El Torito
El Torito is a specification that specifies how CD-ROMs should be formatted so that computers that have been set up for this through a corresponding BIOS can boot directly from CD-ROM without the prior installation of an operating system on the hard disk drive .
The specification was published by Phoenix Technologies and IBM in January 1995 and is widely accepted today. It allows you to boot in three different ways:
- Booting a bit-by-bit copy of a hard drive
- Booting a bit-by-bit copy of a floppy
- Booting a program code
When starting the hard disk copy, an MS-DOS or Windows-compatible operating system designates the drive with the CD-ROM as C : . All other hard disks begin with D :. The more robust variant is the start from a floppy image (on the CD). In this case, the CD-ROM is labeled A: from an MS-DOS or Windows compatible operating system. The original floppy drive A: can then be addressed with B : .
The program code, on the other hand, is loaded directly into the memory when started and executed there. This option is often used by boot loaders .
Web links
- Instructions, Howto at The Linux Documentation Project
- Juraj Sipos: Creating a multi-boot CD Linux-Gazette 85/2002 - Link updated (August 27, 2006)
- El Torito -Bootable CD-ROM Format Specification (PDF file; 73 kB)