How to get all of (multicore) 'tca' on hard drive?

[jonathanbrickman0000]

What's the best way to get 'tca', including wifi et cetera, installed and running on a hard drive?

[bmarkus]

What's the best way to get 'tca', including wifi et cetera, installed and running on a hard drive?

What is 'tca'?

[Rich]

Hi bmarkus
It's a boot code. See the following link:
http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/topic,11215.msg58594.html#msg58594

[bmarkus]

Ah, thanks. I'm not using multicore, so it is out of my knowledge

[jonathanbrickman0000]

Yep, multicore.  There's a lot of goodness in 'tca', but I would settle for 'tcn' :-)  Is it just a list of add-ons?  If so, is there a way to get that standard list?

J.E.B.

[roberts]

Just peruse the multicore cdrom, each "extras" boot code is a directory. Each directory is a standards compliant tce directory, i.e., named tce directory. Thereby you will find in each directory an onboot.lst and optional directory containing all the extensions as would normally be expected. You choice to copy over the entire directory, or select extensions from specific optional directories and adjust your onboot.lst accordingly.

[jonathanbrickman0000]

So -- if I use 'grub' and bootcode 'tce=hda1', and I copy the tcn onboot.lst and optional directory to /mnt/hda1/tce, all of those packages should install at next boot?

J.E.B.

[maro]

Quite likely, YES.

But my standard suggestion to this type of question would be: try it out in a virtual machine where you can't cause any harm to your "real" hardware (i.e. if you already have the ISO image and for example QEMU installed somewhere it would cost you 5-10 minutes to find out the answer to your question).

[netnomad]

some more detailed questions:
1. is there only the tca-bootcode or exit there a tcn-bootcode, too?
    if both exist, what is the difference?
2. does tca works just in multicore or can it be used for tinycore and microcore, too?
3. what is the exact bootcode comand in the bootloader?
    something like "tca=sda1", "tca=LABEL=tc/tce_netbook" or "tca=LABEL=tc/tce_desktop"?
thank you for your advice.

[maro]

some more detailed questions:
1. is there only the tca-bootcode or exit there a tcn-bootcode, too?
    if both exist, what is the difference?
2. does tca works just in multicore or can it be used for tinycore and microcore, too?
3. what is the exact bootcode comand in the bootloader?
    something like "tca=sda1", "tca=LABEL=tc/tce_netbook" or "tca=LABEL=tc/tce_desktop"?
thank you for your advice.

Before this speculation (AKA "poking around in the mist") goes any further: 'tca' or 'tcn' are not boot codes for the kernel or the TC startup process.  They are labels to select between multiple boot configuration stanzas in the boot loader configuration file (i.e. 'isolinux.cfg').

Each stanza contains (on the 'append' entry line) it's boot codes. For example 'label tca' contains boot code 'tce=LABEL="MultiCore"/tca' which guides the TC startup process to use as 'tce' directory the one it finds on the device with 'LABEL=MultiCore' and the directory name '/tca'.

Please note there were two different uses of the term label in the last two paragraphs: lower case as the name of a ISOLINUX configuration stanza and upper case as a means to identify a storage device.

[netnomad]

thank you for your fast reply.
so tca is a so named tce-directory in the bootloader...
and how is it controlled that all tcz in the directory tca are loaded?
is it hard-coded or is it easily comprehensible?
or is it just a fullblown onboot.lst in a tce-directory that is called tca?

is tcn just the same thing but used in a variation, f.e. for tinycore or another boot-alternative?

[netnomad]

now i checked the multicore.iso with isomaster and i want give some remarks to my examination:

1. tca, tci, tcg, tcn are commands in the boot- or startmenu of the multicore.iso.
    these commands (or better menu-labels) use different tce-directories and onboot.lsts on the multicore.iso
2. multicore-iso is only useful burnt on a cd, and is not properly configured for the use on an usb-stick.
    perhaps there is a way to use it on an usb-stick for the install on a further system?
    ... in the moment the LABEL-bootcommands prevent the use on usb-sticks.

i would propose to describe the usage, the advantages and limits of multicore on the homepage or in a wiki.
i think it's a useful tool for beginners:
after burning a cd the harddisk- or frugal-installation on a single computer is remarkable simplified.
i enjoy to use microcore with multiboot.iso-configurations on different systems...
am i right that multicore is not really suitable for this usage?

[roberts]

Multicore is an isohybrid which means that simply using:
dd if=multicore.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
where sdX is your pendrive will produce a bootable usbpendrive.

There is nothing unusual about Multicore. Perhaps you have not used named tce directories with labels.

Let us not forget that the purpose of Multicore is to help get one started with Tiny Core. Multicore is a replacement for starter packs.

The directories correspond to the "extras" boot codes. I have suggested one to peruse. They are extension directories with each their own onboot.lst. Obviously, being on a cdrom they are read only and therefore any direct copying will result in read only so permissions will need to be adjusted when copying any extension from any cdrom..

[jonathanbrickman0000]

I really do like Multicore, it's an excellent tool.  Saves a whole lot of guesswork.

My quick installer (http://pctsc.ponderworthy.org/tc-installer/tc.setup.sh) now puts on 'tcn' :-) 

A potentially related question:  is it possible to mount a bootable pendrive read/write, to add files ?  I'm looking for a simplest way to create a pen drive with MultiCore plus a custom directory.

J.E.B.

[curaga]

iso9660 is not writable, so if you use the isohybrid way, you'd need to remaster the iso.

OTOH, if you label a partition on the drive as MultiCore, and extract everything there, all the mechanisms should work.