[LinuxBIOS] Mount linux elf image for netboot as loop device

[Tony Cheng]

I used mkelfImage to combined Linux Kernel 2.4.20 and initrd into elf image for netboot. then I try to use "mount -o loop my_elfImage" to mount this image as a loop device. I get a error message like this:

#mount: you must specify the filesystem type

I have specified the my_elfImage in /etc/fstab as this: (I add a line in fstab because mount ask me to do that)

/root/loop/my_elfImage     /root/loop/tl           auto    noauto,owner,kudzu 0 0

I changed the file type from auto to ext3 and etc. but nothing work for me.

Could anybody kindly help me on this?

Thanks

tony

[Nathanael Noblet]

On Mar 30, 2005, at 7:36 PM, Tony Cheng wrote:
> I used mkelfImage to combined Linux Kernel 2.4.20 and initrd into elf 
> image for netboot. then I try to use "mount -o loop my_elfImage" to 
> mount this image as a loop device. I get a error message like this:

mkelfimage doesn't make a filesystem as far as I know, and only puts 
the kernel into a format that the linuxbios expects to find so it can 
load it into ram and jump to it. What you are asking to do is about as 
the same as mounting a compiled program as a filesystem. You can't do 
'mount -o loop /bin/bash /mnt/loop' anymore then you can mount the 
kernel file.

[Tony Cheng]

The mkelfImage would package initrd with the kernal. does the mount it as a
loop device would allow user to take look what's in there?

If mount as loop device would not work, do you think there is a way to look
what's in the elf image after it has been made?

Thanks

Tony

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nathanael Noblet" 
To: "Tony Cheng" 
Cc: 
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 7:44 PM
Subject: Re: [LinuxBIOS] Mount linux elf image for netboot as loop device

On Mar 30, 2005, at 7:36 PM, Tony Cheng wrote:
> I used mkelfImage to combined Linux Kernel 2.4.20 and initrd into elf
> image for netboot. then I try to use "mount -o loop my_elfImage" to
> mount this image as a loop device. I get a error message like this:

mkelfimage doesn't make a filesystem as far as I know, and only puts
the kernel into a format that the linuxbios expects to find so it can
load it into ram and jump to it. What you are asking to do is about as
the same as mounting a compiled program as a filesystem. You can't do
'mount -o loop /bin/bash /mnt/loop' anymore then you can mount the
kernel file.