[ros-kernel] ROS NTFS Install

[Digital Infra, Inc.]

Hello All developer of ROS.

I spent a few hours for trying to install ROS on NTFS, and I realized that
probably it is not possible with current version. right?
This would be very little problem for you, but for a marketing point of view,
really big problem. No one makes a new partition for ROS, which has almost
no practical usage currently.

How about adding "loop back" install function to ROS?
I mean, you make c:/ROS/system32 and put a loop back loader there,
and put ROS.fat32 which is very big file on c:/ROS.

In other words, how about we cooperate to develop a loop back install function for
both ROS and conoppix ( and for topologi Linux also).
This development makes the OSes newbie friendly, then many average PC users
would come. some people hate an average user, but I think it is good.
because, more user, even they dont hack, means more suggestion, more debugger, and
hopefully more donation.


         --- Okajima.

>To try this with grub you may want to stick ntfs stage1_5 on the end of
>the regular stage1. But I have my doubts about it working with GRUB. AFAIK
>GRUB is designed to run in 16 bit real mode but NTLDR goes to 32bit flat
>memory before loading the kernel. ( I assume the same is true with FREELDR
>)
>
>I assume that a bootloader in between is because NTOSKRNL is loaded into a
>different area of memory than the linux kernel. So some kind of bootloader
>needs to be built ( I just have a feeling that grub would need serious
>surgery to get it to work.
>
>I wonder how hard it would be for a kernel hacker to create a patch for
>2.6 kernel that would allow it to run in the same space as NTOSKRNL. If so
>then this kernel could also be patched with kexec and ntfs this would be
>then be built as the most minimal kernal possible. Then using kexec this
>kernel could load the real kernel into the proper place. I don't know for
>shure, this theory is a bit over my head and the execution of it is way
>over my head. (2.6 kernel because that is what the kexec team is working
>with)
>
>chris
>
>
>
>>
>>>>
>>>>     1. Can FREELDR boot vmlinux on NTFS with a little hacking?
>>>>     2. Do you know how to boot more than 512 bytes code from NTLDR?
>>>>        Especially, how to boot 2nd of Grub directly from NTLDR?
>>>
>>>No idea if this will work, but maybe worth a try: write a first stage
>>>bootloader that is able to load grub, name that first stage bootloader
>>>NTOSKRNL.EXE and put it in \conoppix\system32, create an empty system
>>>registry hive in \conoppix\system32\config\system and create an entry in
>>>boot.ini
>>>
>>>multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\conoppix="conoppix"
>>>
>>>Note that there is no size constraint on this first stage bootloader.
>>>
>>>Ge van Geldorp.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> THANKS! I will try it!.
>> can you give suggestion that what "empty system registry" I should make?
>>
>>             --- Okajima.
>>
>> Topologi Team:
>>    This is definitive worth to try! dont you?
>>    if this works, probably most problems we have now will disappear!.
>>
>>
>