ISO boot from FAT/NTFS/USB (GRUB.exe, grldr from boot.ini)

[j.drake]

This not totally true: I don't remember how I did it (some flag -o ... need to be added to the re-mount), but you can still grant write access to the ntfs partition where the 700MB knoppix resides. The disk is mounted as /cdrom and you need the capture ntfs drivers/script to be run. Obviously you don't want to move or delete the knoppix file since you are using this file but I remember having modified my menu.lst in the NTFS partition using knoppix having booted from it... But I don't know yet about a config or persistent home being as well on that NTFS partition...

Right, I said that it was the feedback, not that it was true. In fact there was a period of time in which I had PH, image and configs all in the SAME partition without problem. But this does not appear to be consistent. Recently, I had problems, and I'm at a loss to explain why.

For that matter, I'm at a loss to explain why, from time to time, Knoppix "forgets" that it has a PH set up. The data are still in the partition - but the Klik wrappers don't work and the "home" button pulls up maybe two files, neither of which I put there. Of course, I can typically dig around and find shells to launch the programs, but like with Firefox, all the extensions and preferences are gone, and none of the desktop or menu shortcuts work. Sometimes it recovers, and sometimes I just have to redo the PH (on a positive note, it's a good way to make sure my programs are up to date - if Klik weren't so darn easy and fast, I'd be really PO'ed).

Does anyone know enough about the mechanics of the PH setup to offer a guess as to why the PH magically disappears from time-to-time? For an OS that's reputed to be so stable, I sure am getting a lot of random stuff happening!

jd

[j.drake]

My deep apologizes. I did not properly uploaded the zip file containing grub. Please download again the correct grub3.zip file from this link: http://s94592085.onlinehome.us/grub/grub3.zip Inside Root_Of_NTFS, you should now have a directory called /boot/knoppix.new containing, on top of the linux26 kernel, the ramdisk miniroot_ntfs.gz that I got from the japanese knoppix distribution. You should also find the correct /boot/grub/menu.lst in order to boot everything from C:\ (hda1, NTFS):

##################################
# GvR Sept 17th 2004
color black/cyan yellow/cyan
timeout=5
default=0

title Default Boot on HD 0
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
boot

# Knoppix Boot from a single NTFS partition hda1 c:\
# All the files within the directory "Root_Of_NTFS" of the grub3.zip
# have to be copied into the root of the NTFS hda1 partition c:\
# but the boot.ini file (which is just here as an example)
# and the 700MB loopback file knoppix has to be extracted from the ISO
# and copied into c:\boot\knoppix.new\knoppix
title Knoppix 3.4 kernel 2.6 from NTFS hda1
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/knoppix.new/linux26 init=/etc/init lang=us hda=scsi hdb=scsi hdc=scsi hdd=scsi vga=791 ro quiet knoppix_dir=/boot/knoppix.new knoppix_name=knoppix
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/knoppix.new/miniroot_ntfs.gz
boot

title Memory test
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/knoppix.new/memtest

title Win311 from Dos from Floppy image 1.44Mb, just for fun...
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/memdisk
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/win311.img
boot
##################################

Since you already get grub running, your boot.ini file is correct and you don't need to update the file grldr with the content of grub3.zip. (This new version of grldr (grub3.zip) can be started directly from the boot.ini and do not require the file bootgrub anymore). Let me know ...
Cheers, Gilles

PS: this should work as well with fat16/32, ext2/3, ...
I also added in the grub3.zip the required files to make a grub boot floppy from a win2k/xp system and the files required by grub to install itself on the disk/partition boot sectors. This version of grub can also boot from the network with some network cards: eepro100, e1000, rtl8139, rtl8169, 3c905, ng310, ... assuming that a server has been setup properly. Usefull if your network card doesn't support PXE !
PS2: I didn't try the 3.6 japanese version yet ...

2damcool!

A few problems, though:

Several fatal errors crossed by screen on boot:

1. PnP BIOS fault - suugested I use the nobiospnp cheatcode. Never needed that before

2. A whole bunch of modprobe "could not load lib/modules/2.6.6/modules.dep no such directory"

3. OS would not recognize an ext3 partition.

4. I cannot get access to the internet through any browser

Does this have anything to do with the Japanese file? I copied the stuff you told me to the root directory, including a copy of the 700MB Knoppix file. Here is the menu.lst file, showing bootcodes:

##################################
# GvR Sept 17th 2004 Modified by jd 091704
color black/cyan yellow/cyan
timeout=15
default=0

title Default Boot on HD 0
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
boot

# Knoppix Boot from a single NTFS partition hda1:
# All the files within the directory "Root_Of_NTFS" of the grub3.zip
# have to be copied into the root of the NTFS hda1 partition c:\
# but the boot.ini file (which is just here as an example)
# and the 700MB loopback file knoppix has to be extracted from the ISO
# and copied into c:\boot\knoppix.new\knoppix
title Knoppix 3.6 kernel 2.6 from NTFS hda1
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/knoppix.new/linux26 init=/etc/init lang=us vga=791 ro quiet knoppix_dir=/boot/knoppix.new knoppix_name=knoppix home=/dev/hdb1 config=scan
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/knoppix.new/miniroot_ntfs.gz
boot

title Memory test
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/knoppix.new/memtest


##################################

Thanks,

jd

[ruymbeke]

... Does this have anything to do with the Japanese file? ...

