Linux – Howto Boot an ISO from GRUB

Linux’s GRUB2 boot loader can boot Linux ISO files directly from your hard drive. Boot Linux live CDs or even install Linux on another hard drive partition without burning it to disc or booting from a USB drive.

We performed this process on Ubuntu 14.04 — Ubuntu and Ubuntu-based Linux distributions have good support for this. Other Linux distributions should work similarly.

This trick requires you have a Linux system installed on your hard drive. Your computer must be using the GRUB2 boot loader, which is a standard boot loader on most Linux systems. Sorry, you can’t boot a Linux ISO file directly from a Windows system using the Windows boot loader.

Download the ISO files you want to use and store them on your Linux partition. GRUB2 should support most Linux systems. if you want to use them in a live environment without installing them to your hard drive, be sure to download the “live CD” versions of each Linux ISO. Many Linux-based bootable utility discs should also work.

 

Check the Contents of the ISO File

You may need to look inside the ISO file to determine exactly where specific files are. For example, you can do this by opening the ISO file with the Archive Manager/File Roller graphical application that comes with Ubuntu and other GNOME-based desktop environments. In the Nautilus file manager, right-click the ISO file and select Open with Archive Manager.

Locate the kernel file and the initrd image. If you’re using a Ubuntu ISO file, you’ll find these files inside the casper folder — the vmlinuz file is the Linux kernel and the initrd file is the initrd image. You’ll need to know their location inside the ISO file later.

 

Determine the Hard Drive Partition’s Path

GRUB uses a different “device name” scheme than Linux does. On a Linux system, /dev/sda1 is the first partition on the first hard disk — a means the first hard disk and 1 means its first partition. In GRUB, (hd0,1) is equivalent to /dev/sda0. The 0 means the first hard disk, while the1 means the first partition on it. In other words, in a GRUB device name, the disk numbers start counting at 0 and the partition num6ers start counting at 1 — yes, it’s unnecessarily confusing. For example, (hd3,6) refers to the sixth partition on the fourth hard disk.

You can use the fdisk -l command to view this information. On Ubuntu, open a Terminal and run the following command:

sudo fdisk -l

You’ll see a list of Linux device paths, which you can convert to GRUB device names on your own. For example, below we can see the system partition is /dev/sda1 — so that’s (hd0,1) for GRUB.

 

Create the GRUB2 Boot Entry

The easiest way to add a custom boot entry is to edit the /etc/grub.d/40_custom script. This file is designed for user-added custom boot entries. After editing the file, the contents of your /etc/defaults/grub file and the /etc/grub.d/ scripts will be combined to create a /boot/grub/grub.cfg file — you shouldn’t edit this file by hand. It’s designed to be automatically generated from settings you specify in other files.

You’ll need to open the /etc/grub.d/40_custom file for editing with root privileges. On Ubuntu, you can do this by opening a Terminal window and running the following command:

sudo gedit /etc/grub.d/40_custom

Feel free to open the file in your favorite text editor. For example, you could replace “gedit” with “nano” in the command to open the file in the Nano text editor.

Unless you’ve added other custom boot entries, you should see a mostly empty file. You’ll need to add one or more ISO-booting sections to the file below the commented lines.

Here’s how you can boot an Ubuntu or Ubuntu-based distribution from an ISO file. We tested this with Ubuntu 14.04:

menuentry “Ubuntu 14.04 ISO” {
set isofile=”/home/name/Downloads/ubuntu-14.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso”
loopback loop (hd0,1)$isofile
linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz.efi boot=casper iso-scan/filename=${isofile} quiet splash
initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz
}

Customize the boot entry to contain your desiredmenu entry name, the correct path to the ISO file on your computer, and the device name of the hard disk and partition containing the ISO file. If the vmlinuz and initrd files have different names or paths, be sure to specify the correct path to those files, too.

(If you have a separate /home/ partition, omit the /home bit, like so: set isofile=”/name/Downloads/${isoname}”).

