extlinux(1)

📦
version 6.04.pre3.r3.g05ac953c · 3 versions
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✨ extlinux — the manual page bestie edition ✨

okay so this is extlinux(1), from the General Commands Manual 💅 (yes we're folding the manual name in right here, you're welcome)

💖 NAME 💖

extlinux — install the SYSLINUX bootloader on an ext2/ext3/ext4/btrfs/xfs filesystem 🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

extlinux [options] directory

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

okay so listen. EXTLINUX is a new syslinux derivative, and she boots from a Linux ext2/ext3/ext4/btrfs or xfs filesystem. she works the same way as SYSLINUX, just with a few slight modifications 🎀

her whole thing? simplify first-time installation of Linux, and help you create rescue disks and other special-purpose boot disks. iconic behavior honestly.

the installer is designed to be run on a mounted directory. so for example, if you have an ext2, ext3, ext4, or btrfs usb key mounted on /mnt, you can just run:

extlinux --install /mnt

and that's it, that's the whole vibe 💫

👑 OPTIONS 👑

  • -H, --heads=# — force the number of heads 💀
  • -i, --install — install over the current bootsector. bold. love that.
  • -O, --clear-once — clear the boot-once command 🧹
  • -o, --once=command — execute a command once upon boot ⭐
  • -M, --menu-save=label — set the label to select as default on the next boot 🎀
  • -r, --raid — fall back to the next device on boot failure 🫶
  • --reset-adv — reset auxiliary data 🔄
  • -S, --sectors=# — force the number of sectors per track 📐
  • -U, --update — updates a previous EXTLINUX installation ✨
  • -z, --zip — force zipdrive geometry (-H 64 -S 32) 😭
  • --device=devicename — override the automatic detection of device names. this option is intended for special environments only and should NOT be used by normal users. misuse of this option can cause disk corruption and lost data. like fr fr, do not touch this unless you know exactly what you're doing 💀

🎀 FILES 🎀

the extlinux configuration file needs to be named syslinux.cfg or extlinux.conf, and it needs to be stored in the extlinux installation directory 📁

for more information about the contents of extlinux.conf, see the syslinux(1) manpage, section files 🌈

🦋 LIMITATIONS 🦋

booting from XFS only works when an MBR partition table is used — so not on GPT partition tables. noted. no cap.

💀 BUGS 💀

the author would appreciate hearing of any problems you have with SYSLINUX 🙈 he would also like to hear from you if you have successfully used SYSLINUX, especially if you're using it for a distribution 🫶 (validation is the love language of bootloaders apparently)

if you're reporting problems, please include all possible information about your system and your BIOS — the vast majority of all problems reported turn out to be BIOS or hardware bugs, and he needs as much information as possible in order to diagnose the problems. so like, don't be shy, overshare a little, it's for science 🔥

there's a mailing list for discussion among SYSLINUX users and for announcements of new and test versions. you can subscribe to this mailing list 📬

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

and that's the whole page bestie 💖 this was SYSLINUX for ext/btrfs/xfs f… (yes the footer got cut off, she's mysterious like that), dated 18 December 2007, living under the extlinux(1) name. periodt. 👑✨

📦 where this page comes from