Boot Linux Mint from ISO image

rv82
   10 years ago
  0

Note: grub2 must be installed on computer

To boot from ISO image lying on flash drive it's necessary to do next steps:

1. Copy image to flash drive.

2.  Create a simple config file for grub:

menuentry "Start Linux Mint 16 MATE 64-bit" {
    loopback loop /linuxmint-16-mate-dvd-64bit.iso
    set gfxpayload=keep
    linux    (loop)/casper/vmlinuz  file=/cdrom/preseed/linuxmint.seed boot=casper iso-scan/filename=/linuxmint-16-mate-dvd-64bit.iso noeject noprompt --
    initrd    (loop)/casper/initrd.lz
}

Copy this file to flash too.

3. Reboot computer to grub's command line and type this:

set root=(hd1,1)
configfile /grub.cfg

Type , after the menu entry appeared  and enjoy.

Important! GRUB's module loopback.mod have to be loaded preliminarily.

Comments
Zhies 7 years ago

Be careful which ISO you're using before you install it. There was a malicious ISO out there in February 2016. The following page gives more details.

http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2994

Even way after the issue was fixed, there are still issues. I am using a clean install with the right ISO, and in one instances to update in July 2016 my image attempted to revert back to the February version. I thought that was fishy when I was prompted to revert files back to Feb 2016 files.

rv82 10 years ago

openSUSE, at least 13.1, can be installed similarly. Fragment of grub.cfg:

menuentry 'Installation' --class opensuse --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
set gfxpayload=keep
loopback loop /openSUSE-13.1-DVD-x86_64.iso
echo 'Loading kernel ...'
linuxefi (loop)/boot/x86_64/loader/linux install=hd:////openSUSE-13.1-DVD-x86_64.iso
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrdefi (loop)/boot/x86_64/loader/initrd
}

Important kernel option here is install=hd:////openSUSE-13.1-DVD-x86_64.iso . If necessery, linuxefi and initrdefi can be replaced with linux and initrd.

atamax 10 years ago

Could you edit the title again or add any notification: Mint 16 Mate 64bit with Casper or smtg ...
I'm newbie in the Community and Linux but old unix user (between 1995-2005). I just installed my first Linux (Mint 16 Xfce) and trying to find something usable from Linux sites.

rv82 10 years ago

To remoulder: Title was edited
To april90: This method works when you have bootable grub2, e.g. on flash drive or even on your hard drive. I use it from my hdd

april90 10 years ago

hii, i'm new user of mint.
i want to use Linux Mint 16 "Petra" - Cinnamon (32-bit) in my old PC.
with usb bootable disc, can this step works?

remoulder 10 years ago

You title is misleading as this will only work for ISO's that use casper such as those from mint and ubuntu.