how do i run Grub on Knoppix 3.7

[ruymbeke]

...We are making progress here. I am sorry to say that grub.exe returned an error: Sorry, only FreeDOS kernel 2032 is supported for grub. It's too bad since almost every school of thought claims that grub is the preferred bootloader. Plus, I am beginning to understand menu.lst and "grubspeak".

This is the reason why I suggested you to use the 98se DOS files in my grubd.zip... (which I know is working fine with grub)

...Next, I am going to try using the bootfrom cheatcode as you suggested. I have a feeling that the bootfrom cheatcode is the key to this. If it will not work, then I will atttempt a boot from the knoppix loopback file located on the cd as /knoppix/knoppix.

Yes, you need to use the "bootfom=" cheatcode and the minirt_ntfs to boot from the iso file. You can use the "fromhd=" cheatcode to boot from the KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX file and the standard minirt file shoud work as well...
Let me know... Gilles

PS: I just booted knoppix 3.7 and sending this PS after having used the following loadlin.exe command line:
loadlin.exe linux26 -v initrd=minirt~2.gz ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init bootfrom=/dev/hda1/boot/mchp/*big.iso lang=us apm=power-off nomce vga=791 dma quiet noprompt (all on a single line from the loadlin.ex)
It looks like that the end of my long command line is being truncated (dos limitation)...
My setup: hda1 is ntfs and loadlin.exe, linux26 and minirt~2.gz (minirt26_ntfs.gz) is on my fat32 98se DOS partition
Cheers, Gilles

[jmort]

Gilles,

Although I am not celebrating my victory from the knoppix web browser, it is a victory nonetheless, as I have successfully booted to Knoppix v3.6 kernel 2.4 from both the iso file located on my c NTFS drive and also from the knoppix file from the cd which I located on my FAT32 partition.

Here are the configurations for loadlin.exe:

file iso.txt contains the following all on one line:
linux24 nofirewire noscsi nodma vga=normal ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off nomce quiet bootfrom=/dev/hda1/BOOT/Knoppix.36/*.iso noprompt initrd=minirt~1.gz

This is the command to launch knoppix via loadlin, where iso.txt is the above file containing the arguments. Using the file, DOS will not limit so much the maximum length of the arguments.
c:\knoppix\loadlin.exe @iso.txt

for reference, here is boot.ini:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
C:\FDOSBOOT.BIN="FreeDOS Beta 9 Service Release 1"


In this configuration, the iso file was located on the ntfs partition. The linux24 and minirt24_ntfs.gz are located on the FAT32 partition. The system booted just fine, and it even recognized my external cd-r drive! both hda1 and hda2 were mounted. My cdrom drive was available for use and i could view files on both the internal cdrom and the cdr drives. in order to view files on hda2, I had to unmount the device, as it was also linked to the cd rom drive. By unmounting, that problem was corrected. I am assuming there is some sort of config file that I can edit to have it do that automatically. The only real problem was I could not write to the FAT32 partition. The NTFS partition is also write protected, but I think everyone is in agreement that it being read only is a good thing.

I wonder what would happen if I set the initrd=/dev/hda1/BOOT/knoppix.36/minirt24_ntfs.gz AND ALSO in place of linux24 put:
/dev/hda1/BOOT/knoppix.36/linux24
Do you think that the kernel and the minirt24_ntfs.gz file could possibly be run from the NTFS partition instead of the FAT32? Is there anything that could go wrong if I try it?? Could that possibly fix my problem with hda2??

Next, out of curiosity, I copied /knoppix/knoppix from the knoppix cd and tried the following using loopback.txt: (note that these are all on one line)
linux24 nofirewire noscsi nodma bootfrom=/dev/hda2/knoppix/knoppix ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init initrd=minirt~1.gz quiet lang=us vga=normal BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix

and run: loadlin.exe @loopback.txt

the changes are to the bootfrom cheatcode and the addition of BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
Thus, I was also able to successfully boot from the knoppix file on FAT32. Everything was much the same, except this time the cdrom drive did not work at all; furthermore, I could only access hda2 from the desktop. In root, by typing ls in /mnt/hda2 it only showed an empty directory. I have not been able to experiment with booting the iso from the fat32 or by using the knoppix file in the ntfs partition due to the fact that I have very limited space on my machine as both partitions do not have enough disk space to have both the iso file and the knoppix file. Let me summarize in a table for clarification:

