Re: How to make a custom bootable CD-R(W) of CURRENT?

On Mon, 2 Feb 2004, Martin wrote:

Many of your questions would be answered by looking at how releases are
built. Start with src/release/Makefile and work your way down.

You may also want to check out the work the m0n0wall folks have done and
the MiniBSD howto for hints.  Check your favorite search engine for links.

> I noticed there is no documentation about this topic.
> I would like to know:
>
> - how to use /boot/cdboot?

You pass it as an option to mkisofs.  Specifically, "-b /path/to/cdboot
-no-emul-boot" is probably what you want.

> - what is the minimal kernel configuration? What modules
>   must be used?
> - where to put modules?

This is in the release code.

> - what does it mean when the characters on screen
>   have red background while booting kernel? I really
>   don't like signaling errors with colors. It's just
>   as "informative" as a BSOD.

FreeBSD does not generate this kind of output.  Typically in the event of
a crash you will get a message starting with "panic".

> - which is the most preferred way to make a CD?
>   a) floppy emulation
>   b) no emulation
>   c) hard disk emulation

Non-emulated is the best, but some older systems don't know how to boot
non-emulated images.

> - is it allowed to copy the kernel and its modules
>   directly from /usr/obj or is something missing
>   when i do that?

Should be OK, abeit time-consuming.

> - do I need to set rootdev? if yes, which one:
>   - kernel configuration
>   - loader.conf
>   - both

rootdev is a loader option.

> - can I use my current /boot directory for booting
>   a CD?

Should work if you have the appropriate bits.

> - I found the remark about booting a CD-R works "better"
>   than booting a CD-RW. I cannot imagine that, but
>   I want to ask to be sure.

Some very old CDROM drives will not read CD-RWs.

> - how to use mfsroot.gz? Why can't I see the contents
>   of the mfsroot after "load -t"?

This ties into your rootdev question and is answered by looking at how the
release code builds disc 1.

> - does /boot/loader have to be same version as
>   the kernel? What other dependencies are there?

Not particularly. Just about any loader should work, but more recent ones
are recommended.

> Seems to work best. Crashes while loading sc0 after
> loading vt0 (driver mistake make_dev "ttyv0"). The same
> kernel is my default kernel which works from hard disk.
> I already tried to remove sc or vt, but it does not boot
> at all in this case.

You are working on some _very_ old code if you are getting "driver
mistake" messages. Where did you get the source you are building from?

-- 
Doug White                    |  FreeBSD: The Power to Serve
dwhite_at_gumbysoft.com          |  www.FreeBSD.org