How does this bootup code basically work?

[Bill in Co]

I'm still trying to understand this, if someone can add some more insights.

This was the bootup code put onto a flash drive used to boot a Linux based
version of Acronis True Image (to create a rescue "disk"), and I'm just
wondering if someone can give me a little more understanding of how this
works, beyond what I wrote in the comment lines below.

Here are the esssential contents of the bootwiz.cfg file, which might
provide some clues to someone who knows what basically going on.

NOTE: the actual files on the flash pendrive are: bootwiz.cfg,
bootwiz.sys, kern3.dat, ramd2.dat, and spla1.run

[C1] - I have no idea what this is doing (looks like some parameter)
RUN SPLA1.RUN - This executing a run file called "spla1.run", which I assume
starts everything that follows:

MBRCRCS ON - who knows? possibly a MBR CRC error check?
INITRD RAMD2.DAT /S - initialize a ram disk...
KERNEL KERN3.DAT quiet - loads a special Kernel (maybe a Linux based
Kernel?), which, I guess, replaces the default one referenced in BIOS?

[BOOTMGR] - reads some special boot configuration data from a special .DAT
file (perhaps KERN3 above). (Apparently this command "replaces" the
regular boot.ini used by NTLDR for booting into Windows)

Is that the essence of it? I'm sure I'm missing some things here. If
anybody can shed some more light it would be appreciated. :-)

[JJ]

AFAIK, all (or most?) Acronis bootable products run on linux platform.
Looks similar to Acronis Disk Director Suite CD except that it uses ISOLinux
while yours seems like it's based on or a modified version of SysLinux.

Boot record loads and run the bootwiz.sys boot manager.
Boot manager loads the bootwiz.cfg boot configuration.

Acronis seems to change the format of the configuration file including the
configuration syntax. Instead of labels for each multi-boot boot entries, it
use sections like in INI files.

[BOOTMGR] section is for the boot manager itself. e.g. default entry,
timeout, etc.
[C1] or any other sections are for the boot entries.

RUN is Acronis specific. Self explanatory.
MBRCRCS is Acronis specific but it looks like a shortcut for the kernel
parameter.

Can't tell anything more since Acronis products are closed source.
Try checking their forum. Hopefully, some users have mentioned some details
about that that boot manager.

[Bill in Co]

JJ wrote:
> On Thu, 5 Feb 2015 00:01:13 -0700, Bill in Co wrote:
>> I'm still trying to understand this, if someone can add some more
>> insights.
>>
>> This was the bootup code put onto a flash drive used to boot a Linux
>> based
>> version of Acronis True Image (to create a rescue "disk"), and I'm just
>> wondering if someone can give me a little more understanding of how this
>> works, beyond what I wrote in the comment lines below.
>>

>> Here are the essential contents of the bootwiz.cfg file, which might

>> provide some clues to someone who knows what basically going on.
>>
>> NOTE: the actual files on the flash pendrive are:

>> bootwiz.CFG, bootwiz.SYS, kern3.DAT, ramd2.DAT, spla1.RUN

>>
>> [C1] - I have no idea what this is doing (looks like some parameter)

>> RUN SPLA1.RUN - This is executing a file called "spla1.run" (maybe
>> something to do with the splash screen)
>>
>> MBRCRCS ON - who knows? (still haven't found out yet!)
>> INITRD RAMD2.DAT /S - initial ram disk. per Wiki, I found this:
Initrd (initial ramdisk) is a scheme for loading a temporary root file
system into memory, which may be used as part of the Linux startup process.
(Wiki)

>> KERNEL KERN3.DAT quiet - load a customized Kernel (a Linux based
>> Kernel OS) into memory.

>>
>> [BOOTMGR] - reads some special boot configuration data from a special
>> .DAT

>> file (likely KERN3 above). (Apparently this command "replaces"

>> the regular boot.ini used by NTLDR for booting into Windows)
>>
>> Is that the essence of it? I'm sure I'm missing some things here. If
>> anybody can shed some more light it would be appreciated. :-)
>
> AFAIK, all (or most?) Acronis bootable products run on linux platform.
>
> Looks similar to Acronis Disk Director Suite CD except that it uses
> ISOLinux
> while yours seems like it's based on or a modified version of SysLinux.
>
> Boot record loads and run the bootwiz.sys boot manager.
> Boot manager loads the bootwiz.cfg boot configuration.
>
> Acronis seems to change the format of the configuration file including the
> configuration syntax. Instead of labels for each multi-boot boot entries,
> it
> use sections like in INI files.
>
> [BOOTMGR] section is for the boot manager itself. e.g. default entry,
> timeout, etc.
> [C1] or any other sections are for the boot entries.
>
> RUN is Acronis specific. Self explanatory.
> MBRCRCS is Acronis specific but it looks like a shortcut for the kernel
> parameter.
>
> Can't tell anything more since Acronis products are closed source.
> Try checking their forum. Hopefully, some users have mentioned some
> details about that that boot manager.

Thanks JJ. And I have been reading some of the articles in the Acronis
forum to try to get more out of this, but it's still a bit of a mystery,
although your comments help. :-) And I corrected some of my comments
above.