A basic query about bootable image file

[Tanvir]

I need to know some basic things about image file.

 

1. If I make an .iso file(image file) of a CD (e.g WinXP bootable CD) which is already bootable and then just copy that image file to a rewritable CD, will that CD boot? (i.e. There will be only a .iso file in that CD )

2. If I extract the image file from that .iso file and then copy that extracted files to rewritable CD, will that CD boot?

3. What is difference between bootable image disk and bootable CD

4. Suppose,I have a bootable image file, now if I just copy that imge file to a floppy, will that floppy disk boot?

5. When any burning software (e.g- Nero) burn an image file to a cd, what does it actually do? Does it first extract the image file and then burn? What if the file is a bootable image file? How will it burn it?

 

PLS I m so much confused about those matters,If anybody would kindly clarify them to me, I would be highly grateful. Thanks a lot.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

1. If you read a bootable to an image and then write a disc based on that image, the disc will be bootable. (The boot section is part of the image)

2. If you get everything required by the boot code, yes. (i.e. an XP install disc would need the 2k (2048 bytes) boot image and all the files in the I386 folder that it relies on). If the boot image is in floppy disc format etc then it'll probably be self contained, only the 'custom' ones rely on other stuff also being present.

3. I'm not 100% sure what you mean. A bootable CD is a boot image + other files. A boot image is just a boot image.

4. No, these boot images are not files you can copy, they need to go in a certain place on the disc and structures have to be put in place so the machine / bios / operating system know they're there.

5. An image (ISO) is a sector by sector copy of the disc. So you read sector 0 and write it to a file, read sector 1 and write it to the file. When burning you read sector 0 from the file and write it to the disc... etc.

[Bueller]

1. If you read a bootable to an image and then write a disc based on that image, the disc will be bootable. (The boot section is part of the image)

2. If you get everything required by the boot code, yes. (i.e. an XP install disc would need the 2k (2048 bytes) boot image and all the files in the I386 folder that it relies on). If the boot image is in floppy disc format etc then it'll probably be self contained, only the 'custom' ones rely on other stuff also being present.

3. I'm not 100% sure what you mean. A bootable CD is a boot image + other files. A boot image is just a boot image.

4. No, these boot images are not files you can copy, they need to go in a certain place on the disc and structures have to be put in place so the machine / bios / operating system know they're there.

5. An image (ISO) is a sector by sector copy of the disc. So you read sector 0 and write it to a file, read sector 1 and write it to the file. When burning you read sector 0 from the file and write it to the disc... etc.

 

How do I know I you have everything I need to make a bootable image, or if the .iso is bootable? I just downloaded Mandriva Linux from their site, and it is a .iso. I want to make a bootable image, that can be installed also. I tried copying everything from the download which included two .asc files, a .full file, the i586 file, a .langs file, a .leaves file, .lst, .md5, and a .sha1 file onto a usb flash drive. I had made certain the bios would search for the usb drive before the hard drive, rebooted, and waited. It said no operating system present. So how do I make a bootable image file on a usb drive, and can it be done with imgburn? I have heard of something called magicISO. Is that different than ImgBurn? Or do did Mandriva give me everything I need, and MUST I put it on a disc, not a flash drive? Thanks for the help!

[LIGHTNING UK!]

It will already be bootable if it's in ISO format.

 

Load the image in Write mode and look at the 'File Systems'. It should show 'ISO9660 (Bootable)' somewhere in the list.

 

You have to burn the ISO to a disc, you can't just copy it to a USB pen.