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PC WELT LINUX multiboot DVD with Grub 2

Since using ISOLINUX for multiboot DVDs the necessary customizations for different Linux distributions have always bothered me. Some Live-Systems don't play together well when booting from the same media. Init-Scripts need a lot of attention here but are not very well documented. The solution is to include and boot ISO files directly thus minimizing the customization process. This is one of the use cases where the boot loader Grub 2 is a huge step forward. With version 1.99 of Grub 2 the boot loader now mounts ISO-files on a loop back device. It can access the Initrd and Kernel files directly to initiate the boot process. It doesn't work yet with every Live-System because the distribution needs to support it, too. For example, it already works with current Ubuntu distributions and spin-offs. Another benefit is that the ISO file itself stays intact. Not only is the DVD a multi-bootable disk but also serves as repository for the original images that can be easily transferred to USB disks and Flash media with tools like dd or Unetbootin. WIN!

 

Project scope: Building an El-Torito multiboot environment with Grub 2
Project time: ~3 weeks
Tools and Techniques: Grub 2, Bash Scripting, Virtualbox, vRDP
Role: Linux Developer and master tinkerer


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