Mailing List Archive: About syslinux and ID byte for kernels

Giulio Orsero wrote:

> syslinux.doc:
> "...To bzImage and recent zImage kernels, SYSLINUX 1.30 and higher will
> identify using the ID byte 0x31. PXELINUX identifies using the ID
> byte 0x32, and ISOLINUX 0x33. The ID range 0x34-0x3f is reserved for
> future versions or derivatives of SYSLINUX...."
>
> Is this info available after boot in /proc or similar, or is it just
> something the kernel is told and keeps for itself?
>

As far as I know it's the latter.The main purpose of the ID byte is to
allow for bootloader-specific kernel workarounds. Unfortunately the only
one that I know of that could really use it, GRUB (which passes bogus mem=
parameters to the kernel despite repeated admonishing not to do so),
doesn't ID properly.

-hpa