220 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
220 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
= syslinux(1) =
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:doctype: manpage
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:revdate: 2013-06-12
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:author: H. Peter Anvin
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:author-email: hpa@zytor.com
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:editor1: Gene Cumm
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:editor1-email: gene.cumm@gmail.com
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:editor1-revlast: 2013-06-12
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== NAME ==
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syslinux - Install SYSLINUX to a file system
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== SYNOPSIS ==
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[verse]
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*syslinux* ['OPTIONS'] 'DEVICE'
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*extlinux* ['OPTIONS'] 'PATH'
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*syslinux* [-h | --help | -v | --version]
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*extlinux* [-h | --help | -v | --version]
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== DESCRIPTION ==
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Install *SYSLINUX* to the 'DEVICE'/'PATH', altering the boot sector and
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installing the 'ldlinux.sys' boot loader file. For the Linux installer
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extlinux, 'PATH' is the desired path for the control files on a mounted,
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supported file system and sets the install-time working directory. For
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all others, 'DEVICE' must specify a FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 file system. For
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the Linux installers syslinux and syslinux-mtools, 'DEVICE' should be an
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unmounted file system. For the DOS/Win32/Win64 installers, 'DEVICE'
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should be a drive like 'a:' (case insensitive).
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For versions ~4.00 and later, either -i/--install or -U/--update must be
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specified unless modifying the ADV of an existing install (options
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tagged with 'ADV') or requesting the help/usage or version info, .
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If, during boot, the Shift or Alt keys are held down, or the Caps or
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Scroll locks are set, *Syslinux* will display a *lilo*(8) -style "boot:"
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prompt. The user can then type a kernel file name followed by any kernel
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parameters. The *Syslinux* bootloader does not need to know about the
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kernel or config files in advance.
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*Syslinux* supports the loading of initial ramdisks (initrd) and the
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bzImage kernel format.
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Please note, the ldlinux.sys boot loader file is flagged as immutable
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(where applicable) and is modified after copying in to help ensure
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boot-time integrity. File systems with a sufficiently large boot loader
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reserved area, like btrfs, will have ldlinux.sys installed there rather
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than as a normal file. Prior to version 4.00, extlinux would install a
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file extlinux.sys which versions 4.00 and later installers will replace with ldlinux.sys.
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== OPTIONS ==
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// "See"/"See also" notes should reference long options.
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=== Standalone options ===
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*-i*, *--install*::
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(~4.00+) Install SYSLINUX, regardless of an existing install.
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*-U*, *--update*::
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(~4.00+) Update an existing SYSLINUX/EXTLINUX install. If no Syslinux
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boot loader is present, return an error.
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*-h*, *--help*::
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Display help/usage information.
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*-v*, *--version*::
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Display version information and exit immediately.
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=== Regular Options ===
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// Sorted generally by short argument
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*-a*, *--active*::
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(DOS/Win32/Win64 ONLY) Mark the install target file system's partition
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active.
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*-d*, *--directory* 'subdirectory'::
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(Not necessary for extlinux as it is implied by 'PATH') Install the
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*SYSLINUX* control files in a subdirectory with the specified name
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(relative to the root directory on the device).
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*--device* 'DEVICE'::
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(extlinux ONLY; 4.06+) Force use of a specific block device (experts
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only).
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*-f*, *--force*::
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Force install even if it appears unsafe. Before 4.00, -f was used for
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--offset in the Linux installers.
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*-H*, *--heads* 'head-count'::
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Override the detected number of heads for the geometry. See also
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*--sector*.
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*-m*, *--mbr*:
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(DOS/Win32/Win64 ONLY) Install the regular Syslinux MBR code to the MBR.
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*-M*, *--menu-save*::
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(4.00+; ADV) Set the label to select as default on the next boot.
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*-o*, *--once* 'command'::
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(ADV) Declare a boot command to be tried on the first boot only. The
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use of *-o* for the Linux installers syslinux or syslinux-mtools has
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been deprecated as of \~4.00 and is no longer valid as of ~4.02.
