Gujin

Gujin is an open source PC boot loader tool that can analyze your filesystems and partitions.

Gujin can load very big kernels and it does not need GRUB or LILO.

It is able to find all kinds of bootable partitions, Linux, Windows, BSD, etc.

What is new in this release:

• This version improved the German translation, fixed problems with installing on OpenSuSE, improved detection of partition labels for filling the /boot/gujin.cmd file, and fixed a problem with generating the package on new Ubuntu versions.

What is new in version 2.8.6:

• This version fixes a bug related to BIOS disk detection, improves the default /boot/gujin.cmd generated to make kernel updates use the same Linux commandline, fixes a bug in the TSR emulating a disk from a file, and enables booting the latest (by date) Linux kernel without user intervention.

What is new in version 2.8.5:

• This version fixes a lot of bugs, like installing the bootloader and loading a Linux kernel on a highly fragmented ext2 filesystem (Fedora default /boot partition), probes files in a FAT /boot directory even if the size of this directory is null (now the standard), better handles the case of partitions without labels, and works better in VirtualBox.
• Gujin can now also load kernels on filesystems made with a different sector size than the underlying device allows, for instance having a 512 bytes/sector superfloppy written on a CDROM/DVDRAM with 2048 bytes/sectors.

What is new in version 2.8.3:

• This release fixes bugs and regressions, removes the hard-coded sector size of disks (manages disks with 4096 bytes per logical sectors), improves booting live CDs stored on the hard disk as file images, and improves the "tiny" bootloaders for quick booting of simple configurations (like a PC with a single Linux distribution on an ext4 filesystem, or a live CD-ROM based on Gujin's own El-Torito bootloader).

What is new in version 2.7:

• Gujin can now run the newest kernel found automatically (by scanning the last modification date), it can scan file with *.iso extension and seach kernels/initrd inside them, and it is easier to install because pre-built packages for Debian and Fedora for both i386 and amd64 are provided for download.
• There is a new man page for the installer, a new option to remove the iso+superfloppy format from an ISO file, modifications to create filesystem images with holes to save space, and to detect bad blocks on real devices and mark them in the FAT filesystem.
• Quite a few bugs have also been fixed.

What is new in version 2.6:

• Bugfixes:
• Better PCI BIOS to detect IDE interfaces (SATA CDROM at non conventional address)
• Better EDID BIOS support (screen definition detection)
• Fix modification of *.iso images, fix ELF32/64 handling by tiny images.
• works with GCC-4.4, works with every distribution-provided compiler I tested.
• Improvements:
• Align by default the clusters of FAT16/32 filesystems even if the start of the partition isn't aligned, generate FAT32 useable by Windows.
• Generate a "gujin" executable, which is "instboot + few embedded boot images" for either 32 or 64 bits Linux, to use like (as root): -> to install the way GRUB or LILO installs themself:
• ./gujin /boot/gujin.ebios -> to remove (and re-install) previous bootloader
• ./gujin --remove=/dev/sda && rm /boot/gujin.ebios -> to get help on basic options like creating FAT16/32 on USB sticks:
• ./gujin
• Change instboot/gujin parameter --search_topdir_kernel/--search_subdir_kernel by --search_topdir_files/--search_subdir_files
• Completely remove the support for zImage and for locating the ELF in the Linux kernel, now only the official way to boot a bzImage Linux kernel is possible, and *.kgz files have to be compressed ELF32/64 files.
• Gives few examples of ELF32 and ELF64 bootable kgz files, with and without memory relocation by using ld option --emit-relocs: see hello*.kgz in Makefile.

What is new in version 2.5:

• Installer and boot code can be fully recompiled on 64 bits OS PCs, no 32 bits libraries needed.
• support for FAT+ISO filesystem on the same device, so that you can transform an ISO image (by "./instboot boot.bin easypeasy-1.0.iso") to a superfloppy to boot (for instance) an EeePc from USB thumb drive or SD card. Some old EeePc may need an upgrade of their BIOS. Note for this one that there is a problem in the automounter of most Linux distribution and the resulting window appearing at device insertion shall never be used (unless you see the boot.bio file). With such a modified easypeasy-1.0.iso, the ISOLINUX is still used, Gujin just simulate the BIOS disk converting reads of different sector size
• more info in install.txt and "./instboot -h".
• EXT4 is (partly) supported (if constant inode size), that part still need improvement but works for me.
• more real mode segments are defined so that other people can add code easily.
• When installing and asking to build a bootable FAT filesystem (complete initialisation of a floppy or a thumb drive), support added for FAT32 and autoselection of FAT12/FAT16/FAT32. When using FAT32, you cannot use the IDE interface to load the second stage bootloader (space restrictions in MBR). Nothing is changed to *probe* FAT32 filesystems, just stage 2 loading. The installer also try (by default) to align the data clusters of the FAT generated to the cluster size for performance reasons. The FAT32 filesystem checks good with another OS "chkdsk.exe" and obviously with Linux "fsck.vfat".
• installer support /dev/mmcblk0, and /dev/mmcblk0p1 names as target (SD card)
• some changes to EDID detection, is it working better for everybody?
• The toolchain I use (GCC + Binutils + GMP + MPFR) can be generated by "make toolchain". I have compiled using GCC-4.2.4 to get a better code size and execution speed, but I tested the newer GCC-4.4 and it is working without known problem.
• CC, GCC and CFLAGS variables can be used on the make command line
• started but not finished support for GRUB_MULTIBOOT