# README.alphaboot Steve McIntyre <steve@einval.com> 2004/07/19 The alpha boot support allows you to create a bootable CD which will work with DEC/Compaq/HP Alpha machines, for example bootable installation media. The method used for this is the same as in aboot, the bootloader for Linux on Alpha, and works with SRM firmware. See the SRM Firmware HOWTO at http://www.alphalinux.org/faq/SRM-HOWTO/ for more details about SRM. In common with many Unix systems, the SRM code reads the first 512-byte "sector" off a disk and parses information in that sector. The information in question is the location (start "sector") and length of the first stage boot loader. On a Linux system, this file will normally be called bootlx. SRM will load and execute the first stage boot loader, and from that point the system should be able to find the normal OS kernel and start up fully. To use the Alpha boot support code in genisoimage, simply specify the location of the first stage boot loader (relative to the CD root) using the -alpha-boot command line switch: genisoimage ... -alpha-boot boot/bootlx -o alpha.iso files