An update-friendly multiboot directory structure

[ThatGuyBob]

First of all, let me say that the guide at http://flyakite.msfnhosting.com/ is incredibly useful.

For those of you out there who don't want to keep recreating your directory structure every time you want to update an existing multiboot disc, here's an idea that's worked for me so far:

Rather than putting cdimage.exe in the directory parallel to your root creation directory ("C:\AIO-DVD\" if you follow the guide exactly), put it actually IN that directory ("C:\AIO-DVD\cdimage.exe").

Also place your batch file that you use to call cdimage in that directory. The batch file I'm using looks like this, to take into account a changing environment:

@echo off
cls
set IsoOutPath="C:\FILENAME.ISO"
set IsoRootPath=%CD%
set IsoLabel="ISOLABEL"
set BootSectorPath=%CD%\boot\loader.bin
start cdimage -l%IsoLabel% -b%BootSectorPath% -h -n -o -m %IsoRootPath% %IsoOutPath%

Now, whenever you want to update your already-burned disc, just copy its contents to your harddrive into some working root directory ("C:\AIO-DVD\" if you like, though any directory will do). Note that it's probably a good idea to use an EMPTY directory for this task. Update or add files or whole OSes, change your cdshell.ini, etc. Then just edit and run your batch file. Voila!

Feel free to comment or criticize.

[clavicle]

@ThatGuyBob

Thanks for the link! I was not aware of such a nice guide.

[ThatGuyBob]

Note that the %CD% variable in the command script refers to the Current Directory, not the CD-Rom drive. You can put your root creation directory anywhere on your system and still run the script without having to change it.

Best part: Once you've burned your ISO, you can delete everything from your hard drive without losing a working directory structure for modifying your multiboot disc. (For folks who don't play with this everyday, but still want to be able to add an OS or utility easily when they get a new one.)

Another good idea: Download the PDF versions of the various guides (multiboot, unattended, etc.) and include them and a PDF reader setup file in the directory structure. That way you've got a handy offline reference for the next time you update your ISO.