Syslinux 4.02 too old for me?

[PDP-8]

Hi Jason - maybe this is the reason I seem to have trouble running dCore X86_64 debian_stretch on my UEFI-ONLY boxes ...

I ran the iso through Rufus and took a look at the logs.  Aside from no gpt in the iso, maybe Syslinux 4.02 is a tad too old?  Check the iso analysis section..

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Rufus x86 v3.5.1497
Windows version: Windows 10 64-bit (Build 17763)
Syslinux versions: 4.07/2013-07-25, 6.03/2014-10-06
Grub versions: 0.4.6a, 2.02
System locale ID: 0x0409 (en-US)
Will use default UI locale 0x0409
SetLGP: Successfully set NoDriveTypeAutorun policy to 0x0000009E
Localization set to 'en-US'
Notice: The ISO download feature has been deactivated because the remote download script can not be accessed.
Found USB 2.0 device 'SanDisk Cruzer Blade USB Device' (0781:5567)
Using autorun.inf label for drive D: 'Porteus'
Found card reader device 'Toshiba 032G34'
1 device found
Disk type: Removable, Disk size: 16 GB, Sector size: 512 bytes
Cylinders: 1946, Tracks per cylinder: 255, Sectors per track: 63
Partition type: GPT, NB Partitions: 1
Disk GUID: {B79BE815-D66C-483C-8F3B-78F4E22C23B8}
Max parts: 128, Start Offset: 17408, Usable = 16008575488 bytes
Partition 1:
  Type: {EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7}
  Name: 'Microsoft Basic Data'
  ID: {0C60D641-C329-43DD-8D4F-23F88EF23C5A}
  Size: 14.9 GB (16007544320 bytes)
  Start Sector: 2048, Attributes: 0x0000000000000000
Scanning image...
ISO analysis:
  Image is an ISO9660 image
  Will use '/boot/isolinux/isolinux.cfg' for Syslinux
  Detected Syslinux version: 4.02/debian-20101014 (from '/boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin')
Disk image analysis:
  Image has an unknown Master Boot Record
  Image is a bootable disk image
ISO label: 'dCore-stretch64'
  Size: 189.4 MB (Projected)
  Note: File on disk is larger than reported ISO size by 244 KB...
  Uses: Syslinux/Isolinux v4.02
Using image: dCorePlus-stretch64.iso (190 MB)

Format operation started
Requesting disk access...
Will use 'D:' as volume mountpoint
Deleting partitions...
Deleting ALL partitions from disk '\\?\PhysicalDrive1':
● Partition 1 (offset: 1048576, size: 14.9 GB)
Opened \\.\PhysicalDrive1 for exclusive write access
Analyzing existing boot records...
Drive has a Zeroed Master Boot Record
Clearing MBR/PBR/GPT structures...
Erasing 128 sectors
Deleting partitions...
Partitioning (MBR)...
Closing existing volume...
Waiting for logical drive to reappear...
Formatting (FAT32)...
Using cluster size: 8192 bytes
Quick format was selected
Creating file system...
Format completed.
Writing master boot record...
Drive has a Zeroed Master Boot Record
Partition is already FAT32 LBA...
Set bootable USB partition as 0x80
Using Syslinux MBR
Found volume GUID \\?\Volume{e1f98de3-a1f2-11e9-8594-d8c4971025d1}\
Installing Syslinux 4.02...
Opened \\?\Volume{e1f98de3-a1f2-11e9-8594-d8c4971025d1} for shared write access
Successfully wrote 'ldlinux.sys'
Successfully wrote Syslinux boot record
Successfully remounted \\?\Volume{e1f98de3-a1f2-11e9-8594-d8c4971025d1}\ on D:
Copying ISO files...
Extracting files...
Image is an ISO9660 image
This image will be extracted using Joliet extensions (if present)
Extracting: D:\boot\dCorePlusstretch64.gz (185.5 MB)
Extracting: D:\boot\isolinux\boot.cat (2 KB)
Extracting: D:\boot\isolinux\boot.msg (219 bytes)
Extracting: D:\boot\isolinux\f2 (870 bytes)
Extracting: D:\boot\isolinux\f3 (1003 bytes)
Extracting: D:\boot\isolinux\f4 (865 bytes)
Extracting: D:\boot\isolinux\isolinux.bin (24 KB)
Extracting: D:\boot\isolinux\isolinux.cfg (472 bytes)
Extracting: D:\boot\vmlinuzstretch64 (3.9 MB)
Created: D:\syslinux.cfg
Finalizing, please wait...
Created: D:autorun.inf
Created: D:autorun.ico

