How you can install KolibriOS on Hard Disk

Post here questions, problems and suggestions in English language
  • I want it to be as an only system
  • Yes, I wonder how this can be done as well - since it's not that easy to find as confusing docs, as "install.txt" of Kolibri, section "II. Install to hard disk.". Instead of clear instruction, like e.g. this:

    1. Use LiveCD (or whatever should I use for this).
    2. Run installer XYZ.
    3. Select your target partition (or create) - I need also requirements for such partition; can it be logical, or must be primary? Should it be FAT16-formatted, FAT32, differently? Should it be earlier formatted - or installer will take care about this?
    4. etc. etc.

    What do we see in the docs:
    There exists several loaders from hard disk.
    Sorry: to early to discuss this. This topic should be discussed after description, how to install Kolibri first.
    If you already have old version of Kolibri installed, simply replace kolibri.img to new. If you have booted from LiveCD
    No "if"-s, please! No, not ran Kolibri at all yet - only going to install, to give it a shot! Just tell me, should I use LiveCD, or other method? No, don't assume, that "I have old version of Kolibri" (leave such installation variations for the end of the section).
    which does not contain the file kolibri.img, Kolibri can create it independently, to do this, run the program rdsave, enter the file name for saving and select the corresponding variant. Of course, in this case Kolibri must be able to write to file system of selected partitions, currently this means that only FAT volumes are ok.
    Which FAT? Is FAT32 good enough - or must it be "stone age" FAT16? Where is "rdsave" (whatever it is)?
    1) Most of all features has the loader mtldr...
    2) There is also the loader MeOSLoad...
    Have a mercy, and just tell me first, how Kolibri has to be installed - only then talk about various loaders. From this point to the end of the section it is all about loaders - which can be useful information later.

    My proposal is: it would be worthy to add to section "II. Install to hard disk" - to its very beginning - a clear instruction 1-2-3-4-style "how Kolibri can be installed to HDD (and how HDD should be prepared earlier for this, if necessary - partitioning, filesystem etc.)". You know - for example:

    1. Create a partition - can be primary, or logical - and format it to have FAT32 filesystem.
    2. Boot Kolibri Live CD.
    3. Run the installer XYZ.
    4. Select... etc.

    Get it?

    This is, what new user - not having any experience with OS he wants to get familiar with - needs to pass through the installation stage. Not the immediate discussion about loaders, as if the installation was already done.
  • Hi,

    if you are on FB there is a kolibrios group https://www.facebook.com/groups/kolibrios/

    What did not work for you with USB? No Bootsupport?

    it must be bootable, but if your os does not support usbboot look at plop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg59c_EHQd4) http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager/mbrinstall.html

    I installed MS Dos and with mdlr and the kolibrios.img in the root folder everything booted just fine.
  • The principal is simple:
    1. Copy kolibri.img to the root of a supported partition (depends on loader)
    2. Install a loader

    You'll have to choose the loader, depending on the current configuration of your computer.
    If you already have windows on the computer, follow this guide: http://wiki.kolibrios.org/wiki/Dual_Boo ... NT/2K/XP/7
    If you already have linux (using grub) on the computer, try this: http://wiki.kolibrios.org/wiki/Booting_from_GRUB
    If you have none of the above, I believe best solution would be to install grub first.

    (PS: FAT seems to means FAT16 or FAT32 in this case(both are supported))
    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." Albert Einstein
  • Guys, my proposal for "how to install Kolibri OS on your HDD" step-by-step instruction:

    1. Create a partition of "b" type (AKA "Win95 FAT32"), e.g. by using Linux's "fdisk/cfdisk" - or FreeDOS' "FDISK". The partition can be either primary or logical.
    2. Format the partition to have FAT32 filesystem there.
    3. Create directories "boot" and "kolibri" there.
    4. Copy "memdisk" utility (from Linux' "syslinux" package) into "boot", and the whole contents of KolibriOS CD (including subdirectories) into "kolibri".
    5. If using GRUB, add to "menu.lst" the entry like this:

    title KolibriOS
    kernel (hd0,x)/boot/memdisk
    initrd (hd0,x)/kolibri/kolibri.img

