LinuxQuestions.org

LinuxQuestions.org (/questions/)
-   Slackware (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/)
-   -   USB install fails -- Need to upgrade syslinux (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/usb-install-fails-need-to-upgrade-syslinux-943095/)

guanx 05-03-2012 08:24 AM
USB install fails -- Need to upgrade syslinux
 
Today I tried to insall slackware-current from a USB card reader (Kingston FCR-MRG2). Syslinux was successfully loaded but failed to find any boot data (kernel, initrd, and even syslinux.cfg).

Upgrading syslinux to the latest version (4.05) solves the problem.

May I suggest an upgrade of the syslinux package shipped with slackware?

Thanks!

catkin 05-04-2012 01:11 AM
I created a SlackBuild for syslinux 4.05 but slackbuilds.org does not accept SlackBuilds that are upgrades of the standard Slackware packages. Fair enough.

More relevantly to your post, the slackbuilds.org mailing list had this in response from Rob McGee:
Quote:
I remember discussing this with Pat some years back. The details are
forgotten, and unfortunately I don't have the archive of the
discussion, which became a three-way with HPA, the syslinux author.
That part of the discussion did NOT go well, I do recall. Pat's
conclusion was that the older version did what Slackware needed, so
upgrading was not worth the bother.

I suggest that you take up this issue with Pat. Maybe you have found
solutions for the problems he had with newer syslinux versions?
I have only tested the EXTLINUX component and that not extensively.

guanx 05-04-2012 02:00 AM
Yes, "some years back". The version of syslinux included in slackware-current is 3.84, which comes from end of 2009.

But I still wonder, because there must be some technical reason to prevent slackware from using newer syslinux. The reason may be real, like that with tar (newer versions break slackware package); or imaginary, like that with cpio (newer versions had been supposed to break initrd and actually they do not). The latter got upgraded.

CTM 05-04-2012 07:41 AM
I've been rolling my own syslinux 4.x Slackware packages for a few years (similarly to you, I needed to make a Slackware-based live USB a long time ago and couldn't boot into it using syslinux 3.x) with no changes to the SlackBuild, and they've worked without a hitch - there were some annoyances compiling 4.04 with an x86_64 kernel that required a bit of configure patching, but they were resolved in 4.05. Hopefully, barring any political or technical situations I'm not aware of, 4.05 can make it into -current.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:23 PM.