Creating a bootable ISO with dd

danielno8 · 05-14-2008, 10:59 AM

Hi folks,

i am trying to create a bootable W2K3 ISO image using dd. I have seen it mentioned that it is possible but all i can get is an iso image of the files, but it doesn't boot.

This is the command i am using:

dd if=/dev/cdrom of=/vmfs/volumes/w2k3ent.iso

is there another option i need to add? if so i cannot seem to find it!

Thank you for any advice you guys can give!

Thanks
Daniel

indienick · 05-14-2008, 11:06 AM

Unless I'm mistaken "dd" stands for disk-dump. It just does a raw bit-dump from "if" to "of". I've avoided trying to use dd to create ISO images.

Try using mkisofs or genisoimage.

michaelk · 05-14-2008, 11:14 AM

Yes, you can copy a CD using the dd command. If the original CD is not bootable then the copy will not be either unless you add the boot code.

What application are you using to burn the CD image?

danielno8 · 05-14-2008, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by indienick

Unless I'm mistaken "dd" stands for disk-dump. It just does a raw bit-dump from "if" to "of". I've avoided trying to use dd to create ISO images.

Try using mkisofs or genisoimage.

thought i'd mention this is being sone from service console of VMware ESX 3.5, not sure if it will make a difference?

i can't seem to make head nor tail or the mkisofs command, although i have read a bit about it and know it can make bootable ISO images.

If i tell you where the CD is, and where i want it to go, would you be able to produce the required command?

output: /vmfs/volumes
input: /dev/cdrom
filename: w2k3ENT.iso

Do you need any other info?

Thank you greatly for such a quick response!

Dan

danielno8 · 05-14-2008, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelk

Yes, you can copy a CD using the dd command. If the original CD is not bootable then the copy will not be either unless you add the boot code.

What application are you using to burn the CD image?

The original CD is a windows 2k3 Enterprise edition.

I am not burning the image, just trying to host it on our SAN in order to use it to create VMs in VMware ESX 3.5

I have downloaded the boot.img file that i would use if i was burning using nero for example.

Thanls for the reply!

Dan

hardcorelinux · 10-17-2008, 02:07 AM

try

dd if=/dev/cdrom of=/vmfs/volumes/w2k3ent.iso bs=2k
make sure your source cd is already bootable..