I'm trying to use extlinux instead of lilo, to multiboot Slax and Slitaz. However, I'm having trouble with getting it to boot with only Slax
At the first time I tried, extlinux said /boot/vesamenu.c32:not a COM32R image
After some tries, getting frustrated, I reformatted the partition entirely and started at the first step(I'm not sure if I've tried the same with the first try), and it says
ERROR: No configuration file found
No DEFAULT or UI configuration directive found!
and if I type in /boot/vesamenu.c32, it still says that it's not a COM32R image.
I don't understand why it doesn't work.
This is how I'm trying:
1. Copied all the stuff from slax-6.1.2.tar(md5sum checked-not corrupted)
I don't know how much it matters, but as I read your post it looks like you use extlinux from the C-based code of syslinux4 but you use the vesamenu.c32 from the assembly code release of syslinux3 shipped with slax?
I use extlinux (I'm using 3.86 fwiw) on slax all the time, but I don't mess with the slax install scripts. I grab the full syslinux (assembly) release and replace the slax default /boot directory with the whole release of the syslinux family. It's probably significant that extlinux calls its compatible version of vesamenu.c32, though I'm not certain that's really necessary. Just try not mixing and matching parts of different versions of the booters.
I've never tried the latest C-based extlinux booters, I suspect they're as good as the booters that came before but it always takes me a year to catch up on new code versions.
Anyway, you don't need lilo for anything if you're using extlinux, and I recommend learning to install the booters by hand, the steps really are just, make sure the partition is bootable in cfdisk, run extlinux -i (I do it to the fully specified path, like 'extlinux -i /dev/sda1/boot/extlinux'), and give yourself the code in the mater boot record with dd, like 'dd if=/boot/syslinux/mbr.bin of=/dev/sda'. A manual install of slax is pretty trivial with practice.
That is correct. You can not mix different versions of vesamenu.c32, as sams says. It will give an errormessage or just a gray screen when you try to boot.
I also noticed that you renamed syslinux.cfg to extlinux.cfg. It should be extlinux.conf
As well as give the code to MBR with dd, you might as well use the command: cat mbr.bin > /dev/sda (sda or whatever your device is named).
After replacing extlinux with older version and renaming extlinux.cfg, extlinux works perfectly.
Thanks, sams and Linux422!
I've got two more problems now.
Firstly, it stops booting in the middle of booting process. the screen goes black, and it doesn't response to any of my keyboard or mouse
Sorry for my ignorance, but which log file should I post here?
Secondly, My bios says 'missing operating system' when I try to boot into my usb if it's not the very first boot after I've run bootinst.sh
Could it be relevant to the other problem?
Don´t know why your booting stops in the middle of the process. But if your bios says "missing operating system", it may be some trouble with your MBR.
Try this and see if helps:
Copy the file mbr.bin to your home-directory (root in slax) from your boot-folder in Slax. Then open console and first unmount your device - with umount /dev/sda1 (or whatever your device is called). Give the command:
cat mbr.bin > /dev/sda
Note that you should write to the whole device (sda) with the cat-command and not to the partition (sda1). I´ve done that mistake and got some errormessage because of doublewriting to MBR.
cat mbr.bin > /dev/sda did not made it boot, but ./boot/extlinux/extlinux -i boot/extlinuxmade it boot.
and even when it boots with the option 'always fresh'(or something), it still gets unable to boot.
Yes, you need to install extlinux as a bootloader with extlinux -i boot/extlinux and often use the cat-command to write proper to MBR.
Is your problems with "missing operating system" gone, even when your booting a second time?
I´ve never had any problems with slax stopping in the middle of the process, so I can´t help you there. Maybe someone else seen it?
Otherwise you can do it the hard way: Reformat your USB-stick with ext2/ext3, set a bootflag, copy boot and slax to your usb, make a folder /boot/extlinux, move slax.cfg to /boot/extlinux - rename it to extlinux.conf and do a new extlinux install and cat mbr.bin.
Sorry for late reply!
When I installed syslinux with FAT32, it worked perfectly. When I installed lilo with ext3, it worked perfectly. Now I installed extlinux with ext3, and it doesn't work.(the 'missing operating system' problem has gone. reason? I don't know.) Well, it does boot with text mode, and it doesn't boot with VESA mode. maybe X has some problem.
P.S. I use Radeon 3650 graphic card.
Strange that it works with LiLo and not extlinux. Why not be pleased with LiLo?
You could of course try to boot in text mode and then try xconf and startx (instead of telinit~4).
If that don´t work restart in textmode and try with just startx.
The "missing operating system" problem should be gone when you are doing the "cat mbr.bin > /dev/sda"
You often get that errormessage when installing extlinux without the "cat mbr.bin > /dev/sda".
Sometimes it happens in Syslinux too when installing from Linux. When installing Syslinux from Windows you don´t need "cat mbr.bin > /dev/sda" because you have the syslinux -ma command that writes to MBR.
