MKRESCUE(8)

📦
version 24.2 · 2 versions
, in ubuntu jammy

💾 MKRESCUE(8) — the make-a-rescue-floppy-or-CD girlies' guide 💖

okay so bestie, you know mkrescue(8)? the little system-manager-main-character tool that builds you a bootable rescue floppy or CD? yeah. sit down, grab a strawberry 🍓, we're doing this.

✨ NAME ✨

mkrescue — make rescue floppy or CD 🎀

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

/sbin/mkrescue makes a bootable rescue floppy or CD using the default
kernel specified in lilo.conf.

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so here's the vibe. mkrescue goes and gets its spec for the kernel from the default image specified in /etc/lilo.conf. but here's the plot twist: if the actual default is an other= specification, then it uses the first image= specification instead. no cap. 🙈

any associated initial ramdisk (initrd=), and append= options will also be used, because we're thorough like that. 💅

the root directory is taken to be the current root. and a bootable floppy or CD-image gets created using LILO version 22.5.5 or later.

and the best part? mkrescue normally requires no options at all, unless you want a CD-image (--iso). lowkey iconic, honestly. no fuss, just vibes. ✨

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • --append <string> — overrides any append= options it took from the default image. if there's any doubt about whether the lilo.conf options are correct, then you specify no kernel parameters by handing it the null string: --append "". yes, empty quotes. she means it. 🫶
  • --debug — gives you verbose output of what mkrescue is doing, and it pauses so you can look at the internal operating parameters being set. you have to hit <CR> to get past each of these pauses. it's giving "are you sure, bestie?" energy. 😭
  • --device <device> — makes the floppy on a device that isn't /dev/fd0. important detail though: the floppy disk will always be made to boot on BIOS device code 0x00 (the A: drive), no matter which drive you actually created it on. periodt. 💀
  • --fast — uses a faster method of creating the boot floppy. how? it first creates a file of --size 1k blocks (default is 1440), mounted using a loopback device, creates the bootable floppy in there, and then copies the entire file over to the disk. speedrun strats. 🔥
  • --fs [ ext2 | msdos | minix ] — specifies the type of filesystem to create on the drive. ext2 is the default, but msdos and minix allow slightly more disk sectors for really big kernels. big kernel girlies, this one's for you. 👑
  • --help — prints a short usage synopsis, including a list of command options. the classic "help me help you". 🌈
  • --image <label> — specifies the label or alias of the particular image from which the append, initial ramdisk, root, keytable, and kernel information is to be taken. pick your girl. 💖
  • --initrd <filepath> and --kernel <filepath> — these two options must be used together, and they let you specify an arbitrary kernel file and initial ramdisk file to be used on the created boot floppy. ⚠️ be sure you know what you're doing before you use these options. and if no initial ramdisk is needed with a particular kernel, then you MUST specify --initrd "", meaning a null pathname. not optional. she will not accept vibes here. 🚨
  • --install [ text | menu ] — lets you override the default human interface used with the rescue bootloader (that's the configuration file "install=" option). text is the default on 1.2MB and 1.44MB floppy disks, and menu is the default on 2.88MB floppies and HD emulation on CD-R media. choose your aesthetic. ✨
  • --iso — creates an ISO-9660 bootable CD image (El Torito Format) suitable for burning to a CD-R or CD-RW. 🔥 the --device specification defaults to the filename rescue.iso, and the --size defaults to 2880. a utility such as "wodim" may be used to burn the ISO file to a recordable CD medium. and with this ISO option, the --size HD option is allowed. we love a collab. 🫶
  • --nocompact — for faster kernel loading from a floppy, LILO map compaction is normally enabled. this option disables map compaction by omitting the lilo -c switch. bye compaction, we hardly knew ye. 👋
  • --noformat — suppresses creation of a new filesystem on the boot floppy. ⚠️ this option may be used ONLY when you know that the floppy you'll be writing upon is formatted with the same filesystem as specified by --fs XXX (default is ext2). ONLY. we're serious. read it again. 😤
  • --root <device> — specifies the root filesystem for the kernel on the boot floppy. the currently mounted root is taken as the default specification. 🏠
  • --size [ 1440 | 1200 | 2880 | HD ] — the default floppy disk size is 1440, meaning a 1.44MB floppy. when --iso is specified, the default size is 2880. allowed specifications are 1200, 1440, or 2880, meaning a 1.2MB, 1.44MB or 2.88MB floppy, respectively. no other floppy disk sizes are supported. that's the whole menu, bestie, there is no secret ninth option. 🙅‍♀️

the HD specification, meaning "hard disk", may only be used with the --iso option, to indicate a 16MB hard disk is to be generated for emulation. this allows for very large kernel/initial ramdisk combinations on CD-R. 🎀 the hard disk image is created using loopback devices /dev/loop0 and /dev/loop1, which must be free to utilize this size option. if they're busy? no HD for you. 💀

  • --version — prints the version number of mkrescue, then terminates. and that's it, she's out. 💨

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

cdrecord(1), dd(1), wodim(1), lilo.conf(5), lilo(8), mkfs(8), mkinitrd(8), mkisofs(8), mount(8)

go read those too, bestie, knowledge is free and it's cute. 📚✨

and that's the whole page!! this one's from the System Manager's Manual crew, dated 6 Mar 2011, and yeah it's old but she still serves 💅 go make your rescue floppy, you absolute icon. mwah. 🫶🎀💖

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