Important Note: Different Linux distributions require different boot entries with different boot options. The GRUB Live ISO Multiboot project offers a variety of menu entries for different Linux distributions. You should be able to adapt these example menu entries for the ISO file you want to boot. You can also just perform a web search for the name and release number of the Linux distribution you want to boot along with “boot from ISO in GRUB” to find more information.

If you want to add more ISO boot options, add additional sections to the file.

Save the file when you’re done. Return to a Terminal window and run the following command:

sudo update-grub

The next time you boot your computer, you’ll see the ISO boot entry and you can choose it to boot the ISO file. You may have to hold Shift while booting to see the GRUB menu.

If you see an error message or a black screen when you attempt to boot the ISO file, you misconfigured the boot entry somehow. Even if you got the ISO file path and device name right, the paths to the vmlinuz and intird files on the ISO file may not be correct or the Linux system you’re booting may require different options.

Taken From: http://www.howtogeek.com/196933/how-to-boot-linux-iso-images-directly-from-your-hard-drive/

How to Mount CD/DVDs Images - Windows, Mac, and Linux

Disc images have become more useful than ever on modern PCs that often lack CD and DVD drives. Create ISO files and other types of disc images and you can “mount” them, accessing the virtual discs as if they were physical discs inserted into your computer.

You can also use these image files to burn copies of the original discs later, creating duplicate copies. Disc image files contain a complete representation of a disc.

 

Windows

Windows 10 allows you to mount both .ISO and .IMG disc image files without any third-party software. Just double-click a .ISO or .IMG disc image you want to make available. If this doesn’t work, you should be able to click the “Disk Image Tools” tab on the ribbon and click “Mount.” It will appear under Computer as if it were inserted into a physical disc drive.

This feature was added back in Windows 8, so it will also work on Windows 8 and 8.1.

To unmount the disc later, right-click the virtual disc drive and select “Eject.” The disc will be unmounted and the virtual disc drive will disappear from the Computer window until you mount a disc in it again.

To mount ISO or IMG images on Windows 7 — or to mount images in other formats, such as BIN/CUE, NRG, MDS/MDF, or CCD — we recommend the free, open-source, and simple WinCDEmu utility.

Just right-click an image file after installing it, click “Select drive letter & mount,” and you can mount other types of images Windows doesn’t support.

Some other third-party utilities have additional support for emulating various copy-protection technologies, allowing copy-protected discs to function normally. However, such techniques are being phased out and aren’t even supported by modern versions of Windows.

 

Mac

On a Mac, double-clicking common disc image formats will mount them. This is why you can simply double-click a downloaded .DMG file to access its contents and install Mac applications, for example.

The DiskImageMounter application that handles this can also mount .ISO, .IMG, .CDR, and other types of image files. Just double-click the file to mount it. If this doesn’t work, Option-click or right-click a file, point to “Open With,” and select “DiskImageMounter.”

When you’re done, just click the “Eject” button next to the mounted image in the Finder’s sidebar to eject it and unmount it — just like you’d unmount a .DMG image when you’re done with it.

You can also try mounting the disc image file by opening the Disk Utility application. Press Command+Space, type Disk Utility, and press Enter to open it. Click the “File” menu, select “Open Image,” and select the disc image you want to mount.

 

Linux

Ubuntu’s Unity desktop and GNOME include an “Archive Mounter” application that can mount ISO files and similar image files graphically. To use it, right-click an .ISO file or another type of disc image, point to Open With, and select “Disk Image Mounter.”

You can later unmount the image by clicking the eject icon next to the mounted image in the sidebar.

You can also mount an .ISO file or another disc image with a Linux terminal command. This is particularly useful if you’re just using the command line, or if you’re using a Linux desktop that doesn’t provide a tool to make this easy. (Of course, graphical tools for mounting ISO files and similar images may be available in your Linux distribution’s software repositories.)

