MultiBootUSB - Install and boot multiple Linux from Pendrive / Flash drive / USB disk

[sundar_ima]

Thank you for your positive feedback.

it successfully added boot entries for all of the above iso's, except Peppermint & Lubuntu.

Yes it wont boot pepper mint and lubuntu because this support is not added in the script. you can find the list of supported distros in the first post of this thread.

I manually added Peppermint to the iso folder and added an entry to the /boot/grub/grub.cfg.

if you boot these distros (pepper mint and lubuntu) successfully please share us so that i will include these two distros in the script. you can share us the grub.cfg entry of these two distros.

I'm in the process of attempting to boot each of the iso's and so far Wolvix and Backtrack have booted OK

I haven't tried yet for those distros. I would like to know the grub.cfg entry for these two(if you wish).

I noticed that for several of the live cd iso's, the contents were extracted

Because these distros does not provide direst iso boot yet.

Thank you.

[confused57]

Here is my grub.cfg:

set default="1"
set timeout=30
set menu_color_normal=cyan/blue
set menu_color_highlight=white/blue

menuentry "First Partition of First HDD" {
set root=(hd0,1)
chainloader +1
}

GRUB_GFXMODE=1024x768x16
insmod vbe


	menuentry "Back Track - FrameBuffer (1024x768)" {
		linux /boot/bt/vmlinuz BOOT=casper boot=casper nopersistent rw vga=0x317
		initrd /boot/bt/initrd.gz
	}

	menuentry "Back Track - FrameBuffer (800x600)" {
		linux /boot/bt/vmlinuz BOOT=casper boot=casper nopersistent rw vga=0x314
		initrd /boot/bt/initrd800.gz
	}

	menuentry "Back Track Forensics (no swap)" {
		linux /boot/bt/vmlinuz BOOT=casper boot=casper nopersistent rw vga=0x317
		initrd /boot/bt/initrdfr.gz
	}

	menuentry "Back Track - Safe Graphical Mode" {
		linux /boot/bt/vmlinuz BOOT=casper boot=casper xforcevesa rw
		initrd /boot/bt/initrd.gz
	}

	menuentry "Back Track - Persistent" {
		linux /boot/bt/vmlinuz BOOT=casper boot=casper persistent rw
		initrd /boot/bt/initrd.gz
	}

	menuentry "Back Track - Text Mode" {
		linux /boot/bt/vmlinuz BOOT=casper boot=casper nopersistent textonly rw
		initrd /boot/bt/initrd.gz
	}

	menuentry "Back Track - From RAM" {
		linux /boot/bt/vmlinuz BOOT=casper boot=casper toram nopersistent rw
		initrd /boot/bt/initrd.gz
	}



	menuentry "CD Linux" {
		linux /boot/cdlinux/bzImage quiet
		initrd /boot/cdlinux/initrd
	}


	menuentry "Clonezilla" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/clonezilla-live-1.2.5-17-i486.iso
		linux (loop)/live/vmlinuz root=(loop)/ rootfstype=loop findiso=/boot/iso/clonezilla-live-1.2.5-17-i486.iso quickreboot utc=no    boot=live union=aufs noswap nolocales edd=on ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param="" ocs_live_keymap="NONE" ocs_live_batch="no" ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" ocs_daemonon="ssh" ocs_numlk=on ip=frommedia nosplash
		initrd (loop)/live/initrd.img
	}

	menuentry "Clonezilla - To RAM" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/clonezilla-live-1.2.5-17-i486.iso
		linux (loop)/live/vmlinuz root=(loop)/ rootfstype=loop findiso=/boot/iso/clonezilla-live-1.2.5-17-i486.iso quickreboot utc=no toram=filesystem.squashfs   boot=live union=aufs noswap nolocales edd=on ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param="" ocs_live_keymap="NONE" ocs_live_batch="no" ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" ocs_daemonon="ssh" ocs_numlk=on ip=frommedia nosplash
		initrd (loop)/live/initrd.img
	}


	menuentry "Knoppix" {
		gfxpayload=1024x768
		linux /KNOPPIX6/linux ramdisk_size=100000 lang=en vt.default_utf8=0 apm=power-off vga=791 initrd=minirt.gz nomce loglevel=0 tz=localtime knoppix_dir=KNOPPIX6 BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix
		initrd /KNOPPIX6/minirt.gz
	}

	menuentry "Knoppix-Adriane" {
		gfxpayload=1024x768
		linux /KNOPPIX6/linux ramdisk_size=100000 lang=en vt.default_utf8=0 apm=power-off initrd=minirt.gz nomce loglevel=0 tz=localtime knoppix_dir=KNOPPIX adriane
		initrd /KNOPPIX6/minirt.gz
	}

	menuentry "Knoppix-Failsafe" {
		linux /KNOPPIX6/linux ramdisk_size=100000 lang=en vt.default_utf8=0 vga=normal atapicd nosound noapic nolapic noacpi pnpbios=off acpi=off nofstab noscsi nodma noapm nousb nopcmcia nofirewire noagp nomce nonetwork nodhcp xmodule=vesa initrd=minirt.gz knoppix_dir=KNOPPIX6
		initrd /KNOPPIX6/minirt.gz
	}


