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SYSLINUX
A bootloader for Linux using MS-DOS floppies
Copyright (C) 1994-95 H. Peter Anvin
This program is provided under the terms of the GNU General Public
License, version 2 or, at your option, any later version. There is no
warranty, neither expressed nor implied, to the function of this
program. Please see the included file COPYING for details.
SYSLINUX is a boot loader for the Linux operating system which operates
off MS-DOS floppies. It is intended to simplify first-time installation
of Linux. It is *not* intended to be used as a general purpose boot
loader; once the operating system is installed I recommend LILO as the
boot loader, except for people whose root filesystem is a UMSDOS
filesystem (where a DOS defragmenter could wreck havoc with LILO's
carefully set up block tables) -- for them I recommend Loadlin (which
loads Linux from the DOS command line).
SYSLINUX could, however, in conjunction with the UMSDOS filesystem,
completely eliminate the need for distribution of raw diskette images
for boot floppies. A SYSLINUX floppy can be manipulated using standard
MS-DOS (or any other OS that can access an MS-DOS filesystem) tools once
it has been created.
++++ CREATING A BOOTABLE LINUX FLOPPY +++
In order to create a bootable Linux floppy using SYSLINUX, prepare a
normal MS-DOS formatted floppy. Copy one or more Linux kernel files to
it, then execute the DOS command:
SYSLINUX drive:
This will alter the boot sector on the disk and copy a file named
LDLINUX.SYS into its root directory.
On boot time, by default, the kernel will be loaded from the image named
LINUX on the boot floppy. This default can be changed, see the section
on the SYSLINUX config file.
If the Shift or Alt keys are held down during boot, or the Caps or Scroll
locks are set, SYSLINUX will display a LILO-style "boot:" prompt. The
user can then type a kernel file name followed by any kernel parameters.
The SYSLINUX loader does not need to know about the kernel file in
advance; all that is required is that it is a file located in the root
directory on the disk.
++++ CONFIGURATION FILE ++++
All the configurable defaults in SYSLINUX can be changed by putting a
file called SYSLINUX.CFG in the root directory of the boot floppy. This
is a text file in either UNIX or DOS format, containing one or more of
the following items (case is insensitive for keywords; upper case is used
here to indicate that a word should be typed verbatim):
DEFAULT kernel options...
Sets the default command line. If SYSLINUX boots automatically,
it will act just as if the entries after DEFAULT had been typed
in at the "boot:" prompt, except that it will pass the "auto"
option to the kernel, indicating an automatic boot.
If no configuration file is present, or no DEFAULT entry is
present in the config file, the default is kernel name "linux",
with no options.
APPEND options...
Add one or more options to the kernel command line. These are
added both for automatic and manual boots. The options are
added at the very beginning of the kernel command line,
usually permitting explicitly entered kernel options to override
them. This is the equivalent of the LILO "append" option.
TIMEOUT timeout
Indicates how long to wait at the boot: prompt until booting
automatically, in units of 1/10 s. The timeout is cancelled as
soon as the user types anything on the keyboard, the assumption
being that the user will complete the command line already
begun. A timeout of zero will disable the timeout completely,
this is also the default.
NOTE: The maximum possible timeout value is 35996; corresponding to
just below one hour.
DISPLAY filename
Displays the indicated file on the screen at boot time (before
the boot: prompt, if displayed). The file should be a DOS-style
text file, with CR+LF at the end of each line. This option
takes the place of the LINUXMSG.TXT and BOOTMSG.TXT files in
SYSLINUX 1.0.
NOTE: If the file is missing, this option is simply ignored.
PROMPT flag_val
If flag_val is 0, display the boot: prompt only if the Shift or Alt
key is pressed, or Caps Lock or Scroll lock is set (this is the
default). If flag_val is 1, always display the boot: prompt. This
option takes the place of testing for the LINUXMSG.TXT file in
SYSLINUX 1.0.
F1 filename
F2 filename
...etc...
F9 filename
F0 filename
Displays the indicated file on the screen when a function key is
pressed at the boot: prompt. This can be used to implement
pre-boot online help (presumably for the kernel command line
options.) Note that F10 MUST be entered in the config file as
"F0", not "F10", and that there is currently no way to bind
file names to F11 and F12.
Blank lines, and comment lines beginning with a hash mark (#) are ignored.
Note that the configuration file is not completely decoded. Syntax
different from the one described above may still work correctly in this
version of SYSLINUX, but may break in a future one.
The following combinations of options can be used to mimic the behaviour
of SYSLINUX 1.0 with LINUXMSG.TXT or BOOTMSG.TXT present, respectively:
# Mimic SYSLINUX 1.0 with LINUXMSG.TXT file present:
display linuxmsg.txt
prompt 1
# Mimic SYSLINUX 1.0 with BOOTMSG.TXT file present:
display bootmsg.txt
++++ NOVICE PROTECTION ++++
SYSLINUX will attempt to detect if the user is trying to boot on a 286
or lower class machine, or a machine with less than 608K of low ("DOS")
RAM (which means the Linux boot sequence cannot complete). If so, a
message is displayed and the boot sequence aborted. Holding down the
Ctrl key while booting disables this feature.
The compile time and date of a specific SYSLINUX version can be obtained
by the DOS command "type ldlinux.sys". This is also used as the
signature for the LDLINUX.SYS file, which must match the boot sector.
Any file that SYSLINUX uses can be marked hidden, system or readonly if
so is convenient; SYSLINUX ignores all file attributes. The SYSLINUX
installed automatically sets the readonly attribute on LDLINUX.SYS.
++++ BUG REPORTS ++++
I would appreciate hearing of any problems you have with SYSLINUX. I
would also like to hear from you if you have successfully used SYSLINUX,
*especially* if you are using it for a distribution.
Please contact me at email <Peter.Anvin@linux.org>.
Sincerely,
H. Peter Anvin August 29, 1995
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