'bootfrom' .................................. 'cdrom' ............................................. 'hda2'

iso file in hda1 .........................accessible .......................read only after unmounting first

iso file in hda2 .............................NO ATTEMPT MADE YET

knoppix file in hda1 ....................... NO ATTEMPT MADE YET

knoppix file in hda2 .................... not accessible .................read only from desktop link

So for now I am going to concentrate on the first configuration: iso file in hda1, as this one does not appear to restrict my devices as much as booting the knoppix file in hda2. For now, I will assume that the restriction was more because of WHERE I was booting from rather than from WHICH FILE I was booting from.

In summary, it appears that I have successfully booted knoppix using Loadlin from FreeDOS instead of GRUB. From here on, I am guessing that gaining 'write' access to hda2(FAT32) will involve modifying cheatcodes and using the bash terminal rather than dealing with bootloader specifics. In addition, I am pleased to note that when running KNOPPIX from the hard drive, it is extremely fast in comparison to running from the CD.

Gilles, thank you once again for helping me navigate my way through the troubled waters of knoppix hard drive installs, dos installs, and bootloader configurations. If you have any further advice for fixing my hda2 read-write problem I would be glad to hear it. Plus, if I can be of any help with anything, let me know.

James

[ruymbeke]

I am glad to see that you got it working.

...Do you think that the kernel and the minirt24_ntfs.gz file could possibly be run from the NTFS partition instead of the FAT32? Is there anything that could go wrong if I try it?? Could that possibly fix my problem with hda2??

Well, it looks like that the linux ntfs driver can read data from a ntfs compressed partitions but grub cannot... yet... (and lloadlin.exe for sure cannot). So I really doubt that it will work, but in an other hand I don't think that it would be risky to try it.
About your hda2 problem, the partition where you have your iso or knoppix boot file will be read only, and you need to use tricks to remount it as read/write (cf man mount, -o rw, bind options, ...). But in your case, the iso file is on your ntfs partition and this actually even better to have this one as read only. Now by default all partitions are mounted as read only, but you should be able to remount hda2 as rw without any trouble. As far as I remember, the fact that the kernel and initrd are loaded from hda2 or from some other media shouldn't matter. Try mount -o remount ... and read the man page: (man mount).
Good luck, Gilles

[jmort]

Hmmm, well, I created a 100mb persistent home on the FAT32 partition. knoppix created a 100mb image file on that partition that stores my home files. Also, I edited /etc/fstab and added a 'rw' to the /dev/hda2 vfat partition. Now, everytime I boot up hda2 is automatiically mounted as read/write. I'm not sure if it was because of editing fstab or because the home directory is located on that partition, but in either case, that works for me.

Kmix keeps opening on its ownn when I boot up. I do not know what is causing this, and I have looked all over for a way to control this. Any ideas?

My Iomega predator CD-RW burner is listed as a CDROM. It reads disks, and I have not attempted to burn any, but what would need to be done to get KNOPPIX to recognize the device as a CD-RW?

Most importantly, I have no Internet access. The Info center under the system menu shows my DSL modem lisited as a USB1.1 device, but whenever I try to run the configs it does not recognize the modem. It is an ARESCOM USB NetDSL 800 provided by my DSL provider Quest/MSN. Essentially, having Internet access is of a higher priority than any of my other issues, as being "CONNECTED" in Knoppix will enable me to actually use that OS more often and really explore its capabilities.

Thanks for the help!!

(Also, should I start a new thread for the above issues since they don't relate to booting KNOPPIX or should I simply continue the current thread???)

James

[ruymbeke]

...Also, should I start a new thread for the above issues since they don't relate to booting KNOPPIX or should I simply continue the current thread??? James

I am not sure to be the best person to help you for these new issues, and you should probably start a new thread... Have fun with knoppix ! Cheers, Gilles