How to multiboot from USB PenDrive

[ADFC]

Hello.

I have a USB PenDrive (FAT32 file system) that has 2 boot options.
Boot option 1 = runs a program that updates my BIOS.
Boot option 2 = runs a program that executes a basic hardware test on the PC.

I don't need to access any HDD or load any operative system.

Presently, the pen drive is using a DOS bootstrap (like the one you obtain when you format a device using /s option under DOS).

My question is:
Can I use an advanced graphical bootloader to accomplish the same thing?
It would be nice to have a background bootsplash logo of the company, while the user selects one of the two boot options, using the cursor keys.
Just like GRUB...


How can I do this?
Thank you all.

[Rubberman]

Depending upon the size of the device, you can alter the partition sizes with gparted, then install GRUB on it and Linux on a partition. It should have a partition table just like any hard drive. I configure thumb/flash drives that way all the time.

[ADFC]

then install GRUB on it and Linux on a partition.

Hello.

Do I really have to install Linux in a partition?

I mean... I only want to install a bootstrap in a pen with a graphical bootloader.
And then I can choose the possible boot options.

Since none of those boot options include an operative system, do I really need one installed?

I'm a newbie so I had to ask...

Because in DOS, it's very easy. I just format a pendrive, put IO.SYS in the first sector, and copy a valid COMMAND.COM operating system shell into the pendrive.
Then I add multiboot capabilities to AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS!
And that's all!
I don't need to install a complete operative system into a pendrive ou disquette!


I would like something similar to this, but using GRUB (or some other graphical bootloader).

Is that possible?

Thank you for your patience.

[Rubberman]

You can install grub on a pendrive, without an OS installed also I would think. However, you might want to actually put an OS on the drive, like Ubuntu, so you can boot a system even if its hard drives are fubar.

[ADFC]

Hello all!

You can install grub on a pendrive, without an OS installed also I would think.

OK. How do I proceed?

Thank you
ADFC

[vonbiber]

Hello.

I have a USB PenDrive (FAT32 file system) that has 2 boot options.
Boot option 1 = runs a program that updates my BIOS.
Boot option 2 = runs a program that executes a basic hardware test on the PC.

I don't need to access any HDD or load any operative system.

Presently, the pen drive is using a DOS bootstrap (like the one you obtain when you format a device using /s option under DOS).

My question is:
Can I use an advanced graphical bootloader to accomplish the same thing?
It would be nice to have a background bootsplash logo of the company, while the user selects one of the two boot options, using the cursor keys.
Just like GRUB...


How can I do this?
Thank you all.

I have a pen drive that boot multiple systems (linux, floppy images)
it uses a graphical syslinux menu (that I can edit to add/remove entries)

I started out with the slax linux live distribution because it has a tool
(bootinst.sh) to make the usb key bootable and it uses syslinux
I tweaked it a bit (moved files around, edited some files, changed
the background picture)
you could use this as a starting point (and you don't need to keep
the slax system if you don't want it, only the necessary files and
folders for booting)
I can give more details if you're interested

slax: Slax: your pocket operating system

[ADFC]

Hello vonbiber!

I tried Slax.

It seems nice (some problems while shutting down/restarting PC and assigning a root password though).

OK... aside from that...

How do I edit the startup files so that I can only have:
boot option 1: MS-DOS command.com shell that runs "Program1.exe"
boot option 2: MS-DOS command.com shell that runs "Program2.exe"
boot option 3: Slax with graphical KDE

by that order.

And also... How do I change the background boot picture?? //this part is SOLVED

Thank you.
U R all awesome

[ADFC]

OK.

I already changed the background picture.

What about the rest? Help?

Thank you.

[vonbiber]

I tried Slax.

It seems nice (some problems while shutting down/restarting PC and assigning a root password though).

OK... aside from that...

How do I edit the startup files so that I can only have:
boot option 1: MS-DOS command.com shell that runs "Program1.exe"
boot option 2: MS-DOS command.com shell that runs "Program2.exe"
boot option 3: Slax with graphical KDE
U R all awesome

obviously for your first and second entries you need to boot in dos
The way I'd do that would be
first prepare 2 dos boot floppy images: dos1.img, dos2.img
In the first floppy image I would place 'Program1.exe"
and in the second, "Program2.exe"
(to create a floppy image, assuming you have a floppy drive:
dd if=/dev/fd0 of=dos1.img
If you don't have a floppy drive, you can use an already existing
dos boot image that you can download, mount the image, copy your
program in there (as root):
mkdir -p /mnt/floppy
mount -o loop dosboot.img /mnt/floppy
cp program1.exe /mnt/floppy
umount /mnt/floppy
cp dosboot.img dos1.img
etc.)

then, mount the slax usb flash disk
place the 2 floppy images somewhere in the flash disk
let's say, in boot/addons (create the subfolder if it doesn't exist)
place memdisk in there as well

edit the boot/slax.cfg menu configuration:
create these 2 entries toward the top (right after the line
menu color msg07 ....
)

LABEL dos1
MENU LABEL dos for running program1.exe
KERNEL /boot/addons/memdisk=/boot/addons/dos1.img
APPEND initrd
TEXT HELP
More about currently selected:

run program1.exe ....
ENDTEXT

LABEL dos2
.... (replace dos1 by dos2, program1 by program2 ...)
...

[ADFC]

Hello vonbiber!

I will try your suggestions.

Thank you sincerely, vonbiber!