Booting from an Image File
 

Has anyone considered booting Linux from a File System Image file located on a file system?

I've done some searching on google and haven't come up with anything.

Let me explain:


sda1 contains a filesystem.

On it sits several image files of other file systems within a directory.

/bootable
reiser-ubuntu
ext4-fedora
jfs-slackware
xfs-suse


Then at boot time grub would show these images.

2.6.31rc22 GNU/Linux Ubuntu
2.6.29 Red Hat Fedora

etc


Again I'm talking about a complete installation of Linux in a file.

For instances, cat /dev/hda1 > output.img

That is the general idea.

Thanks

Not feasible. An image file could not activate and correctly program chipsets as is required at boot.

What you are describing can be implemented using virtual machine technology.

It's not quite the same, but along similar lines
there's a frugal install of linux live system on the
hardrive. I've done this on one of my (linux-formatted)
partition:
I copied a certain number of live linux systems iso contents
(slax, grml, RIPlinux, pmagic, tinycore, ...) that
I reorganized in at most 2 folders
one, /boot (that has subfolders to hold
vmlinuz, initrd.gz of each distro, ...), common to all
a second, specific to each (/slax, /grml, ...)

I then added grub entries for these systems

The other thing that works is using memdisk to boot
an iso image or a floppy image

Sounds like something right out a frankenstein movie!
:D

linux

Guess that's why aliens fly in grey spaceships wearing grey jumpsuits speaking korean.

:) The future is mac j/k