Making CD or DVD bootable
 

I need to make a bootable DVD, but up to now I could not find away to do it. Is possible? do I need additional software? At present I am using Fedora 10. I will appreciate the help
Vinny

Ever wonder into a Bash shell? The command mkisofs is to make an iso file. The Grub's stage2_Eltorito is for booting off a CD or DVD.

The Grub Manual has the steps of putting GRub in a CD. This thread may be of interest to you.

This is how I make a bootable CD that contains just enough to boot a machine in order to start a network installation. I do this with SLED 11 but maybe it's true for Fedora too.

Make a directory to hold the files:

$ mkdir bootcd

In to that directory copy the contents of the directory boot/i586/loader that's on the installation DVD.

$ cd bootcd

Edit the files isolinux.cfg and messages to contain what I want. Then create an iso:

$ mkisofs -o ../bootcd.iso -b isolinux.bin -c boot.cat -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table .

The burn the bootcd.iso to a CD.

You might get better answers if you explain exactly what it is that you want your bootable CD to do.

Fedora should have installed k3b, unless you disabled KDE applications. k3b does an excellent job at creating CD's and DVD's, allowing bootable disks as well. Tons of other options available.

Linux Archive

You could also use 2 scripts found in any slax distro-slax/goblinx/wolvix and in the "linux-live-scripts" ( http://www.linux-live.org/ ) It's gotta alot of nice stuff in there.

The scripts are "make_iso.sh" and "make_iso.bat", one for Linux and one for Dindows.

The iso layout must contain a "boot" folder with a "isolinux" folder inside.

Basically add kernel/initrd from whatever linux and edit isolinux.cfg and use scripts to create bootable iso.

Just put the 2 scripts in the "boot" folder, make executable, double click and choose
"run in terminal" and then give it a name that ends in iso like mycd.iso, not mycd

You can also choose "run" and it will make a iso named "boot.iso" in the top folder.

If you have anything in the folder with the boot, and linux folders it will be included
in the iso-

Also, you can "cd" into the boot folder, make make_iso.sh executable with "chmod +x make_iso.sh", and then invoke with "./make_iso.sh"
The .bat file just double-click.

You can also netinstall Fedora-10 with netbootcd-3.0-usb or any major distro-
( http://multidistro.com/downloads/off...icialusbs.html )

Depends on what you want booted. If linux then it is just as easy to download almost any distro iso.


I sometimes copy the raw contents of a floppy and burn it as track one.

Making CD or DVD bootable
 

Thank you all,
You give me few inputs that I need to work on. I understand that if I need to make an iso file then burn the CD, the CD will be automatically closed and no other files can be added, in my case I would need to keep open so more file can be added. Among the answer I got it was suggested that I give info of how I will use the bootable CD, which I should had supply in the first place.
I Have an old program "PCAD" used to capture schematics and layout PC boards PCAD only work with DOS at present time I am using "geda" with Fedora, but I still need to keep PCAD for old boards.

Making CD or DVD bootable
 

Thank you,

I need to boot DOS but I want to keep the CD open so more files can be added. What would be the procedure to copy the contents from a DOS bootable CD

Several Live CD have FreeDos packaged inside as one of the several boot options. Think Linux Rescue CD is one.

Also any Dos floppy can be burn into a CD in emulation mode.

Why didn't you say that at the start of the thread?!
I'm failing to see why you need a bootable CD at all now. It sounds like what you actually want to achieve is to be able to run a DOS program without installing DOS on your computer in place of Linux.

See if your software will run under DOSBox.

Thank you so much for the lead
Vinny

Thank you for the info.
Vinny