EMILE/README.scsi

This file explains how to install EMILE to boot from a SCSI disk.

first of all:

USE WITH CAUTION AND AT YOUR OWN RISKS !!!!!

This operations will modify properties of your partition map (if you haven't got HFS partition) or the bootblock of your HFS partition (if exists)

If you generate binaries from sources packages, you must:

# cp emile/tools/emile /sbin
# mkdir /boot/emile
# cp first/first_scsi /boot/emile
# cp second/second_scsi /boot/emile

The first operation to do is to show the state of your partition map:

emile2:~# emile --scanbus -v
/dev/sda: block size: 512, blocks number: 528808 (258.207 MB)
  Drivers
     0: base: 64 size: 19 type: 1 <2: Macintosh [Apple_Driver43]>
  Partitions
     /dev/sda1 :            Apple [Apple_partition_map]
                 base: 1, count: 63 (31.500 kB)
                 flags: 0x00000037
     /dev/sda2 :        Macintosh [Apple_Driver43  ]  *
                 base: 64, count: 32 (16.000 kB)
                 flags: 0x0000007f
     /dev/sda3 :        A/UX Root [Apple_UNIX_SVR2 ]
                 base: 182864, count: 345944 (168.917 MB)
                 flags: 0x00000037
     /dev/sda4 :             Swap [Apple_UNIX_SVR2 ]
                 base: 150096, count: 32768 (16.000 MB)
                 flags: 0x00000037
     /dev/sda5 :            MacOS [Apple_HFS       ]  <Apple bootblock>
                 base: 96, count: 150000 (73.242 MB)
                 flags: 0x000000b7

The aim of the operation is to install the EMILE bootblock on the first HFS
partition of the disk and to set information in it to find the second level 
boot block. Then with set information in second level to find the kernel. All 
is done automtically by emile.

But you need a kernel... you can use the one provided with your Debian after a little modification: move it from ELF format to binary format.

# cd /boot
# gzip -d -c vmlinuz-2.2.20-mac > vmlinux-2.2.20.tmp
# objcopy -I elf32-big -O binary -R .note -R .comment \
					-S vmlinux-2.2.20.tmp vmlinux-2.2.20
# rm vmlinux-2.2.20.tmp

You can compress if with gzip if you want, but you have enough space on your
disk, let it uncompressed: the boot sequence will be faster.

Now, we have a kernel, we can install EMILE !

You can test operation without modifying anything with parameter "--test".

emile2:~# emile --test --kernel /boot/vmlinux-2.2.20
ERROR: there is already a bootblock on "/dev/sda5"
       you must use "--backup" to save it
partition:   /dev/sda5
first:       /boot/emile/first_scsi
second:      /boot/emile/second_scsi
kernel:      /boot/vmlinux-2.2.20
append:      root=/dev/sda3
buffer size: 0

As we try to avoid to lost the Apple bootblock, EMILE check it and did nothing
if you don't explicitly backup it.

Now, we can really install EMILE:

emile2:~# emile --kernel /boot/vmlinux-2.2.20 --backup
Bootblock backup successfully done.
partition:   /dev/sda5
first:       /boot/emile/first_scsi
second:      /boot/emile/second_scsi
kernel:      /boot/vmlinux-2.2.20
append:      root=/dev/sda3
buffer size: 0
(352374, 24) (352400, 512) (352916, 512) (353430, 484) (353930, 28) (353960, 512) (354474, 512) (354988, 72) (357750, 234) (372902, 38) (373522, 18) (373542, 20) (373564, 20) (373586, 20) (373608, 10)
kernel image size: 1544192
(314486, 24) (314512, 16) (182864, 2) (182864, 2) (182864, 2) (182864, 2) (314528, 16)

Note: by default, EMILE installs bootblock on first HFS partition, and set 
"root=" to the partition where is stored second_level.

You can specify all parameters, see emile usage:

emile2:~# emile --help
Usage: emile [OPTION]
Update and install EMILE stuff on your SCSI disk.
EMILE allows to boot linux directly from linux partition
  -h, --help           display this text
  -v, --verbose        active verbose mode
  -t, --test           active test mode (don't write to disk)
  --scanbus            display information about all disks and partitions
  -f, --first PATH     set path of EMILE first level
  -s, --second PATH    set path of EMILE second level
  -k, --kernel PATH    set path of kernel
  -a, --append ARG     set kernel command line
  -p, --partition DEV  define device where to install boot block
  --restore[=FILE]     save current boot block from FILE
  --backup[=FILE]      save current boot block to FILE
  --set-hfs            set type of partition DEV to Apple_HFS (needed to be bootable)

If you want to boot MacOS again (sure ?), you must restore the Apple bootblock
with:

emile2:~# emile --restore
Bootblock restore successfully done.

"--backup" saves by default bootblock in "/boot/emile/bootblock.backup"

But remember, to be bootable, a disk must have:
- a partition map
- an Apple_Driver partition
- an Apple_HFS partition
- a bootblock on Apple_HFS

EMILE cannot create an Apple_Driver partition, so you must partition before
all your disk with the Apple Disk Utility.
If you don't want to have MacOS on your disk, EMILE can change the linux root
partition to HFS... and all works fine ;-)

And now, you can start linux in less than 2 seconds...

Laurent Vivier <Laurent@lvivier.info>