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Multi-boot tool: OS Boot (and Bootsectors and MBR's)


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#1 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 31 December 2016 - 12:15 PM

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I happened to find this very nice resource (which I had never seen cited before):
http://goncharov.pp.ru/en/osboot.htm

 

 

This tool set is designed for fast, easy and reliable booting of your operating system or one of the existing OS to PC memory from floppy disks, flash-drives, hard drives from partitions MBR, EBR and GPT including that beyond 2TB limit and with file systems FAT12/16/32, exFAT, NTFS, Minix1/2/3, Ext2/3/4, from CD/DVD-disks with file system ISO-9660 and from ISO-images written to the USB flash-drives (USB-ISO) without installing complicated multistage loaders.

whether it does deliver as it promises (without collateral effects) is to be seen/checked, but the approach is really very, very interesting. :thumbsup:

 

The Author posted it on Osdev, here:
http://forum.osdev.o...4b44ee5911c6f07

 

Unfortunately a good half (if not 3/4) of the fun is taken away by the license that - for most of the stuff - is Freeware (which is good) but without source provided and with separation of components not allowed :(.

(while having the asm source files for the MBR's and bootsectors would provide no end of learning).

 

This (or that ) bootsector or piece of MBR code could be very useful for this (or that) project but the need to redistribute the whole package (even if tiny, a .zip file with more than 30 files) and the prohibition to modify them represents IMHO a roadblock.

 

There is seemingly support for (besides Linux and its own mini-kernel) GRUB2, Syslinux and grub4dos (though for now obsolete versions of them) and for windows loaders (again here it will have to be seen how anything post-2013 is compatible).

 

The mksys.exe tool modifies (patches) these second stage loaders replacing the initial loader with its own, so the thingy is essentially "version specific".

 

The mini-kernel, kernel.sys is however fully open source and in itself is very good for people wishing to learn  assembler.

 

:duff:

Wonko


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#2 Guest_AnonVendetta_*

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Posted 01 January 2017 - 12:31 AM

Looks interesting, but I don't have the knowledge to use it, or a practical use for it (as a result of the former). I would much rather use a more complex boot loader/manager that has lots of features and functionality. Some will say that simplicity is supreme, but for me, if it's too simple, I might be turned off. There are of course situations where simplicity is the best approach. Either way, this still seems like it might be worth looking into.

 

But I noticed that @Yoda made his initial post over 4.5 years ago. And yet Wonko the Sane, the delusional, wannabe master of booting methods, has just now noticed this? I'm really starting to think that your skills are much rustier than you believe them to be. After all, what kind of true master isn't at the forefront of knowledge/info/methods in their field as they become available?



#3 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 01 January 2017 - 02:38 PM

But I noticed that @Yoda made his initial post over 4.5 years ago. And yet Wonko the Sane, the delusional, wannabe master of booting methods, has just now noticed this? I'm really starting to think that your skills are much rustier than you believe them to be. After all, what kind of true master isn't at the forefront of knowledge/info/methods in their field as they become available?

 

Better late than never. :smiling9:

 

 

To be fair (something that I doubt you can be), try making a google search for the homepage: "http://goncharov.pp.ru/en/osboot.htm"and you will see how it is not very much re-posted/linked to.

 

:duff:

Wonko



#4 Guest_AnonVendetta_*

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Posted 01 January 2017 - 08:46 PM

Why should I be fair? Life is unfair on a daily basis. Most humans have this moral/ethical belief that they should be fair to others and that life in general should be fair. But reality shows that that's not how the world really works. Maybe we as a species should try getting used to how things are, instead of trying to force things to work according to our warped perception. We are but one species of many animals on Earth, and while our intelligence far exceeds other species, we are not infallible. War, murder, rape, theft, lying, etc. So many problems. What a great role model we are...NOT!!!

And dont even try to talk to me about fairness. If life were fair to everyone, things would be easy, everything would come to you easily. And what fun is that? You wont learn anything useful that way. It's the overcomers that experience adversity and prevail against the odds, that have truly earned their mettle. Life's unfairness has a lesson for everyone to learn, if they will accept it. I really do believe that everything that happens to us shapes who we are, there is a purpose for every event, whether we understand it or not.

From my childhood alot of unfair stuff happened to me. Having to cope with mental illness, as society generically calls it, that makes me "not normal" in their eyes. In reality I'm just a unique individual that happens to be very different. Constantly being picked on and ridiculed in school. Told I would never amount to anything. Only a handful of romantic relationships that were meaningful, I've never had the luck of being successful with women. A seemingly inability to grasp social mannerisms and maintain meaningful connections with anyone except family. Constant run-ins with the criminal justice system. Homelessness. The inability to keep a job for an extended timeframe..........

But now I'm grown, with the responsibilities of an adult. With experience comes knowledge, and even wisdom. The experiences I've had have left me with a pervasive cynicism. I have very little ethical/moral compunction, I dont care about others save for a few family members. The only thing that keeps me with any sense of sanity is the knowledge and belief that I will prevail no matter what others say or think about me. I feel like a ticking bomb just waiting for something to trigger me. People have a certain degree of responsibility for how they act and what happens to them, but some things are beyond our control.

 

My indomitable will cannot be stopped or destroyed. As V from the movie would say, you can kill a man but not ideas. Before my life is out I will figure out my purpose for existence, and leave my mark on the world. I simply wish that others would be more accepting of me and stop trying to change me to conform to their specs, you will only encounter resentment and resistance. A big issue with many in this world is that they dont accept people that arent like them. Change will come for me, but when I want it, and on my timeframe. I would much rather be left to my own devices, as long as I harm noone and dont negatively interfere in their lives, then it should be of no concern to them what I say or do.

 

Now you guys have a firsthand look into the mind of someone who is a borderline psychotic/neurotic/sociopath. If you wish to push me, I'll bring on the pain and show you mental warfare. You'll regret that you ever had the misfortune of meeting me. Vengeance is my motive, revenge is my specialty. Sun Tzu said it best, dominate your opponent's mind and you have already won the war.

And I really don't care how much those pages are not relinked to elsewhere. Do you really rely on search engines, instead of making original discoveries that are not well known to begin with? You pride yourself on being 'The Finder' yet you found this well after it was posted.....years. That alone shows your skills are aging.



#5 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 02 January 2017 - 10:55 AM

 If you wish to push me, I'll bring on the pain and show you mental warfare. You'll regret that you ever had the misfortune of meeting me. Vengeance is my motive, revenge is my specialty. 

 

Sounds a lot like Shakespeare, King Lear, Act II, scene 4.
http://faerye.net/po...espeare-edition

 

:duff:

Wonko






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