    (where 'x' is number of your partition - starting from '0' for the first one)
  • Zbiggy wrote:5. If using GRUB, add to "menu.lst" the entry like this:
    And how is this better than the current instruction? It still contains an "if" and is shorter only because it drops everything non-GRUB'ish. Not everyone uses GRUB, you know.
    Сделаем мир лучше!
  • Perhaps it would be easier, if someone makes a virtual disk with the grub files and a sample kolibrios.img Should be no problem because these files are all open source (sources must be included I guess). Perhaps a ghost image form that "empty" disk would be nice, too.
  • CleverMouse wrote:
    Zbiggy wrote:5. If using GRUB, add to "menu.lst" the entry like this:
    And how is this better than the current instruction? It still contains an "if" and is shorter only because it drops everything non-GRUB'ish. Not everyone uses GRUB, you know.
    Some do (GRUB is popular among Linux users). Indeed: some don't - that's why a single "if" remained.

    How is this better? Just read & compare - and for a while forget you're Kolibri developer; just try to imagine you're a complete newcomer. This way you'll see, "how is this better" than the docs starting with "There are several loaders" and assumption, that the reader tried Kolibri before. What do you want to load, when the partition for Kolibri hasn't been created neither formatted yet?

    No - the only assumption should be: "(s)he's a complete Kolibri newbie, who sees it for a first time; let's guide him step-by-step". Loaders discussion and "if you installed it in the past" should be moved to the end of the section.

    Well, that's my humble point of view, anyway.
  • Zbiggy wrote:How is this better? Just read & compare - and for a while forget you're Kolibri developer; just try to imagine you're a complete newcomer. This way you'll see, "how is this better" than the docs starting with "There are several loaders" and assumption, that the reader tried Kolibri before. What do you want to load, when the partition for Kolibri hasn't been created neither formatted yet?
    Okay, I'm a complete newcomer with Windows as the first OS. With the current instruction, I don't understand the first sentence, I'm glad to hear that "All are oriented on DOS and Windows users", although that doesn't give me any information, the third sentence says that GRUB is "standard Linux-loader", so I'm ignoring everything related to GRUB. Then, I don't have old version of Kolibri installed and LiveCD has the file kolibri.img, so I'm ignoring the rest of introduction. Well, I must agree that it was not very helpful. But let's read further. So, I move to the method labelled "1)". The first sentence isn't very helpful either, but then I see "To install, simply run file HD_load\mtldr_install.exe and select image file." Let's try... wow, it works! All done.

    Now let's try to use your instruction. "Create a partition"... what? "by using Linux's "fdisk/cfdisk" - or FreeDOS' "FDISK""... what? I'm using Windows, I don't want to install an entire other OS just to try KolibriOS. "The partition can be either primary or logical." - what does this even mean? Next steps are not very helpful either - well, I know how to create directories and copy files, but "syslinux package"? GRUB? menu.lst? I don't have anything like "menu.lst"!
    Сделаем мир лучше!
  • I was trying to show you weaker parts of your instruction - well it seems, instead of make it better, you prefer to argue instead.
    "by using Linux's "fdisk/cfdisk" - or FreeDOS' "FDISK""... what? I'm using Windows
    So add "or Windows' manage HDD tool" (or whatever it's called) there.
    "The partition can be either primary or logical." - what does this even mean?
    OK, replace it with: "it can be any kind of partition".

    As for your mtldr:
    Most of all features has the loader mtldr (author - Diamond) - works with DOS/Win95/98/NT/2k/XP/Vista, supports FAT32 and NTFS, has installator, can be installed to any folder on disk.
    What "folder"? I'm not going to mix Kolibri with anything already installed on my HDD - at least for my data safety! Maybe you mean "folder in the Kolibri partition"? I repeat: it hasn't been created nor formatted yet! I'm only browsing the docs, preparing to installation. Or maybe you meant: "the installer can be installed to any folder"? But why should I "install an installer"? Kolibri OS is what I'm going to install - not its installer.