To mount an ISO or IMG file on Linux, first open a Terminal window from your Linux desktop’s applications menu. First, type the following command to create the /mnt/image folder. You can create practically any folder you like — you just have to create a directory where you’ll mount the image. The contents of the disc image will be accessible at this location later.

sudo mkdir /mnt/image

Next, mount the image with the following command. Replace “/home/NAME/Downloads/image.iso” with the path to the ISO, IMG, or other type of disc image you want to mount.

sudo mount -o loop /home/NAME/Downloads/image.iso /mnt/image

To unmount the disc image later, just use the umount command:

sudo umount /mnt/image

Some guides recommend you add “-t iso9660” to the command. However, this isn’t actually helpful - it’s best to let the mount command automatically detect the required file system.

If you’re trying to mount a more obscure type of disc image format that the mount command can’t automatically detect and mount in this way, you may need commands or tools designed specifically for working with that type of image file format.

This should “just work” on most modern operating systems, allowing you to mount and use ISO images and other common types of image files in a few clicks. Windows 7 users will have the toughest time, as it isn’t integrated into that older version of Windows, but WinCDEmu is a lightweight and easy way to accomplish this.

Taken From:

• http://www.howtogeek.com/230468/how-to-mount-isos-and-other-disc-images-on-windows-mac-and-linux/

Boot Linux ISOs From Hard Drive ( GRUB )

How to Boot Linux ISO Images Directly From Your Hard Drive

Linux’s GRUB2 boot loader can boot Linux ISO files directly from your hard drive. Boot Linux live CDs or even install Linux on another hard drive partition without burning it to disc or booting from a USB drive.

We performed this process on Ubuntu 14.04 — Ubuntu and Ubuntu-based Linux distributions have good support for this. Other Linux distributions should work similarly.

Get a Linux ISO File

How to Configure the GRUB2 Boot Loader’s Settings
Ubuntu and most other Linux distributions now use the GRUB2 boot loader. You can change its settings to select a... [Read Article]

This trick requires you have a Linux system installed on your hard drive. Your computer must be using the GRUB2 boot loader, which is a standard boot loader on most Linux systems. Sorry, you can’t boot a Linux ISO file directly from a Windows system using the Windows boot loader.

Download the ISO files you want to use and store them on your Linux partition. GRUB2 should support most Linux systems. if you want to use them in a live environment without installing them to your hard drive, be sure to download the “live CD” versions of each Linux ISO. Many Linux-based bootable utility discs should also work.

Check the Contents of the ISO File

You may need to look inside the ISO file to determine exactly where specific files are. For example, you can do this by opening the ISO file with the Archive Manager/File Roller graphical application that comes with Ubuntu and other GNOME-based desktop environments. In the Nautilus file manager, right-click the ISO file and select Open with Archive Manager.

Locate the kernel file and the initrd image. If you’re using a Ubuntu ISO file, you’ll find these files inside the casper folder — the vmlinuz file is the Linux kernel and the initrd file is the initrd image. You’ll need to know their location inside the ISO file later.

Determine the Hard Drive Partition’s Path

GRUB uses a different “device name” scheme than Linux does. On a Linux system, /dev/sda0 is the first partition on the first hard disk — a means the first hard disk and 0 means its first partition. In GRUB, (hd0,1) is equivalent to /dev/sda0. The 0 means the first hard disk, while the1 means the first partition on it. In other words, in a GRUB device name, the disk numbers start counting at 0 and the partition num6ers start counting at 1 — yes, it’s unnecessarily confusing. For example, (hd3,6) refers to the sixth partition on the fourth hard disk.

You can use the fdisk -l command to view this information. On Ubuntu, open a Terminal and run the following command:

sudo fdisk -l

You’ll see a list of Linux device paths, which you can convert to GRUB device names on your own. For example, below we can see the system partition is /dev/sda1 — so that’s (hd0,1) for GRUB.

Create the GRUB2 Boot Entry

The easiest way to add a custom boot entry is to edit the /etc/grub.d/40_custom script. This file is designed for user-added custom boot entries. After editing the file, the contents of your /etc/defaults/grub file and the /etc/grub.d/ scripts will be combined to create a /boot/grub/grub.cfg file — you shouldn’t edit this file by hand. It’s designed to be automatically generated from settings you specify in other files.

