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ignored, and the foreground colors are the 16 colors specified
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in the image file. For that reason, ppmtolss16 allows you to
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specify that certain colors should be assigned to specific
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color indicies.
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.IP
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Color indicies 0 and 7, in particular, should be chosen with
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care: 0 is the background color, and 7 is the color used for
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the text printed by \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 itself.
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.TP
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\fI<EM>\fP, \fI<EM>\fP = \fI<Ctrl-U>\fP = ASCII 25
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If we are currently in graphics mode, return to text mode.
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.TP
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\fI<DLE>\fP..\fI<ETB>\fB, \fI<Ctrl-P>\fP..\fI<Ctrl-W>\fP = ASCII 16-23
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These codes can be used to select which modes to print a
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certain part of the message file in. Each of these control
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characters select a specific set of modes (text screen,
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graphics screen, serial port) for which the output is actually
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displayed:
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.IP
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.nf
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Character Text Graph Serial
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------------------------------------------------------
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<DLE> = <Ctrl-P> = ASCII 16 No No No
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<DC1> = <Ctrl-Q> = ASCII 17 Yes No No
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<DC2> = <Ctrl-R> = ASCII 18 No Yes No
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<DC3> = <Ctrl-S> = ASCII 19 Yes Yes No
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<DC4> = <Ctrl-T> = ASCII 20 No No Yes
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<NAK> = <Ctrl-U> = ASCII 21 Yes No Yes
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<SYN> = <Ctrl-V> = ASCII 22 No Yes Yes
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<ETB> = <Ctrl-W> = ASCII 23 Yes Yes Yes
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.fi
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.IP
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For example:
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.nf
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<DC1>Text mode<DC2>Graphics mode<DC4>Serial port<ETB>
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.fi
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... will actually print out which mode the console is in!
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.TP
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\fI<SUB>\fP = \fI<Ctrl-Z>\fP = ASCII 26
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End of file (DOS convention).
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.SS Other operating systems
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This version of \fBsyslinux\fP supports chain loading of other operating
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systems (such as MS-DOS and its derivatives, including Windows 95/98).
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.PP
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Chain loading requires the boot sector of the foreign operating system
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to be stored in a file in the root directory of the filesystem.
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Because neither Linux kernels, nor boot sector images have reliable magic
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numbers, \fBsyslinux\fP will look at the file
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extension. The following extensions are recognised:
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.PP
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.nf
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.ta \w'none or other 'u
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none or other Linux kernel image
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BSS Boot sector (DOS superblock will be patched in)
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BS Boot sector
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.fi
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.PP
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For filenames given on the command line, \fBsyslinux\fP will search for the
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file by adding extensions in the order listed above if the plain
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filename is not found. Filenames in KERNEL statements must be fully
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qualified.
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.PP
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.SS Novice protection
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\fBSyslinux\fP will attempt to detect if the user is trying to boot on a 286
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or lower class machine, or a machine with less than 608K of low ("DOS")
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RAM (which means the Linux boot sequence cannot complete). If so, a
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message is displayed and the boot sequence aborted. Holding down the
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Ctrl key while booting disables this feature.
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.PP
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The compile time and date of a specific \fBsyslinux\fP version can be obtained
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by the DOS command "type ldlinux.sys". This is also used as the
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signature for the LDLINUX.SYS file, which must match the boot sector
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.PP
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Any file that \fBsyslinux\fP uses can be marked hidden, system or readonly if
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so is convenient; \fBsyslinux\fP ignores all file attributes. The \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1
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installed automatically sets the readonly attribute on LDLINUX.SYS.
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.SS Bootable CD-ROMs
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\s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 can be used to create bootdisk images for El
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Torito-compatible bootable CD-ROMs. However, it appears that many
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BIOSes are very buggy when it comes to booting CD-ROMs. Some users
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have reported that the following steps are helpful in making a CD-ROM
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that is bootable on the largest possible number of machines:
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.IP \(bu
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Use the -s (safe, slow and stupid) option to \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1
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.IP \(bu
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Put the boot image as close to the beginning of the
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ISO 9660 filesystem as possible.
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.PP
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A CD-ROM is so much faster than a floppy that the -s option shouldn't
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matter from a speed perspective.
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.PP
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Of course, you probably want to use ISOLINUX instead. See the
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documentation file
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.BR isolinux.doc .
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.SS Booting from a FAT partition on a hard disk
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\s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 can boot from a FAT filesystem partition on a hard
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disk (including FAT32). The installation procedure is identical to the
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procedure for installing it on a floppy, and should work under either
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DOS or Linux. To boot from a partition, \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 needs to be
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launched from a Master Boot Record or another boot loader, just like
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DOS itself would. A sample master boot sector (\fBmbr.bin\fP) is
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included with \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1.
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.SH BUGS
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I would appreciate hearing of any problems you have with \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1. I
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would also like to hear from you if you have successfully used \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1,
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especially if you are using it for a distribution.
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.PP
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If you are reporting problems, please include all possible information
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about your system and your BIOS; the vast majority of all problems
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reported turn out to be BIOS or hardware bugs, and I need as much
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information as possible in order to diagnose the problems.
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.PP
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There is a mailing list for discussion among \s-1SYSLINUX\s+1 users and for
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announcements of new and test versions. To join, send a message to
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majordomo@linux.kernel.org with the line:
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.PP
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.B subscribe syslinux
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.PP
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in the body of the message. The submission address is syslinux@linux.kernel.org.
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.SH SEE ALSO
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.BR lilo (8),
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.BR keytab-lilo.pl (8),
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.BR fdisk (8),
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.BR mkfs (8),
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.BR superformat (1).
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.SH AUTHOR
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This manual page is a modified version of the original \fBsyslinux\fP
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documentation by H. Peter Anvin <hpa@zytor.com>. The conversion to a manpage
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was made by Arthur Korn <arthur@korn.ch>.
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