Dual boot Tiny Core and Windows using Extlinux

[Guy]

Does anyone know how to set up extlinux to dual boot Tiny Core and Windows?

A lot of new users like to keep Windows while installing Tiny Core.

[grandma]

Messed around with Lilo, syslinux, netbootin, linux live, various distros - came up with NOTHING that worked except Tiny Core on new laptop (boots to USB) and only the method below worked on a laptop with no USB boot or CDR:

Google SVOLLI and TINY CORE

He made a TC version that reads NTFS file systems - it basically includes the Tiny Core NTFS-3G module and some GRUB utilities so when you boot your system will ASK you what to do. Svolli + Grub + ISODISK in Windows to read the ISO files did the trick. Nothing else works reliably for a situation with no USB boot and no CDR.

I wrote an install bat file and used the Svolli "thelitecore" version to create an install process that runs from Windows and installs Tiny Core in about 3 seconds - literally - poof - done.

Gave the install to a friend - non-tech - it takes him 20 minutes just to configure his Firefox download folder. He ran it on an XP system - 3 seconds - poof - done.

Now he wants to explore Tiny Core.

Good luck.

[Rich]

Hi Guy
Any special reason you want to use extlinux? Looking on line all I find is that it's very new and very
similar to syslinux, and most of the information appears to be cut and pasted from one or two sources.
I'm currently dual booting Windows XP and Tinycore using grub-0.97-splash.tcz, it works quite well.

[Guy]

Any special reason you want to use extlinux?

In version 3.6, the installer has been improved.

I have written a number of installation guides in the wiki, using the improved installer.

If you install using the installer, using a Linux filesystem, it uses extlinux.

Many people want to dual boot, Tiny Core and Windows.

I know it can be done using Grub, I wrote an installation guide on that too. But installing grub, makes the process more complicated for new users.

If there was a way of just adding Windows boot commands to extlinux, that would be much easier.

I am not sure what is possible with extlinux. To boot extlinux the partition needs to be boot or active. To boot Windows the partition needs to be boot or active. Only one partition can be boot or active.

But it may still be possible. I was hoping someone may know.

[roberts]

How about using chain.32 to chain load Windows. See Syslinux Wiki.

[Guy]

I have it working.

I hope to have time to write it up in the wiki soon.


I have requested an updated syslinux.tcz extension.

[Guy]

http://wiki.tinycorelinux.net/wiki:extlinux

[roberts]

Is still the case that only a primary (1 - 4) partition can be marked as active (bootable)? Therefore using the extlinux boot loader will require such and it should be mentioned in the writeup.

[Guy]

Is still the case that only a primary (1 - 4) partition can be marked as active (bootable)? Therefore using the extlinux boot loader will require such and it should be mentioned in the writeup.

Thanks for the tip. I have added this to a couple of pages.

[pingfox]

If you guys don't mind, I just want to add a small note for other people who may be using laptops with firmware OS such as mine.  (Asus Express Gate, labeled "RECOVERY".)

In this small minority of cases, the Windows "hd0 1" parameter would not work, as the firmware OS is there.  Instead, my windows partition was located in "hd1".