Re: iso images etc
On Sat, 21 Jun 2003 19:50:09 +0200, john gennard wrote:
> Sometimes I have access to an ADSL line, so I have downloaded an .iso
> image of Gentoo.
So that's why you came here?! This is debian-user...
> Now, I realised that I didn't understand exactly what an .iso image was,
> so I've googled and now have that a little clearer. But what I don't
> understand is how to boot the image I've downloaded and I find no clear
> explanation.
An .iso image contains a complete data session of a CD-ROM, i.e. all the
data, the directory structure and so on. Essentially it is a bytewise copy
of the data on the disc. (This is an oversimplification, but it should
help you to get an idea.)
> I burned the .iso image to a CD, but to make it bootable, I was asked to
> add the contents of a floppy - presumably containing drivers to activate
> a CD-ROM drive.
You shouldn't need any floppies. The .iso image is bootable, provided that
your BIOS supports booting from CD-ROMs.
> I couldn't do anything about that, and if I change my BIOS to boot from
> a CD-ROM it doesn't. I thought the .iso downloaded was bootable.
It should be. How did you burn your CD-R? Try to burn just your .iso
image, don't use any facilities your burning program has for making
bootable CDs.
> Would someone kindly explain (in simple terms):-
>
> 1. How to I get the CD to boot?
That's a question for the Gentoo guys. Ask them :-) Debian's boot CDs
work fine from my personal experience.
> 2. Is there some special reason to use the cloop - would
> some other form of compression not surfice?
Did you by any chance mess with the ISO? I repeat: Burn it as it is; don't
extract the files and burn them. That way you would lose the ability to
boot the image.
> 3. Is there a linux package which allows one to read
> and extract files from an .iso image.
No need. Everything is in place if your kernel supports CD-ROMs:
mkdir /mnt/temp
mount -o loop /path/to/my.iso /mnt/temp
Then you have the ISO's files under the directory /mnt/temp and can copy
them.
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