booting from DVD image on hard drive partition

[stan]

On Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:04:16 -0500 (CDT)
Michael Hennebry <hennebry at web.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu> wrote:

> On Thu, 22 Mar 2012, stan wrote:
> 
> > Is it possible that the kernel isn't relocatable?  i.e.  it expects
> > to run from a specific address, and that address isn't available.
> > I'm not
> 
> Do you mean a RAM address?
> How would a RAM address not be available?

Perhaps Grub2 is using it somehow?  These suggestions are longshots.
You've already eliminated the simple and obvious things, it seems.

> 
> > sure how to check that, but the boot directory usually has the
> > config files for each installed kernel, and maybe you could grep it
> > for the appropriate switch.  Again, I don't know the name of that
> > switch, I just know that I've seen it while configuring a kernel.
> 
> Since the iso didn't have them,
> I suspect that the install kernel doesn't use them.
> 
> It might be difficult for me to
> fight the switch with the erroneous default,
> ascertain that the default is erroneous,
> find the right value for the switch and
> persuade the install kernel to use it.
> 
> I have noticed that all my kernels end in .PAE .
> Could that be significant?

If you are trying to install a 64 bit version, it *could* be.  Is it
possible that the system in question isn't 64 bit?  PAE is the
extension that means that a kernel is 32 bit, but has an extension to
allow it to address more than 2 (?) Gb of memory.  It means you've been
running 32 bit systems up to now.

> 
> > Another idea.  Maybe you can run dracut on the vmlinuz from the
> > DVD, and generate a custom (I think that is the -h option)
> > initramfs for your system.  Use it instead of the one from the DVD
> > when you boot from grub.
> 
> I've no idea how I would improve the initram already there.
> I don't even understand:
> dracut [OPTION]... <image>  <kernel-version>
> <image>?
initramfs
> <kernel-version>?
vmlinuz version

This is an example of the command I use to generate a custom initramfs
for my system.

/sbin/dracut -f -H -v --debug  custom-2.6.42.10-1.20120315.fc15.x86_64.img 2.6.42.10-1.20120315.fc15.x86_64 > dracut_output 2>&1
 
You should name the custom part whatever you want to call the
initramfs, and put the version of the vmlinuz in the second part.  It
doesn't need the vmlinuz on the front.  If there are any errors, they
will be in the dracut_output.  You could split the output so errors go
to their own file, > dracut_output 2> dracut_error, if you want.  I've
never tried this with a DVD image, so it might not work.