You’ll need to open the /etc/grub.d/40_custom file for editing with root privileges. On Ubuntu, you can do this by opening a Terminal window and running the following command:

sudo gedit /etc/grub.d/40_custom

Feel free to open the file in your favorite text editor. For example, you could replace “gedit” with “nano” in the command to open the file in the Nano text editor.

Unless you’ve added other custom boot entries, you should see a mostly empty file. You’ll need to add one or more ISO-booting sections to the file below the commented lines.

Here’s how you can boot an Ubuntu or Ubuntu-based distribution from an ISO file. We tested this with Ubuntu 14.04:

menuentry “Ubuntu 14.04 ISO” {
set isofile=”/home/name/Downloads/ubuntu-14.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso”
loopback loop (hd0,1)$isofile
linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz.efi boot=casper iso-scan/filename=${isofile} quiet splash
initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz
}

Customize the boot entry to contain your desiredmenu entry name, the correct path to the ISO file on your computer, and the device name of the hard disk and partition containing the ISO file. If the vmlinuz and initrd files have different names or paths, be sure to specify the correct path to those files, too.

(If you have a separate /home/ partition, omit the /home bit, like so: set isofile=”/name/Downloads/${isoname}”).

Important Note: Different Linux distributions require different boot entries with different boot options. The GRUB Live ISO Multiboot project offers a variety of menu entries for different Linux distributions. You should be able to adapt these example menu entries for the ISO file you want to boot. You can also just perform a web search for the name and release number of the Linux distribution you want to boot along with “boot from ISO in GRUB” to find more information.

If you want to add more ISO boot options, add additional sections to the file.

Save the file when you’re done. Return to a Terminal window and run the following command:

sudo update-grub

The next time you boot your computer, you’ll see the ISO boot entry and you can choose it to boot the ISO file. You may have to hold Shift while booting to see the GRUB menu.

If you see an error message or a black screen when you attempt to boot the ISO file, you misconfigured the boot entry somehow. Even if you got the ISO file path and device name right, the paths to the vmlinuz and intird files on the ISO file may not be correct or the Linux system you’re booting may require different options.

Taken From: http://www.howtogeek.com/196933/how-to-boot-linux-iso-images-directly-from-your-hard-drive/

Make a Cisco Unified Communication Manager Bootable ISO

How to make Cisco Unified Communication Manager bootable ISO from non-bootable image on Linux

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Here are the exact steps that help you to make bootable CUCM ISO image from non-bootable ISO image on Linux. If you want to do the same on Windows I strongly recommend to read this tutorial. I could not write my tutorial without reading it first.

Introduction
Typically, non-bootable CUCM images are those available for download on Cisco website. I used Linux Fedora 17 and mkisofs to create bootable CUCM ISO image but feel free to use any Linux distro with genisoimage installed. On Fedora you have to install a package genisoimage to get mkisofs installed.

Used software
Linux Fedora 17 x86-64 with installed genisoimage utility
CUCM 9.1.2 - UCSInstall_UCOS_9.1.2.10000-28.sgn.iso

1. Install genisomage

$ sudo yum install genisomage

Create directory where non-bootable CUCM ISO image will be mounted.

$ mkdir -p ~/temp/extract

2. Create directory where the content of mounted non-bootable ISO image will be copied

$ mkdir -p ~/temp2/

3. Mount non-bootable DVD ISO image

$ sudo mount -t iso9660 ~/Downloads/UCSInstall_UCOS_9.1.2.10000-28.sgn.iso ~/temp/extract

4. Copy the content of mounted ISO image to directory ~/temp2

$ cp -rv ~/temp/extract/ ~/temp2

5.  Create bootable ISO image

cd ~/temp2/extract

mkisofs -o ../UCSInstall_UCOS_9.1.2.10000-28.sgn-bootable.iso -R -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 32 -boot-info-table -b isolinux/isolinux.bin .