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*-O*, *--clear-once*::
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Clear the boot-once command. See also *--once*.
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*-r*, *--raid*::
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(ADV) RAID mode. If boot fails, tell the BIOS to boot the next device
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in 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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*--reset-adv*::
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(ADV) Reset auxilliary data vector.
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*-S*, *--sectors* 'sector-count'::
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Override the detected number of sectors for the geometry. See also
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*--head*.
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*-s*, *--stupid*::
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Install a "safe, slow and stupid" version of *SYSLINUX*. This version
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may work on some very buggy BIOSes on which *SYSLINUX* would otherwise
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fail. If you find a machine on which the -s option is required to make
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it boot reliably, please send as much info about your machine as you
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can, and include the failure mode.
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*-t*, *--offset* 'offset'::
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(Linux syslinux/syslinux-mtools ONLY) Indicates that the filesystem is
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at an offset from the base of the device or file.
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*-z*, *--zipdrive*
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Assume zipdrive geometry ('--heads 64 --sectors 32'). See also *--head*
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and *--sector*.
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== EXAMPLES ==
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=== Booting DOS ===
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For booting DOS and other similar operating systems, there is an easy
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and generally reliable solution to substitute in SYSLINUX as the primary
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boot loader.
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- Make a DOS-bootable disk; The following are possible commands:
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format a: /s
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sys a:
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- Copy the DOS boot sector off using Linux or copybs.com:
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dd if=/dev/fd0 of=dos.bss bs=512 count=1
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copybs a: a:dos.bss
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- Install SYSLINUX using one of:
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syslinux a:
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syslinux /dev/fd0 (before 4.00)
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syslinux -i /dev/fd0 (4.00+)
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- For Linux, mount the disk and copy the dos.bss to the disk:
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mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /mnt
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cp dos.bss /mnt
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- Copy a Linux kernel image and initrd payload files:
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*Linux:*::
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cp vmlinux /mnt
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cp initrd.gz /mnt
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*DOS/Windows:*::
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copy vmlinux a:
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copy initrd.gz a:
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- For Linux, umount the disk (if applicable):
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umount /mnt
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=== MBR ===
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In order to boot from a hard disk (or hard disk-like device) in BIOS
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mode, an appropriate MBR boot block must also be installed in the MBR
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(first sector or 512 bytes of the disk), occupying at most 440 bytes.
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*DOS/Windows:*::
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If using FDISK, FDISK or a similar application must also be used to mark
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the partition as active.
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+
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fdisk /mbr
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OR
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syslinux -ma c:
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*Linux:*::
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dd bs=440 count=1 conv=notrunc if=mbr/mbr.bin of=/dev/sda
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For altmbr.bin, an easy way to overwrite the MBR boot block and specify
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the partion number is:
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printf '\1' | cat altmbr.bin - | dd bs=440 count=1 \
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iflag=fullblock conv=notrunc of=/dev/sda
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+
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Note: using 'cat' for writing the MBR can under some circumstances cause
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data loss or overwritting. For this reason, using 'dd' is recommended
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for all situations.
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//[FIXME]: any clean way to handle the above long command for manpage?
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== SEE ALSO ==
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*syslinux.cfg*(5), *syslinux-cli*(1), *lilo*(8), *keytab-lilo.pl*(8),
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*fdisk*(8), *mkfs*(8), *superformat*(1).
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== AUTHOR ==
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This AsciiDoc derived document is a modified version of the original
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*SYSLINUX* documentation by {author} <{author-email}>. The conversion to
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a manpage was made by Arthur Korn <arthur@korn.ch>. The conversion to
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an AsciiDoc was made by {editor1} <{editor1-email}>
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== COPYRIGHT ==
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Copyright \(C) 1994-2012 {author}. Free use of this software is granted
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under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL), version 2
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(GPLv2) (or, at your option, any later version).
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