I didn't modified anything from the original syslinux configuration files. There's no modification in syslinux.cfg and slax.cfg
syslinux.cfg:INCLUDE /boot/slax.cfg
slax.cfg:(All the tabs are ignored here)PROMPT 0
TIMEOUT 90
DEFAULT /boot/vesamenu.c32
MENU BACKGROUND /boot/slax.png
MENU WIDTH 36
MENU MARGIN 0
MENU ROWS 8
MENU HELPMSGROW 14
MENU TIMEOUTROW 22
MENU TABMSGROW 24
MENU CMDLINEROW 24
MENU HSHIFT 40
MENU VSHIFT 2
menu color screen 37;40 #00000000 #00000000 none
menu color border 30;44 #00000000 #00000000 none
menu color title 1;36;44 #00000000 #00000000 none
menu color unsel 37;44 #ff60CA00 #00000000 none
menu color hotkey 1;37;44 #ff60CA00 #00000000 none
menu color sel 7;37;40 #ffffffff #ff60CA00 none
menu color hotsel 1;7;37;40 #ff808080 #ff60CA00 none
menu color scrollbar 30;44 #00000000 #00000000 none
menu color tabmsg 31;40 #aaaaaaaa #00000000 none
menu color cmdmark 1;36;40 #ffff0000 #00000000 none
menu color cmdline 37;40 #aaaaaaaa #00000000 none
menu color pwdborder 30;47 #ffff0000 #00000000 std
menu color pwdheader 31;47 #ffff0000 #00000000 std
menu color pwdentry 30;47 #ffff0000 #00000000 std
menu color timeout_msg 37;40 #aaaaaaaa #00000000 none
menu color timeout 1;37;40 #ffaaaaff #00000000 none
menu color help 37;40 #aaaaaa00 #00000000 none
menu color msg07 37;40 #90ffffff #00000000 std
LABEL xconf
MENU LABEL Slax Graphics mode (KDE)
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;telinit~4 changes=/slax/
TEXT HELP
More about currently selected:
Run Slax the best way we can.
Try to autoconfigure graphics
card and use the maximum
allowed resolution
ENDTEXT
LABEL fresh
MENU LABEL Slax Always Fresh
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=xconf;telinit~4
TEXT HELP
More about currently selected:
Normally Slax saves all changes
to the /slax/changes/ directory
on the boot media (if writable)
and restores them next time.
Use this option to start fresh
system, no changes are neither
read nor written anywhere
ENDTEXT
LABEL cp2ram
MENU LABEL Slax Copy To RAM
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw copy2ram autoexec=xconf;telinit~4
TEXT HELP
More about currently selected:
Run Slax the same like above,
but first copy all data to RAM
to get huge speed (needs >300MB)
ENDTEXT
LABEL startx
MENU LABEL Slax Graphics VESA mode
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=telinit~4 changes=/slax/
TEXT HELP
More about currently selected:
Run Slax with KDE, but skip
gfx-card config. Force 1024x768
using standard VESA driver
ENDTEXT
LABEL slax
MENU LABEL Slax Text mode
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw changes=/slax/
TEXT HELP
More about currently selected:
Run Slax in textmode and start
command prompt only
ENDTEXT
LABEL pxe
MENU LABEL Slax as PXE server
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw autoexec=/boot/pxelinux.cfg/start;/boot/pxelinux.cfg/web/start;xconf;telinit~4
TEXT HELP
More about currently selected:
Run Slax as usual, but also
initialize PXE server.
This will allow you to boot Slax
on other computers over network
ENDTEXT
MENU SEPARATOR
LABEL memtest86
MENU LABEL Run Memtest utility
KERNEL /boot/mt86p
TEXT HELP
More about currently selected:
Don't start Slax at all, but
rather run the MemTest utility
to diagnose your computer's RAM
for possible errors
ENDTEXT
It also freezes when I try boot in text mode and then xconf and startx(I should have mentioned that). I'm strongly suspecting the X.
P.S. I use Randeon 3650HD, not Radeon 3650. Sorry for mistyping
This is really confusing...If you had problem with X or with the graphics card you shouldn´t be able to boot with LiLo or Syslinux either. Really don´t know...
I saw "starting up X11 session manager" message before freezing. so it is certain that error occurs after X is started.
and also, there's no problem when it boots with VMware - I'm writing this posting with it.
control-alt-F6 should drop you back onto a text console
control-alt-F7 returns you to the X console
it sounds like your graphics card is misconfigured for your monitor. I bet the issue between lilo and extlinux is that one of them is configured to run 'xconf' and the other is not, and whichever happens with extlinux probably configures X to drive your monitor at a resolution or refresh that the LCD cannot sync to. Try hitting 'TAB' at the extlinux startup to edit the APPEND line to change 'autoexec=xconf;telinit~4' to 'autoexec=telinit~4'
Also there is some key sequence that works when X is up, IIRC it's control-alt-MINUS (not sure) that just reduces the X resolution and after a few presses you may end up with a salvageable X screen that then allows you to manually set the correct resolution in the GUI. However I forget where this is documented and also as I recall it's tricky on a laptop because it may be dependent upon the numeric keypad '-' which I think is tricky to emulate on a small laptop keyboard. Well this paragraph is probably all wrong but there may be something worth investigating here.
'Ctrl-Alt-F6' worked, but neither 'Ctrl-Alt-NumMinus' nor 'Ctrl-Alt-NumPlus' worked. Installing ATI driver solved the problem. Now there's no problem left. Thanks, everybody!
and that leaves a question: then how could lilo made it boot properly?