Found USB 2.0 device 'SanDisk Cruzer Blade USB Device' (0781:5567)
Using autorun.inf label for drive D: 'dCore-stretch64'
Found card reader device 'Toshiba 032G34'
1 device found
Disk type: Removable, Disk size: 16 GB, Sector size: 512 bytes
Cylinders: 1946, Tracks per cylinder: 255, Sectors per track: 63
Partition type: MBR, NB Partitions: 1
Disk ID: 0x017102FA
Drive has a Syslinux Master Boot Record
Partition 1:
  Type: FAT32 LBA (0x0c)
  Size: 14.9 GB (16007561216 bytes)
  Start Sector: 2048, Boot: Yes
I'm far from a boot expert - and appreciate what you (and the tc guys do as well!) Just wondering if this is part of the problem I'm facing that may not be showing up on older gear that guys are running...

[PDP-8]

Just to show I'm not complaining, we could always go back to bootloaders flipping switches in octal!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0ZKtN53W_Y

Now *that's* a studly way to boot BSD 2.11 on a DEC 11/70 machine.  Gotta' keep your octal cheat-sheet handy....

[PDP-8]

Here are the relevant lines about syslinux 4.02.  Perhaps this is too old for my UEFI-ONLY hardware, which seems to work with iso's using 4.06 and newer ....

Code: [Select]

ISO analysis:
  Image is an ISO9660 image
  Will use '/boot/isolinux/isolinux.cfg' for Syslinux
  Detected Syslinux version: 4.02/debian-20101014 (from '/boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin')
And this missing 244kb may be a benign issue, but I surely don't know...

Code: [Select]

Disk image analysis:
  Image has an unknown Master Boot Record
  Image is a bootable disk image
ISO label: 'dCore-stretch64'
  Size: 189.4 MB (Projected)
  Note: File on disk is larger than reported ISO size by 244 KB...
  Uses: Syslinux/Isolinux v4.02
Using image: dCorePlus-stretch64.iso (190 MB)

[Jason W]

Hi PDP-8.  I am looking into creating dCore BIOS/UEFI bootable ISOs.  Thanks for testing.

dCore-usbinstall uses grub for the UEFI boot, and I believe ISOs must use the same also.  Some distros have this already in their ISOs it seems. 

So does a standard BIOS bootable CDROM work with RUFUS if it's contained syslinux is newer than 4.0.6 and without grub used in the ISO?  Thanks.

[PDP-8]

4.06 and 6.03 Syslinux seem to work just fine on my uefi-only stuff.  But the iso needs to indicate the need for a gpt partition.

And I've done the manual install with grub-multi, latest versions of Syslinux 4.06+ - but all manually for TC with help from the great heavy-hitters there.  So yeah, it can be done, but the bare ISO's - grief.

I hate to bring up comparisons, but I really like the way Porteus handles it.  Inside the iso is a windows.exe AND a bash shell script, so users on either windows or other linux boxes can just run the script to install the bootloader.

But why is that important?  Because of there being *too much information* out there that may be stale or untrustworthy in various forums and wikis when it comes to uefi-only.  When the utility is included in the iso itself, TRUST is established that the bootloader is done correctly, and can be a baseline for support.

Me, I can handle both ways.  Heck my favorite way:

dd < distro.iso > /dev/device

Thing is, I don't want to change the way TC / dCore do things.  Yet I still think the Porteus way of doing it avoids the chicken-and-egg syndrome of having to get a system up and running by some other means to burn the usb stick properly.  I can deal either way.

[Jason W]

I have uploaded an iso that is made with a newer syslinux and I used a Windows machine and Rufus with the iso which created a UEFI only usb that boots in Virtualbox.  Making a "BIOS or UEFI" usb boots in Virtualbox in BIOS mode, but not out of the box in UEFI mode.  I am less interested in a created usb being hybrid, but the iso being able to boot with either BIOS/UEFI is what matters.  Please test the new iso with Rufus and boot the resulting usb on real UEFI hardware if you would.  The new iso is mentioned in the thread below.  Thanks. 

http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/topic,23052.msg144134.html#new