	menuentry "Lucid Puppy" {
		linux /boot/lupu/vmlinuz root=/dev/ram0 pmedia=usbflash loglevel=7 pkeys=us
		initrd /boot/lupu/initrd.gz
	}


	menuentry "Ubuntu" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/ubuntu-rescue-remix-10-04.iso
		linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz boot=casper iso-scan/filename=/boot/iso/ubuntu-rescue-remix-10-04.iso noeject noprompt --
		initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz
	}


	menuentry "Parted Magic" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		linux (loop)/pmagic/bzImage edd=off noapic load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 rw loglevel=0 max_loop=256 keymap=us iso_filename=/boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		initrd (loop)/pmagic/initramfs
	}

	menuentry "Parted Magic - Media not usable" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		linux (loop)/pmagic/bzImage edd=off noapic load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 rw loglevel=0 livemedia noeject max_loop=256 keymap=us iso_filename=/boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		initrd (loop)/pmagic/initramfs
	}

	menuentry "Parted Magic - Low RAM" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		linux (loop)/pmagic/bzImage edd=off noapic load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 rw lowram livemedia noeject nogpm nolvm nonfs nofstabdaemon nosmart noacpid nodmeventd nohal nosshd nosound nobluetooth loglevel=0 xvesa max_loop=256 keymap=us iso_filename=/boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		initrd (loop)/pmagic/initramfs
	}

	menuentry "Parted Magic - VESA Graphics" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		linux (loop)/pmagic/bzImage edd=off noapic load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 rw xvesa loglevel=0 max_loop=256 keymap=us iso_filename=/boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		initrd (loop)/pmagic/initramfs
	}

	menuentry "Parted Magic - Safe Graphics" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		linux (loop)/pmagic/bzImage edd=off noapic load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 rw vga=normal loglevel=0 max_loop=256 keymap=us iso_filename=/boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		initrd (loop)/pmagic/initramfs
	}

	menuentry "Parted Magic - Failsafe" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		linux (loop)/pmagic/bzImage edd=off acpi=off noapic load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 rw vga=normal nolapic nopcmcia noscsi nogpm consoleboot nosmart keymap=us nosshd nosound max_loop=256 iso_filename=/boot/iso/pmagic-4.11.iso
		initrd (loop)/pmagic/initramfs
	}


	menuentry "PC Linux" {
		linux /boot/pclinux/vmlinuz livecd=livecd initrd=initrd.gz root=/dev/rd/3 acpi=on vga=788 keyb=us fstab=rw,auto
		initrd /boot/pclinux/initrd.gz
	}

	menuentry "PC Linux - From RAM" {
		linux /boot/pclinux/vmlinuz copy2ram livecd=livecd initrd=initrd.gz root=/dev/rd/3 acpi=on vga=788 keyb=us fstab=rw,auto
		initrd /boot/pclinux/initrd.gz
	}

	menuentry "PC Linux - Safe Boot" {
		linux /boot/pclinux/vmlinuz livecd=livecd root=/dev/rd/3 acpi=off vga=normal keyb=us noapic nolapic noscsi nopcmcia
		initrd /boot/pclinux/initrd.gz
	}


	menuentry "Slitaz" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/slitaz-3.0.iso
		linux (loop)/boot/bzImage rw root=/dev/null lang=C kmap=us screen=1024x768x16 autologin
		initrd (loop)/boot/rootfs.gz
	}


	menuentry "System Rescue" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso
		linux (loop)/isolinux/rescuecd isoloop=/boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso rdinit=/linuxrc setkmap=us
		initrd (loop)/isolinux/initram.igz
	}

	menuentry "System Rescue - With GUI" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso
		linux (loop)/isolinux/rescuecd isoloop=/boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso rdinit=/linuxrc setkmap=us dostartx
		initrd (loop)/isolinux/initram.igz
	}

	menuentry "System Rescue - Files to Memory" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso
		linux (loop)/isolinux/rescuecd isoloop=/boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso rdinit=/linuxrc setkmap=us docache
		initrd (loop)/isolinux/initram.igz
	}

	menuentry "System Rescue - AMD 64 bit" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso
		linux (loop)/isolinux/rescue64 isoloop=/boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso rdinit=/linuxrc setkmap=us
		initrd (loop)/isolinux/initram.igz
	}

	menuentry "System Rescue - Alternate 32 bit" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso
		linux (loop)/isolinux/altker32 isoloop=/boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso rdinit=/linuxrc setkmap=us
		initrd (loop)/isolinux/initram.igz
	}

	menuentry "System Rescue - Alternate 64 bit" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso
		linux (loop)/isolinux/altker64 isoloop=/boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso rdinit=/linuxrc setkmap=us
		initrd (loop)/isolinux/initram.igz
	}

	menuentry "System Rescue - Memory Test" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso
		linux (loop)/bootdisk/memtestp isoloop=/boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso rdinit=/linuxrc setkmap=us
		initrd (loop)/bootdisk/memtestp
	}