    See, how confusing your instruction is? Or you still don't get it, and you state: "no, it's perfect"?
  • Zbiggy
    You probably do not understand one thing - KolibriOS do not require it's own system partition like Linux, Windows or whatever other OS.
    KolibriOS has its system partition, it is /rd/1/ and it is located in the RAM. If you delete something in C:/Windows or in /sbin your other OS can become unstable, but if you delete everything in KolibriOS /rd/1/ nothing bad will not happen untill you save your changes.
    KolibriOS need not to be installed but only loaded somehow. That's why documentation as it is more correct than what you suggest. If user wants separate partition for KolibriOS we do not mind, but why we should describe how(or what) to use to create it? It is not a tutorial how to create partitions.
  • KolibriOS can be booted with a disk (3,5 disks and drives are rare nowadays), the cd iso (burnt to a disc or directly if you use a virtual pc like qemu, virtualbox or vmware) your bios needs to be able to boot from cd for this or with special prepared usbstick or harddisc. For the usbstick your bios needs to be able to boot directly from usb or you could use tools like plop (http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager/index.html) to get the boot option from usb. Afterwards you need a bootstick which is able to be used as a boot stick (one way to make one is viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2713) and finally the way I did it, use the harddisc off the pc. As I had winxp on the system I used the mtldr to add the boot option to my windows boot option menu, but if you have nothing on the pc and harddisc you need to make the harddisc somehow bootable. This is the part where you have to make a partition on the harddisc and format it with a filesystem (fat32/16) and put the mtldr and kolibri os files on it. Partitioning and formating are things which are not included in kolibrios, so you need a way to do this. Some users like dos others windows others linux. So you have to choose which way you want to take. For me I would take a dos bootdisk partition and format the harddisc and then copy the mtldr and kolibrios.img to the harddisc. But as there are many options and ways to do this there are no clear instructions yet. Most developers and programmers are used to to these kind of things, so they need no special instructions, but if you are not that firm with these things we will try to help you. I personally would suggested to first learn these basics and than take a look at kolibrios because if you are not able to drive a car why would you buy one? So please be passion with us and try to be as clear as possible with what you have and what you do not understand and than we might be able to help you install and test the kolibiros onto your system.
  • The instructions for booting KolibriOS from SSD/HDD are quite confusing (especially for the average user) and arguably incomplete, so after I thought I would post my solution (for those using GRUB - sorry Windows only users) here.

    This looks complex, but is actually fairly simple as long as you follow the steps and *CHECK FOR TYPOS*.

    *NOTE* - KolibriOS CANNOT be installed to SSD/HDD in the same way as you would install e.g. Windows or Linux - it is memory (RAM) resident, so only needs to be loaded at bootup from the image file (kolibri.img).

    *NOTE* - this guide is for GRUB 2 for legacy GRUB everything should be the same APART FROM:

    the 'menuentry' instruction - 'label' should be substituted for 'menuentry' (hdx,y) - in legacy GRUB the parameter 'y' (partition number) starts at zero, in GRUB 2 'y' starts at 1, so for

    partition 1 on hd0 (primary SSD/HDD) legacy GRUB would read (hd0,0) but for GRUB 2 it would be (hd0,1)

    Steps:

    1 - download/extract KolibriOS from the website (http://kolibrios.org/en/download) to your desired location

    2 - copy kolibri.img and memdisk to your desired boot location (usually / or /boot - in the example here I have used /boot - I suggest you do the same for simplicity)

    Now - the slightly more complex part. The only solution I have found for SSD/HDD booting is to actually write a shell script (don't worry - it is small and fairly simple) to add kolibriOS to the GRUB menu and point GRUB at the desired image. A more detailed account of what follows can be found at this page

    http://dedoimedo.com/computers/grub-2.html

    I *strongly* recommend reading this. Kudos to Dedoimedo for this

    page) SO:

    3 - in terminal log into root account ('sudo -i' plus root password)

    4 - navigate to /etc/grub.d (cd /etc/grub.d)

    5 - create a file called XX_kolibriOS (e.g. 15_kolibriOS) - the 15 just puts it in numerical order with other scrpts - refer to Dedoimedo's page for details - I will not duplicate that here. Type the follwing into terminal:

    gedit 15_kolibrOS

    You will get a blank document with the title '15-kolibriOS'