End.

Reference
http://htluo.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/how-to-make-non-bootable-iso-image.html
http://www.ipcommute.co.uk/technical-articles/17–creating-isolinux-boot-dvds-with-free-software-cucm-uccx-cups.html

 

Taken From: http://brezular.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/how-to-make-cisco-unified-communication-manager-bootable-iso-from-non-bootable-image-on-linux/

Booting ISOs From a USB Flash Drive With Grub4Dos

Introduction
Section 1 - Installing Grub4DOS
Section 2 - Setup Booting an ISO File (Acronis ISO)
Additional Notes


Introduction

Grub4DOS is a boot manager that can be easily installed to a flashdrive or hard drive. It allows booting multiple operating systems directly as well as booting into bootable partitions.

For the purpose of this guide, Grub4DOS will be used to setup a flashdrive to boot the Acronis Resuce Media. This can be done by booting to the partition on the flashdrive (as setup by the Acronis Media Builder program) or by directly booting the Acronis ISO file. When you use the ISO method, you can put as many Acronis ISO images as required on the same flashdrive. This allows you to easily be able to boot into True Image Home 9, 10, 11, 2009, Echo Workstation, etc. by just selecting the desired menu entry.

Tip: It is highly recommended that you read through the entire instructions before you begin this procedure.
Note: Either of these methods work equally well on USB hard drives or internal drives too as long as another boot manager (such as BootIt NG) is not installed on the drive

While it is always recommended to have backups of any important data before making any changes to your drives, installing Grub4DOS is not a destructive procedure. Existing partitions and data on the flashdrive should not be erased or corrupted in any way.


Section 1 - Installing Grub4DOS

Before Grub4DOS can be installed, several files need to be downloaded and unzipped. One is the Grub4DOS program and the other is the Installer. Click on the links below to download the files. Save them to a known location (My Downloads, for example) so they're easy to find.

Download

Grub4DOS (ver. 4.4 11-19-2008)
Installer (ver 1.1)

Tip: For those interested, more information on Grub4Dos can be found at the following locations:
Grub4Dos Main Page
Grub4Dos Tutorial
Grub4Dos Guide (hosted by boot-land.net)
Grub4Dos GUI Installer Downloads


Extract the downloaded zip files into separate folders. For example, you may unzip Grub4DOS to C:\Grub4DOS and the Installer to C:\Grub4DOS-Installer. You may also choose to unzip them into a folder named after the zip file's name.

If your flashdrive is not already plugged into the computer, plug it in now.

The next step is to run the Grub4DOS Installer on the flashdrive. Browse to the Installer's unzipped folder using Windows Explorer.

In Windows XP, just run the grubinst_gui.exe program.

In Vista, you'll need to run grubinst_gui.exe in Administrator mode. Right-click on the program file and select Run as administrator from the pop-up menu.

You may get a security pop-up window asking if you want to run the program. Select Run to start the program.















In Vista, if you have UAC turned on (the default setting), you'll get another warning. Select Allow to let the program start.
















Once the program is started, select the Disk option, then click the Disk Refresh button and then select your flashdrive from the dropdown box.












You should be able to tell which disk is your flashdrive by the size shown for each drive. In this example, my 8GB flashdrive is easy to pick out.







IMPORTANT: Make sure you select your flashdrive from the dropdown list and not a different drive (if installing to a USB hard drive or an internal drive, make sure it's the correct one). If you accidentally select the wrong drive, you may not be able to boot your system without doing a boot repair.

Now click the Part List Refresh button, then the dropdown box and finally select the Whole disk (MBR) option.












Check the Don't search floppy option, leave all the other options unchecked and cleared and then click the Install button to install Grub4DOS to the MBR of the flashdrive.






















Hopefully, you'll get the message that the installation was successful.

Press Enter to close the Command Prompt window. The Grub4DOS MBR and booting code is now installed on the flashdrive.