Well, when I posted this yesterday I didn't get the new 3.6 japanese version yet, and as you can tell by the menu.lst I posted, the miniroot_ntfs.gz included in my grub3.zip was for the 3.4 knoppix release, not the 3.6 !
If you want to run 3.6 you should try the new miniroot_ntfs.gz (1'135'675 bytes) from the new japanese version.
You can fin a copy of this file here: http://s94592085.onlinehome.us/grub/miniroot_ntfs.gz
This should work better...
Cheers, Gilles

PS: the updated grub4.zip can be downloades from here: http://s94592085.onlinehome.us/grub/grub4.zip
I will try the 3.6 Boot from NTFS using these files asap ...

[eco2geek]

PS: the command line I used to get write access to the NTFS partition was:
mount -t captive-ntfs -o force /dev/hda1 /mnt/hda1

OK, you've made a believer out of me. This works. I'm running a Knoppix PMI entirely off my NTFS partition (well, except for the persistent home, that is), loaded with GRUB from NTLdr, and I've got read-write access to the NTFS partition.

ruymbeke, did you write the modified "miniroot_ntfs" file in the Japanese version?

And, for those installing this, you can put the kernel and miniroot from the Japanese version of Knoppix anywhere you like on the NTFS partition. You just have to tell GRUB where they are (in menu.lst).

Plus, I haven't played with it yet, but it looks like you can rename the 700MB "KNOPPIX" file anything you want, and put it anywhere you want, specifying what it's named, and where it is, using the "knoppix_name=" and "knoppix_dir=" parameters.

[probono]

I contacted the author of Japanese-Knoppix and he is happy to see their inventions going back into regular Knoppix. Here is the reply I got:

It is easy to integrate install2win to KNOPPIX. Integration is just to
copy of "/install2win" file and "/boot/grub" directory.

Can anyone who has Japanese-Knopix please upload these two directories somewhere?

Thanks in advance,
probono[/quote]

[ruymbeke]

ruymbeke, did you write the modified "miniroot_ntfs" file in the Japanese version?

No I did not. I tried to modify it, so I can boot from the ISO file being in the NTFS partition instead of the 700MB knoppix file. But so far no success. But I have been playing for quite a while with grub and other great grub contributors. Why ?
==> The japanese version of knoppix install grub into the boot sector of the disk which is not acceptable for me and people using a windows corporate computer. Instead I proposed to use an improved version of grub being started from either 98/DOS (grub.exe) or XP/NT (grldr) using an extra entry in the the boot.ini, which is a text editable file, easy to modify and backup. In this case the grub binary data is just a file for windows and do not resides in any special location like boot sectors or mbr. If required, the knoppix installation can be easily removed by deleting a couple of windows files and removing the extra entry in the text file boot.ini, which do not require any special tool or skill !

Can anyone who has Japanese-Knopix please upload these two directories somewhere? Thanks in advance, Probono

Even if I am not for this solution, please find it here: http://s94592085.onlinehome.us/grub/probono.zip
(install2win.bat is not a directory but a dos batch file)
Cheers, Gilles

[j.drake]

OK, you've made a believer out of me. This works. I'm running a Knoppix PMI entirely off my NTFS partition (well, except for the persistent home, that is), loaded with GRUB from NTLdr, and I've got read-write access to the NTFS partition.

Well, and appropriately so. I'm convinced that the NTFS partition is the best place for this.

1. It allows the setup to be done from Windows, where new users will most comfortable and competent, and

2. Since the partition containing the program is forced into read only status anyway, what better than the NTFS Windows partition to force into a read only status?? I mean, you'd be crazy to NOT want this to bea read only, right? Where better to have a read only partition? This is great!

jd

[probono]

Even if I am not for this solution, please find it here: http://s94592085.onlinehome.us/grub/probono.zip

Thank you very much. But it seems what I also need is the Japanese kernel and the Japanese initrd. Could you please upload those as well? Thanks so much in advance!


Now we should try to combine the japanese possibility to boot from NTFS with the possibility to boot grub through the extra entry in the the original Windows boot.ini. Then, we need to figure out how to boot from inside the ISO. Then, we have to script it all (in a Windows script). And voila, we will have: a "poor poor man's installation"

[ruymbeke]

...But it seems what I also need is the Japanese kernel and the Japanese initrd...

Here it is: http://s94592085.onlinehome.us/grub/probono2.zip

Now we should try to combine the japanese possibility to boot from NTFS with the possibility to boot grub through the extra entry in the the original Windows boot.ini.

This is exactly what I have done... http://s94592085.onlinehome.us/grub/grub5.zip

Then, we need to figure out how to boot from inside the ISO.

What I am working on...

Then, we have to script it all (in a Windows script). And voila, we will have: a "poor poor man's installation"

YAKA... (means just do it in French...)
Cheers, Gilles

[j.drake]

Is the makeflo folder necessary to the installation. If so, where does it go?

jd