	menuentry "System Rescue - FreeDOS" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso
		linux (loop)/isolinux/memdisk isoloop=/boot/iso/systemrescuecd-x86-1.5.6.iso rdinit=/linuxrc setkmap=us
		initrd (loop)/bootdisk/freedos.img
	}



	menuentry "Tiny Core" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/tinycore_2.11.5.iso
		linux (loop)/boot/bzImage 
		initrd (loop)/boot/tinycore.gz
	}


	menuentry "Ubuntu Rescue" {
		loopback loop /boot/iso/ubuntu-rescue-remix-10-04.iso
		linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz boot=casper iso-scan/filename=/boot/iso/ubuntu-rescue-remix-10-04.iso noeject noprompt --
		initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz
	}


	menuentry "Wolvix GNU/Linux (login as root, password is toor)" {
		linux /boot/wolvix/vmlinuz changes=wolvixsave.xfs max_loop=255 ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw vga=791 splash=silent
		initrd /boot/wolvix/initrd.gz
	}

	menuentry "Zenwalk live" {
		linux /boot/zen/vmlinuz append max_loop=255 initrd=/boot/zen/initrd.gz init=linuxrc load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw vga=791 splash=silent keyb=us lang=en_US autologin
		initrd /boot/zen/initrd.gz
	}

	menuentry "Zenwalk live (Safe Graphics)" {
		linux /boot/zen/vmlinuz append max_loop=255 initrd=/boot/zen/initrd.gz init=linuxrc load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw vga=791 splash=silent xforcevesa keyb=us lang=en_US autologin
		initrd /boot/zen/initrd.gz
	}


        menuentry "Peppermint-One-06172010" {
loopback loop /boot/iso/Peppermint-One-06172010.iso
linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz boot=casper iso-scan/filename=/boot/iso/Peppermint-One-06172010.iso noprompt noeject quiet splash
initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz
       }

       menuentry "Lubuntu 10.04" {
loopback loop /boot/iso/lubuntu-10.04.iso
linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz boot=casper iso-scan/filename=/boot/iso/lubuntu-10.04.iso noprompt noeject quiet splash
initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz
       }

I was able to boot Knoppix using the first menuentry and had no problems booting lubuntu and Peppermint, which are both Ubuntu based. I used Herman's example on his site:
http://members.iinet.net/~herman546/...ack_Boot_Entry

I'll try to update this post with results on booting the other distro iso's. I'm quite impressed with the results so far.

[C.S.Cameron]

Gparted works well from iso with grub2.
You can probably make the following menuentry look a bit more elegant:

menuentry "Gparted live" {
  insmod loopback
  insmod iso9660
  set gfxpayload=800x600x16, 800x600
  set isofile="/boot/ISOs/gparted-live-0.5.2-1.iso"
  loopback loop $isofile
  linux (loop)/live/vmlinuz boot=live union=aufs noswap noprompt ip=frommedia toram=filesystem.squashfs findiso=$isofile
  initrd (loop)/live/initrd.img
}

[sundar_ima]

Released beta 2.0 version. Included distros are
Macpup (along with Lucid puppy)
AVG Rescue CD
GParted
Peppermint
Lubuntu
Fedora
however fedora is not working at the moment.

[sundar_ima]

Oops...

Forgot to mention about the bug fix (nimblex) on beta 2 release.

Thank you C.S.Cameron for your feedback and suggestion ( on GParted).
Thank you confused57 for your suggestion on pepperment and lubuntu

We are ready to release the new version with few more additional distros and some bug fixes

[C.S.Cameron]

Thanks sundar_ima:
Will give it a try.
Great job so far.
Cork

[MountainX]

I get this error in Kubuntu 10.04

# ./MultiBootUSB.sh
USB Disk [./MultiBootUSB.sh:] is not available


However, my USB disk is available. It is called "PATRIOT" and here it is:

ls /media/PATRIOT/
autorun.inf casper ldlinux.sys md5sum.txt mint4win.exe preseed syslinux

(Those files are all OK to delete, so I just plan on overwriting this disk.)

Why won't the script run?

[C.S.Cameron]

I get this error in Kubuntu 10.04

# ./MultiBootUSB.sh
USB Disk [./MultiBootUSB.sh:] is not available


However, my USB disk is available. It is called "PATRIOT" and here it is:

ls /media/PATRIOT/
autorun.inf casper ldlinux.sys md5sum.txt mint4win.exe preseed syslinux

(Those files are all OK to delete, so I just plan on overwriting this disk.)

Why won't the script run?

Are you giving the full path to ./MultiBootUSB.sh

[MountainX]

Are you giving the full path to ./MultiBootUSB.sh

No. Why would I need to do more than this:
sudo -s
cd ~/Downloads/MultiBootUSB
~/Downloads/MultiBootUSB# ./MultiBootUSB.sh

[C.S.Cameron]

No. Why would I need to do more than this:
sudo -s
cd ~/Downloads/MultiBootUSB
~/Downloads/MultiBootUSB# ./MultiBootUSB.sh

Just askin'
Because I am installing from a laptop with grub legacy I am booting from the Live CD.
My MultiBootUSB.sh is on a flash drive so I give the path and it works.
I start with a freshly formatted FAT32 flash drive