Bug#857597: debian-cd: "isolinux.bin missing or corrupt" when booting USB flash drive in old PC

["Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net>]

Hi,

> thanks for pushing this forward :) .

You wrote my name on its item in the changelog.
And somehow i became the drover of this bug, anyway.


> Well, that bug is only solved once we have CD images that are no longer
> affected by this bug.

Given its usual speed of movement i just wanted to give it a little prod.


> If I understand the CD build process
> correctly, the images for the next point release will only get the fix
> if we also update syslinux in stretch.

Since it is a bug fix: Steve, please consider fast track.

E.g. by transplanting
  /usr/lib/ISOLINUX/isohdpfx.bin
from the current "isolinux" package of Sid to the local file which is
  syslinux/usr/lib/ISOLINUX/isohdpfx.bin
when xorriso gets run.
(At least /.disk/mkisofs of 9.1.0-amd64-netinst.iso tells this is the name.)


> > Is there a way to obtain that package and extract the file with
> > vanilla tools which are not debian-specific ?

> ar p isolinux_6.03+dfsg1-1_all.deb data.tar.xz | \
>    tar xJOf - ./usr/lib/ISOLINUX/isohdpfx.bin > isohdpfx.bin

If the debian-cd FAQ shall mention the opportunity to fix older ISOs,
then we will have to offer a simpler way for not-yet Debian users to get
the fixed MBR.

The oldest isohybrid Debian ISO i have is
  debian-6.0.5-amd64-businesscard.iso
of may 2012. A copy of it still boots fine with qemu -hda after i replaced the
original MBR by the fixed MBR from "apt-get install isolinux" on my Sid VM
yesterday. (By zeroing the MBR and subsequent boot failure i checked that
the virtual BIOS indeed uses the MBR and not the EL Torito catalog.)


Have a nice day :)

Thomas