Pete Batard schreef op 3-1-2014 3:59:
If you want to test, you can pick the latest ALPHA from: http://rufus.akeo.ie/downloads/
Awesome, will test using USB2 ports.
Currently, the way this works is through installing Syslinux (v4.07) and mboot.c32 so that setupldr.sys can then be invoked (see the /syslinux.cfg created by Rufus on the drive).
Also, for the time being, only setupldr.sys will be referenced (no freeldr.sys) on account that:
FreeLDR as multiboot-kernel only looks at freeldr.ini at C:\ , no idea if your created USB stick counts as C: or A:. Also ReactOS might write freeldr.ini in some special way on FAT drives, I've never been able to open/modify it using a DOS text editor.
- The Syslinux's menu.c32 file is rather large, and I want to keep
Rufus small, so I don't want to embed it in the application (which is also the mais reason why Rufus doesn't include native GRUB support). But this means that user selection from a menu is not available.
- When testing, I couldn't get freeldr.sys to do much when booted from
USB... though that was most likely because I hadn't actually installed ReactOS anywhere.
Smallest I've gotten FreeLDR is through using SYSLINUX -> MEMDISK -> FLOPPY.GZ where floppy.gz is a compressed ReactOS startup diskette image. SYSLINUX -> MBOOT.C32 -> FREELDR.GZ might also work instead.
Still, I'm hoping that making the creation of a bootable UFD easier for ReactOS will help encourage more people to test it and help the project.
I've always hoped for Syslinux -> Memdisk/GRUB -> ReactOS.ISO/IMG simply to overcome lack of mass storage controllers drivers by running from RAM.
Of course, I'm also open to suggestions to try to improve support for ReactOS in Rufus, if you want something specific. For instance, I should point out that the syslinux.cfg created by Rufus is written before any of the ISO files are copied over. Thus, if the ReactOS ISOs were to include their own syslinux.cfg & menu.c32/vesamenu.c32, it would be very easy to provide menu selection for the user when booting from USB, even as the ISOs are not Syslinux/Isolinux based.
So right now the installer ISO works but not the LiveCD/USB? [ https://www.reactos.org/getbuilds ] with rev 61493
Thanks for having implemented the support Pete! :) Have fun with HaikuOS :)
best wishes for 2014,
Bernd
Hi Александр,
On 2014.01.03 12:34, Александр wrote:
Why it is not mentioned in changelog?
Because it's very new, and there is no new official release of Rufus yet. This announcement is basically just a call for testing - it's not a release announcement.
For what is worth, I tend to only update the Rufus Changelog when I go to BETA (which should happen very soon now), as it avoids users latching on a feature that isn't entirely ready for prime time, and still needs some finalizing.
For instance, I just realized that I forgot to add automatic switching of the filesystem to FAT32, when picking a ReactOS ISO. This means that if you plug an UFD that uses NTFS, and then select a RactOS ISO, you might be surprised to see an error message telling you that it's not supported (but you just need to switch to FAT32, and it will work). So that's one thing I'll need to fix before ReactOS support can be considered officially available.
But if you are really interested, you can always check the git log [1], which gives a blow by blow account of what's coming next. Just bear in mind that ALPHAs are not automated and only updated when I feel like it, so there may not yet be a build that includes the latest changes.
Regards,
/Pete
On 2014.01.03 18:55, Александр wrote:
Is it possible to implement direct iso boot like the way grub2 does with linux?
Do you mean memdisk-like, by copying the ISO wholesale and then having an emulation later that pretends it's booting from optical (which is what Bernd was suggesting)?
If so, yeah. That's what memdisk does. And memdisk is both fairly small and can be invoked from Syslinux, so that could easily be added to Rufus.
I actually experimented with that when I (unsuccessfully) tried to support FreeNAS/FreeBSD [1]. But as long as the ISO is cooperative, this should work OK.
The tricky part of course is, with Rufus being mostly targeted at regular users, I'd like to be able to figure out the ISOs that will actually be cooperative beforehand, to avoid being flooded by support request for "Help! The USB created by Rufus doesn't boot!".
Now, there's also Hybrid ISO mode, or straight img support, where a dd-like method can be used, and which I'm also planning to add when I get a chance (but with the same caveat as above) [2].
Regards,
/Pete
[1] https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/issues/244 [2] https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/issues/268
Hi Bernd.
First of all, a very Happy 2014 to you too, and everyone on this list!
On 2014.01.03 11:07, Bernd Blaauw wrote:
FreeLDR as multiboot-kernel only looks at freeldr.ini at C:\ , no idea if your created USB stick counts as C: or A:.
Should count as C:. Rufus has no provisions to fake an A: drive for USB at the moment.
Also ReactOS might write freeldr.ini in some special way on FAT drives, I've never been able to open/modify it using a DOS text editor.
My testing showed that freeldr.ini was read when referencing the freeldr.sys on the bootcd, as I got the "Setup" selection menu. But then pressing Enter on Setup didn't do much, though the F8 options did seem to work. As I said, I haven't really pressed it further with freeldr.sys yet, especially as the current implementation only allows one boot entry.
Smallest I've gotten FreeLDR is through using SYSLINUX -> MEMDISK -> FLOPPY.GZ where floppy.gz is a compressed ReactOS startup diskette image. SYSLINUX -> MBOOT.C32 -> FREELDR.GZ might also work instead.
memdisk is very small, so I'll probably add support for it in Rufus eventually. The part about using compressed images past memdisk or mboot.c32 doesn't really concern me, as these files don't need to be provided by Rufus, so they can be as large as they want. It's really only the parts needed for SYSLINUX -> MEMDISK or SYSLINUX -> MBOOT.C32 that I'm trying to keep small in terms of space.
I've always hoped for Syslinux -> Memdisk/GRUB -> ReactOS.ISO/IMG simply to overcome lack of mass storage controllers drivers by running from RAM.
But then it means less RAM for the system, and losing the ability to edit startup scripts, which can come really handy when testing...
But as I said, I'll probably add memdisk support to Rufus at one stage, for all the "reluctant" ISOs that are still out there.
There might also be some way to use the sta
So right now the installer ISO works but not the LiveCD/USB? [ https://www.reactos.org/getbuilds ] with rev 61493
No, all the ISOs will boot (through setupldr.sys), including the LiveCD ones. They just seem to run into an USB issue later on, at least on the system I tested, during the ReactOS system init. For what is worth, the LiveCD ISOs only have setupldr.sys and no freeldr.sys, which was one more reason I didn't bother too much with freeldr.sys for now.
Have fun with HaikuOS :)
There's always one more OS to support, isn't there... ;)
Regards,
/Pete
-
Bernd Blaauw -
Pete Batard -
Александр