Boot disk utility linux

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

You signed in with another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session. You signed out in another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session. You switched accounts on another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session.

Utilities to create bootable disks, remaster ISO images, make multiboot ISO images

sundarnagarajan/bootutils

This commit does not belong to any branch on this repository, and may belong to a fork outside of the repository.

Name already in use

A tag already exists with the provided branch name. Many Git commands accept both tag and branch names, so creating this branch may cause unexpected behavior. Are you sure you want to create this branch?

Sign In Required

Please sign in to use Codespaces.

Launching GitHub Desktop

If nothing happens, download GitHub Desktop and try again.

Launching GitHub Desktop

If nothing happens, download GitHub Desktop and try again.

Launching Xcode

If nothing happens, download Xcode and try again.

Launching Visual Studio Code

Your codespace will open once ready.

There was a problem preparing your codespace, please try again.

Latest commit

Git stats

Files

Failed to load latest commit information.

README.md

Utilities to create bootable disks, remaster ISO images, make multiboot disk images

Use case 1: Multiboot disk image

• You want to put one or more ISO images on a single disk and be able to choose which ISO to boot
• You want to be able to boot on UEFI as well as non-UEFI systems
• You want to boot on newer Cherry Trail or Bay Trail (Intel Atom) machines that often have a 32-bit EFI loader, while typical Linux ISO images only support UEFI in 64-bit images
• You want to boot a 64-bit Linux ISO on machines having only a 32-bit EFI loader
• You do not want to have to edit grub.cfg by hand after adding ISO images

Use case 2: Remastering ISO

• You want to add a custom kernel to an ISO to enable support for newer hardware while in the live session
• You want the custom kernel to be automatically installed while installing from the live ISO
• You want to install additional packages that are available in the live session AND carried into the installed image
• You want to add additional files — e.g. utilities, scripts, data files — that are available in the live session AND carried into the installed image
• You want to make a UEFI-compatible 64-bit Linux ISO image bootable on a machine with a 32-bit EFI loader
• You want to create an updated ISO with all packages updated

Use case 3: Create boot disk on separate disk

• You have a disk that is seen and usable under Linux, but is not seen by the BIOS / UEFI — e.g. newer PCI-Express NVME M.2 disks
• You need a boot image that can contain ONLY /boot, which will then boot from the other disk that the BIOS / UEFI cannot see

Use case 4: Fix grub-install errors

• Linux installer fails after grub-install step — usually bug in installer
• You want to recover and continue

Linux-only. No effort spent on supporting other OS

Linux distributions supported

The scripts should work on any modern Linux distribution. I test on Ubuntu Xenial 16.04.2 LTS. The list of packages required are specific to Ubuntu (Xenial), but the dependency is based on OS commands requried and the OS commands required are listed below, to allow usage on virtually any Linux distribution.

Remastering ISOs is currently supported ONLY for Ubuntu ISOs. This includes:

• Ubuntu (standard Unity)
• Official Ubuntu flavors such as Ubuntu Mate, xubuntu lubuntu, kubuntu, edubuntu etc)
• Ubuntu derivatives such as Linux Mint (only Linux Mint tested)

In the future, I intend to support major distributions, such as Fedora, Arch, GRML, Red Hat etc.

The sample remastering scripts included are Ubuntu-specific.

Multiboot refers to creating a bootable disk that can contain multiple bootable ISO images, supporting a boot-time menu to choose the ISO that you want to boot.

Once a multiboot image is created, you can add ISO images by copying ISO files to ISO directory on the disk and run multiboot_update_config.py to automatically update the menu ( grub.cfg ).

Multiboot disk images support:

• Booting on UEFI and non-UEFI host systems
• Booting on UEFI host systems with 32-bit or 64-bit EFI loaders
• Boot 64-bit ISO on a UEFI host system with native 64-bit support even if EFI loader is 32-bit
• Boot 32-bit ISO on a UEFI host system with native 64-bit support even if EFI loader is 64-bit

Multiboot supports the following distributions within as ISOs:

In the future, I intend to support major distributions, such as Fedora, Arch, GRML, Red Hat etc.

Multiboot does NOT support ISOs that are not live CD images (such as Ubuntu server install ISOs) and probably never will.

Commands and packages required

Command	Ubuntu Package	Ubuntu package version tested
lsblk	util-linux	2.27.1-6ubuntu3.2
parted	parted	3.2-15
sgdisk	gdisk	1.0.1-1build1
blkid	util-linux	2.27.1-6ubuntu3.2
umount	mount	2.27.1-6ubuntu3.2
mkfs.vfat	dosfstools	3.0.28-2ubuntu0.1
grub-install	grub2-common	2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.9
grub-mkdevicemap	grub-common	2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.9
grub-mkconfig	grub-common	2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.9
grub-mkstandalone	grub-common	2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.9

On Ubuntu (or other Debian-derived distributions, probably), you can run required_pkgs.sh to find the exact missing packages you need to install.

Help on individual utilities

Источник

The Easiest Way to Create a Bootable USB Installer on Ubuntu

If you want to create a bootable USB installer in Ubuntu, the default application for this is “Startup Disk Creator” that is preinstalled in the system. However, this application is buggy and doesn’t work well sometimes. What is unknown to many is that the preinstalled Gnome Disks (part of the Gnome desktop package) comes with the ability for you to create a bootable USB drive as well. The installation process is also much easier and faster.

Note: Gnome Disks is part of the Gnome desktop. If Gnome Disks is not installed in your system, you can install it with the following command:

sudo apt-get install gnome-disk-utility

Creating a Bootable USB installer with Gnome Disks

To get started make sure you already have an ISO file that you want to install and a USB drive.

1. Insert your USB drive into the computer, and make sure it shows up in the File manager.

Note: make sure you have backed up all the data in the USB drive, as it will be formatted during the process.

2. Navigate to the location where you saved the ISO file. Right-click on the ISO file, and select “Open with Disk Image Writer,”

3. This will open the Gnome Disks application, and a popup asking you about “Restore Disk Image.” Under the “Destination” section, select your USB drive.

4. Click “Start Restoring.” When it prompts you to confirm, click “Restore.”

That’s it. Once the Restoration is completed, you will be able to use the USB drive as a Live CD.

One thing to note is that Gnome Disks does not support data persistence for your USB drive. If you are intending to use your USB drive with data persistency, you will have to use the Startup Disk Creator application.

Conclusion

Gnome Disks is one of the most stable hard disk management tools around, yet few people know about it and what it can do. Other than creating a bootable USB, it also can be used to back up and restore your hard drive, as well as format and partition external drives. Do check it out; I am sure you will love it.

Damien Oh started writing tech articles since 2007 and has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He is proficient in Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and iOS, and worked as a part time WordPress Developer. He is currently the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Make Tech Easier.

Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox

Источник