FW: [linux-usb-devel] boot from usb storage

FW: [linux-usb-devel] boot from usb storage

[Filipau, Ihar]

	Can any-one comment on this here?

	In short:
	Is it possible to boot from portable USB DVD drive?
	Is this supported in BIOSes?
	Will kernel be able to find a root?

P.S. I'm not subscribed - please CC.

> On Thu, 2002-11-07 at 02:24, Filipau, Ihar wrote:
> > Hello All!
> > 
> > 	Short question - hope for short answer.
> > 	Google gives too much garbage and IOMega web site has 
> some info, but 
> > only for Macs.
> > 
> > 
> > 	Is it possible to boot from USB storage?
> 
> This is dependent on your BIOS, not on your OS. IIRC, Linux 
> had some support for a USB storage root fs, but i don't know 
> what the current state is.
> 
> > 	I'm in interested in booting from DVD-ROM and I want 
> drive to be 
> > portable.
> > 	Is it possible?
> > 	

Re: FW: [linux-usb-devel] boot from usb storage

[Eric Lammerts]

On Mon, 11 Nov 2002, Filipau, Ihar wrote:
> 	In short:
> 	Is it possible to boot from portable USB DVD drive?
> 	Is this supported in BIOSes?

Don't know.

> 	Will kernel be able to find a root?

Normally it doesn't work because USB devices are detectly
asynchronously (from a kernel thread). At the time a USB device is
discovered, the root mounting code has already given up.

I have a patch to fix this at
http://www.lammerts.org/software/kernelpatches/usb-storage-root.patch
It's tested only with USB harddisks, but will probably also work with
DVD drives.

Eric