The next step is to copy the grldr file to the flashdrive's root folder. Using Windows Explorer, browse to the folder where you unzipped the Grub4DOS program and copy the file to the flashdrive.

Grub4DOS is now installed on the flashdrive. Next we will show howt to boot an ISO from Grub4DOS.


Section 2 - Setup Booting an ISO File (Acronis ISO)

The ability to boot ISO files directly is one of the newer features of Grub4DOS. It is still a work in progress and has problems with some types of ISO files. However, in my use and testing, it hasn't had any problems with the Acronis ISO files.

The flexibility allowed by being able to boot the ISO file directly makes keeping multiple versions and/or different builds on the same flashdrive an easy task. Adding them is as simple as putting the ISO file on the flashdrive and adding the menu entry to boot it.

As with the partition method, there are only two steps needed to use your Grub4DOS flashdrive in this fashion.

First, run the Acronis Media Builder. However, instead of specifying the flashdrive as the destination device, select to create an ISO file. You can save the ISO file directly to the flashdrive if you wish.

Second, create the Grub4DOS menu.lst file with the entry to start the Acronis Media. The menu.lst file is a plain text file created using the Windows Notepad program. This file must be located in the root folder of the flashdrive. Start the Notepad program and type (or copy and paste) in the following text:

timeout 10
default 0

title Acronis True Image Home 2009 (9,615)
map (hd0,0)/ti-12-9615.iso (hd32)
map --hook
chainloader (hd32)
boot

title CommandLine
commandline

title Reboot
reboot

title Halt
halt















Note: In this example, I've used Acronis True Image Home 2009 (9,615) as the menu entry's title for the Acronis Media. Feel free to use whatever name you want. Also note that I used ti-12-9615.iso for the ISO filename. You can use whatever name is appropriate, however I would recommend you don't put spaces into the ISO's filename.

Save the file to the root folder of the flashdrive with the name: menu.lst

Tip: If Notepad appends a ".txt" to the filename, just rename the file to menu.lst using Windows Explorer

If you have the Windows Explorer option set to hide filename extensions for known file types, you may need to disable it. Otherwise, explorer may display menu.lst when the actual filename is menu.lst.txt. Click here for instructions.

A sample menu.lst file can be downloaded below. If you use it, make sure to rename it to menu.lst once it's on the flashdrive. You will also need to edit it as necessary for your ISO's filename.

Download

Sample menu.lst file

To update this flashdrive to a different version or build of the Acronis Media, just rerun the Media Builder program and save the new ISO file to the flashdrive. If you are replacing an existing ISO file, no other changes are needed. If you are adding an ISO file, edit the menu.lst file and add the new menu entry. For example: If you want to add your True Image Home 10 build 4,942 ISO (ti-10-4942.iso) to the flashdrive, you would put the ISO file on the flashdrive and add the following menu entry:

title Acronis True Image Home 10 (4,942)
map (hd0,0)/ti-10-4942.iso (hd32)
map --hook
chainloader (hd32)
boot


Additional Notes

• In these instructions, the timout value for booting the default Grub4DOS menu entry is 10 seconds. If you want a shorter or longer time, change the value.

• If you setup to boot the ISO files, you can place the ISO files into folders instead of having them in the root folder. For example: If you want all of your Acronis ISO files to be in the \acronis folder, just modify the entry in the menu.lst file to include the folder in the path to the ISO file: map (hd0,0)/acronis/ti-12-9615.iso (hd32)

Taken From: http://themudcrab.com/acronis_grub4dos.php

An alternative method, to boot an ISO from a USB Flash Disk (PEN), can be found in this Blog here

Mounting ISO Images in Linux

If you are already running Linux, you can save an ISO image to a directory on your machine or another machine on the network. You may then mount the ISO image to look at or copy files. To mount an ISO image, use the following command:

su -c 'mount -o loop -t iso9660 #isofilename# #mountpoint#

In the above command replace and with the correct file name and mount point respectively. The directory given as the mount point must exist.

taken from: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Distribution/Download