2007/10/6, Jun OKAJIMA okajima@digitalinfra.co.jp:
Maybe you already know this?
MACH BOOT is a very fast CD booting Linux. It boots Linux desktop in less than 10 sec from CD.
Check it out please. http://www.machboot.com/
It is fantastic, very good results.
Then, why I mail here?
The current issue for making boot faster is, not a Linux issue but BIOS issue. Linux can boot less than 10 sec, but BIOS uses more than 20 sec!.
ANY HELP?. Of course, using Linux BIOS is one choice.
I think using LinuxBIOS is the best choice. Using LinuxBIOS and Linux with graphical aplications (kdrive and matchbox) built in inside BIOS Flash I got < 10s startup (with no optimizations). You just need get a supported board (http://www.linuxbios.org/index.php/Supported_Motherboards) and make a try.
I checked the video. It looks great. Good work. But, your way limits functionality. You can use only Tiny/X and busybox and... If you use Firefox, using CD-ROM is necessary, right?
So, combining your way and my way would be a right choice.
And, the problem is not only BIOS, but a firm ware of CD-ROM also. In some drives, to recognize a medium and start reading requies more than 10 sec. I mean, to start reading uses more time than booting Linux itself. To solve this, probably so-called "LinuxFirmware" would be necessary...
I need ATAPI commands like these. SET_MEDIA( media_type="CD-R", media_format="SINGLE_SESSION" ) START_SPIN( speed="MAX", wait=0) If you can send these commands in the early stage of BIOS booting, it gets more faster to start reading a medium.
--- Okajima, Jun. Tokyo, Japan. http://www.machboot.com/