    6 - copy and paste the following into this file:

    Copy/Paste Stuff BELOW THIS LINE into the file you just created




    #!/bin/sh -e
    echo "Adding KolibriOS to GRUB 2"
    cat << EOF
    menuentry "KolibriOS" {
    set root=(hd0,1)
    linux16 /boot/memdisk
    initrd16 /boot/kolibri.img
    }
    EOF




    Copy/Paste Stuff ABOVE THIS LINE into the file you just created

    You may need to alter the 'set root' (if you have saved to a different HDD or partition), 'linux16' and 'initrd16' parameters if you have saved to a location other than '/boot')


    Save and exit

    A description of this follows:

    Syntax -

    #!/bin/sh -e
    echo "Some string"
    cat << EOF
    menuentry "Something" {
    set root=(hdX,Y)
    -- boot parameters --
    }
    EOF



    #!/bin/sh -e - this identifies the contents as a shell script

    echo "Adding KolibriOS to GRUB 2" - this should print the given string to screen when you update GRUB 2 - don't worry if it doesn't - it won't affect functionality - it doesn't echo for me

    cat << EOF - identifies start of instructions for menu, location and booting files/image

    menuentry "KolibriOS" { - What you will see in the GRUB 2 menu

    set root=(hd0,1) - the SSD/HDD being used (hd0 in this example) and the partition (1 in this example) on which the relevant files and images have been saved

    linux16 /boot/memdisk - your chosen location for memdisk (i.e. where you copid it to, in this case '/boot'

    initrd /boot/kolibri.img - your chosen location for kolibri.img (i.e. where you copied it to, in this case '/boot'

    }
    EOF - End of file indicator


    If you have saved memdisk/kolibri.img to a second SSD/HDD on the third partition the 'set root' entry would be

    (hd1,3) i.e. 'set root=(hd1,3) so check these data carefully (gparted will allow you to do this).

    If the location you have have saved is e.g. /koliboot the linux16 and initrd16 lines would reflect this thus:

    'linux16 /koliboot/memdisk' and 'initrd16 /koliboot/kolibri.img'

    So we have now created a shell script file. We now need to make it executable:

    7 - in terminal type (copy/paste) the following:

    chmod +x 15_kolibriOS

    Now we need to tell GRUB2 abut the changes:

    8 - in terminal type (copy/paste) the following:

    update-grub


    That's it! Reboot your system and you should see KolibriOS in your GRUB menu. Select it and enjoy.

    IF it does not work, check your shell script (15_kolibriOS) carefully for typos, and that the set root, linux16

    and initrd parameters are correct - this caused me a headache because of a minor typo!! Don't worry - if

    selecting KolibriOS hangs your system or reboots it after waiting, just select Ubuntu (or whatever flavour of

    linux you are using) and go back to check your settings in 15_kolibriOS.

    IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE ABOVE IN MORE DETAIL - visit http://dedoimedo.com/computers/grub-2.html - it is an

    excellent tutorial for GRUB2

    I hope this helps. Post any queries (concerning this post ONLY - I do not support kolibriOS or linux!) here.

    LordOfRuin
  • This is terrible.
    I've looked around for hours now and the only "solution" to "install" Kolibri to an HDD is to NOT use a live and working version of itself on other media (usb, cd ...) but use another OS to prepare the HDD you're aiming for...

    I was hoping Colibri came with it's own tools to be able to install itself, or rather, prepare and configure a default bootloader on the given drive.

    So basically, anyone coming here and asking for help means the readme failed for them and this is going on for years now. Why do you assume people are using windows or linux on another PC to install Kolibri ? No, we're on the target machine already with sometimes a blank or freshly formated hdd and have booted from the provided USB or CD image.

    Anyway. The easiest way to "install" to an HDD right now is to go with a cd or usb based utility that contains the necessary tools to set up grub or mtldr among others.
    Wy Kolibri can't do this for us directly is beyond me but please feel free to explain, I'd genuinely like to understand.
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