Boot options

[caracalla]

My plan is to have multiple Tiny Core Linux versions on my USB flash disk at the same time. Just for test I decided to play around with boot configuration where I tried to specify different locations for tce and opt. My idea is to have a single partition referred to by label, but then I would like to have tce and opt folders named differently.

I have the following Extlinux boot configuration

LABEL nicehash-os-default
    KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz64
    INITRD /boot/corepure64.gz
    APPEND loglevel=3 waitusb=10:LABEL=SYSTEM tce=LABEL=SYSTEM/tce-default opt=LABEL=SYSTEM/opt-default

When I was specifying boot configuration I wanted tce to be searched on a partition with a label SYSTEM in the tce-default folder, while for the opt option I wanted opt to be searched on a partition with a label SYSTEM in the opt-default folder.

I am not absolutely sure if this configuration is valid, but from my tests, tce folder is identified correctly by the system, while for opt folder I get the following error.

Invalid device specified. Skipping persistent OPT request.

Is it possible that we can configure tce option this way but not opt option?

Please let me know what I'm doing wrong here.
Thanks!

[Rich]

Hi caracalla
Only the tce directory will work like that. The only way I can think of to have unique opt (or home) directories would to put
each one into its own partition.

[caracalla]

I was suspecting that there must be a restriction like that. I am not familiarized with the implementation, but I guess it should not be too hard to add support for unique opt and home.
Maybe I invest some time to investigate if this is possible. Anyway, thank you for clarifying this one to me.

[ulfr]

   i have multiple home tce and opt directories on one partition
   but i have to rename them each time i switch
 
   x1-home  x1-tce  x1-opt   etc

   there should be a relatively simple way
   to add boot codes to look for different names

   i have added boot codes to tc-config
   but have not delved into the loading of home tce and opt

   if you look into it
   I would be interested in your thoughts on this 

   ulfr

   

[curaga]

IIRC, it was RobertS's deliberate decision to only support the Linux-native names for those directories.

[ulfr]

   thank you curaga for the info

   you guys are the masters 

   the way i do it takes a few extra steps
   but works just fine
   and you can have an unlimited number of home tce and opt directories
   (as many as your hard drive will hold)
   and you can mix and match them at will
   no real need to do anything
   just some noise from the peanut gallery 

   have i ever told you guys how much i appreciate
   all the work you've done to give us  tinycore

   thanks again

   ulfr 

[CentralWare]

@caracalla: If you are using the backup system (filetool.sh) you already have the ability for separate tce/opt/home directories; just not as "persistent" as one might hope for as it takes that extra step.


If you're using tce=LABEL=somewhere/tce1, for example, your backup file is dedicated to this directory as well, thus separate opt/home (etc.) per boot.  Considering you'll be using more than one copy of TC on the boot drive, this might be for the best considering you could easily/accidentally add/remove something from opt/home without thinking it through whereas you have a fail-safe using the backup method.  To accomplish this, just add opt, home and any other files or directories you want used in that particular backup to the file /opt/.filetool.lst and when you're ready, run the backup process: filetool.sh -b


When you boot with that particular TCE directory, the backup file is extracted and opt, home, etc are back the way you want them.

[coreplayer2]

You know..   I boot multiple TC versions from each USB and Hard drive (SSD).  Each have dedicated TCE directories and backup files, however in all cases they share common home and opt directories.  Why not share home and opt directories??  Nothing wrong in that surely?

If the intention is to separate different users then I believe that's accomplished with user boot codes, no?


Keep it simple