Oct 162013
 

Here below a step by step to PXE boot Linux Mint over NFS

needed :
ipxe
tiny pxe server
winnfsd
Mint

1/Prepare the Linux Mint files

open mint.iso in winrar (or any other iso reading capable tool).
extract casper folder to x:\pxe\iso\mint (or any path that suit you)

2/Prepare NFS Server

launch winnfsd with the following :
winnfsd.exe -id 0 0 x:\pxe\iso\mint

note : adapt the above path with your own path

3/Prepare iPXE Script

#!ipxe
set nfs-server ${next-server}
kernel /ISO/mint/casper/vmlinuz root=/dev/nfs boot=casper netboot=nfs nfsroot=${nfs-server}:/x/ISO/mint quiet splash
initrd /ISO/mint/casper/initrd.lz
boot

note : adapt /x/pxe/ISO/mint to your own path.
name it mint.ipxe and put it in x:\pxe

4/Prepare PXE Server

put ipxe-undionly.kpxe in x:\pxe
launch tiny pxe server with the following settings (leave other settings untouched) :
->boot filename = ipxe-undionly.kpxe (use the browse files and folders « … » button)
->filename if user-class=iPXE = mint.ipxe

push the online button

5/Boot !

pxe boot your computer and here we go 🙂

linux-mint-10-lxde

 Posted by at 19 h 25 min

  11 Responses to “step by step to PXE boot Linux Mint over NFS”

  1. Thanks for the is great guide.

    I’m having trouble getting this to work.

    I put everything in c:\pxe

    Path to mint is c:\pxe\iso\mint . Extracted casper, etc.

    My mint.ipxe file looks like this:

    #ipxe
    set nfs-server ${next-server}
    kernel /ISO/mint/casper/vmlinuz root=/dev/nfs boot=casper netboot=nfs nfsroot=${nfs-server}:/c/ISO/mint quiet splash
    initrd /ISO/mint/casper/initrd.lz
    boot

    I’m sure the configuration is incorrect above. PXEbooting from a computer will attempt to work.. it gets to tftp://ipaddress/mint.ipxe…. ok then freezes.

    Here’s the last part of the log:
    7:48:35 PM TFTPd:DoReadFile:mint.ipxe B:1432 T:211
    7:48:35 PM TFTPd:DoReadFile:mint.ipxe B:1432 T:211
    7:48:39 PM TFTPd:TFTPException:Timeout

    Any suggestions?

    I’m running host on Windows 8.1 over gigabit ethernet. Thanks for any help.

    • Hi Rob,

      Thanks for your feedback.

      First : I would advise to disable your firewall on your windows host.
      Second : replace ${next-server} by your ip (just to make sure)
      Last : have you launched your nfs daemon? if so , please copy paste your command line.

      Cheers,
      Erwan

    • Hi! This actually happened to me too, watch out when you copy the mint.ipxe file, I don’t know how this happend but it copied #ipxe instead of #!ipxe, and i see it happened to you too, just add the missing « ! ».

  2. Hi! This was of great help to me! But I had the same problem as Rob, connection timeout. I guess this was due to bad configuration and folder structure. I want to clear that up for following readers.
    First, here’s the ipxe file content I used:

    #!ipxe
    set nfs-server 192.168.0.100
    kernel /ISO/mint/casper/vmlinuz root=/dev/nfs boot=casper netboot=nfs nfsroot=${nfs-server}:/e/pxe/ISO/mint splash
    initrd /ISO/mint/casper/initrd.lz
    boot

    (next server was indeed causing connection timeout like mentioned above)

    The iso was in E:\pxe\ISO\mint\ But the guide was a bit unclear. At first I copied only the content of casper into this folder! The ipxe file suggested otherwise, which was part of the solution. In fact I copied the whole iso’s contents (linux mint 16 32 bit xfce) into the folder, I don’t know if that made a difference.
    The last important bit was formatting the ipxe file properly, watch out for those automatic newlines! It has to be exactly like Erwan posted it.

  3. Hello Erwan,

    I like to boot into linux mint, in such a way that i don’t need a hdd inside my pc. I have a self build NAS and i try to start my linux from the nas so I can remove by HDD. Is this what your tutorial is about? Or is it that you install linux mint from your NAS to a local hhd inside your pc? That’s not realy clear to me. Also i use xpenology (same as synology) nas which has a XPE server build in. Can I use these script in the same way?
    Thanks in advance

    • Hi Salvatore,

      This is to boot a live distro.
      But you could also also your linux to a remote network storage (over nfs or iscsi).

      iscsi has my preference : you would only then need to pass the iscsi path thru your dhcp server or thru your ipxe script.

      Regards,
      Erwan

  4. The system config file loads for me fine, I have a menu. I have tried to setup PXE Booting for Ubuntu, Debian and Mint. So far all that works is Ubuntu. If I select the Debian or Mint options and press enter, nothing happens.

    does anyone know why this is?

  5. first of all,
    thanks for that amzing work you did -> this is frcking awesome

    i only have problems with the installation

    sometimes the installation crashes or it says everything wored out but after a quick restart the bios cant find any system on the HDD

    is there a way to fix this or is this even made for the installation?

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