On Sat, 21 Jun 2003 19:50:09 +0200, john gennard wrote: > Sometimes I have access to an ADSL line, so I have downloaded an .iso > image of Gentoo.
So that's why you came here?! This is debian-user... > Now, I realised that I didn't understand exactly what an .iso image was, > so I've googled and now have that a little clearer. But what I don't > understand is how to boot the image I've downloaded and I find no clear > explanation. An .iso image contains a complete data session of a CD-ROM, i.e. all the data, the directory structure and so on. Essentially it is a bytewise copy of the data on the disc. (This is an oversimplification, but it should help you to get an idea.) > I burned the .iso image to a CD, but to make it bootable, I was asked to > add the contents of a floppy - presumably containing drivers to activate > a CD-ROM drive. You shouldn't need any floppies. The .iso image is bootable, provided that your BIOS supports booting from CD-ROMs. > I couldn't do anything about that, and if I change my BIOS to boot from > a CD-ROM it doesn't. I thought the .iso downloaded was bootable. It should be. How did you burn your CD-R? Try to burn just your .iso image, don't use any facilities your burning program has for making bootable CDs. > Would someone kindly explain (in simple terms):- > > 1. How to I get the CD to boot? That's a question for the Gentoo guys. Ask them :-) Debian's boot CDs work fine from my personal experience. > 2. Is there some special reason to use the cloop - would > some other form of compression not surfice? Did you by any chance mess with the ISO? I repeat: Burn it as it is; don't extract the files and burn them. That way you would lose the ability to boot the image. > 3. Is there a linux package which allows one to read > and extract files from an .iso image. No need. Everything is in place if your kernel supports CD-ROMs: mkdir /mnt/temp mount -o loop /path/to/my.iso /mnt/temp Then you have the ISO's files under the directory /mnt/temp and can copy them. -- Best Regards, | Hi! I'm a .signature virus. Copy me into Sebastian | your ~/.signature to help me spread! -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
