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Mageia .iso configuration

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  Mageia .iso configuration Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-04-23 12:27 -0700
    Re: Mageia .iso configuration Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-04-23 13:16 -0700
      Re: Mageia .iso configuration TJ <TJ@noneofyour.business> - 2026-04-27 11:08 -0400
        Re: Mageia .iso configuration Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-04-27 09:50 -0700
          Re: Mageia .iso configuration Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-04-27 12:12 -0700

#28103 — Mageia .iso configuration

8.5 mo ago in a thread here, I commented on Rufus USB writer's 
preliminary analysis of the Mag .iso:

From: Mike Easter
Newsgroups: alt.os.linux.mageia
Subject: Re: Non-isodumper persistence
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2025 12:36:22 -0700
Message-ID: <mfcgdmF8cjgU1@mid.individual.net>

>> The image you have selected is an ISOHybrid, but its creators have
>> not made it compatible with ISO/File copy mode. As a result, DD
>> image writing mode will be enforced. 

and

>> Note: DD image mode enforced since this ISOHybrid is not ISO mode compatible.

Since then I have employed disktype to compare such as the LMDE .iso 
with the Mag .iso:

$ disktype lmde-7-cinnamon-64bit.iso

--- lmde-7-cinnamon-64bit.iso
Regular file, size 2.758 GiB (2960867328 bytes)
DOS/MBR partition map
Partition 1: 2.757 GiB (2960834560 bytes, 5782880 sectors from 64, bootable)
   Type 0x00 (Empty)
   ISO9660 file system
     Volume name "LMDE 7 Cinnamon 64-bit"
     Publisher   "LINUX MINT"
     Preparer    "LIVE-BUILD 20230502; 
HTTPS://SALSA.DEBIAN.ORG/LIVE-TEAM/LIVE-BUILD"
     Application "LMDE LIVE"
     Data size 2.757 GiB (2960834560 bytes, 1445720 blocks of 2 KiB)
     Joliet extension, volume name "LMDE 7 Cinnamon"
Partition 2: 5 MiB (5242880 bytes, 10240 sectors from 4660)
   Type 0xEF (EFI System (FAT))
   FAT12 file system (hints score 4 of 5)
     Volume size 4.975 MiB (5216256 bytes, 2547 clusters of 2 KiB)
GPT partition map, 208 entries
   Disk size 2.758 GiB (2960867328 bytes, 5782944 sectors)
   Disk GUID 32303235-3130-3047-B130-303632313333
Partition 1: 2.757 GiB (2960805888 bytes, 5782824 sectors from 64)
   Type Basic Data (GUID A2A0D0EB-E5B9-3344-87C0-68B6B72699C7)
   Partition Name "ISOHybrid"
   Partition GUID 32303235-3130-3047-B131-303632313333
   ISO9660 file system
     Volume name "LMDE 7 Cinnamon 64-bit"
     Publisher   "LINUX MINT"
     Preparer    "LIVE-BUILD 20230502; 
HTTPS://SALSA.DEBIAN.ORG/LIVE-TEAM/LIVE-BUILD"
     Application "LMDE LIVE"
     Data size 2.757 GiB (2960834560 bytes, 1445720 blocks of 2 KiB)
     Joliet extension, volume name "LMDE 7 Cinnamon"
Partition 2: 5 MiB (5242880 bytes, 10240 sectors from 4660)
   Type Basic Data (GUID A2A0D0EB-E5B9-3344-87C0-68B6B72699C7)
   Partition Name "ISOHybrid1"
   Partition GUID 32303235-3130-3047-B132-303632313333
   FAT12 file system (hints score 4 of 5)
     Volume size 4.975 MiB (5216256 bytes, 2547 clusters of 2 KiB)
Partition 3: unused
ISO9660 file system
   Volume name "LMDE 7 Cinnamon 64-bit"
   Publisher   "LINUX MINT"
   Preparer    "LIVE-BUILD 20230502; 
HTTPS://SALSA.DEBIAN.ORG/LIVE-TEAM/LIVE-BUILD"
   Application "LMDE LIVE"
   Data size 2.758 GiB (2960867328 bytes, 1445736 blocks of 2 KiB)
   El Torito boot record, catalog at 1164
     Bootable non-emulated image, starts at 3725, preloads 2 KiB
       Platform 0x00 (x86), System Type 0x00 (Empty)
       ISOLINUX boot loader
     Bootable non-emulated image, starts at 1165, preloads 5 MiB 
(5242880 bytes)
       Platform 0xEF (EFI), System Type 0x00 (Empty)
       FAT12 file system (hints score 4 of 5)
         Volume size 4.975 MiB (5216256 bytes, 2547 clusters of 2 KiB)
   Joliet extension, volume name "LMDE 7 Cinnamon"
==========
$ disktype Mageia-9-Live-Plasma-x86_64.iso

--- Mageia-9-Live-Plasma-x86_64.iso
Regular file, size 3.774 GiB (4052418560 bytes)
GRUB boot loader, unknown compat version 121
DOS/MBR partition map
Partition 2: 4 MiB (4194304 bytes, 8192 sectors from 7906088)
   Type 0xEF (EFI System (FAT))
   FAT12 file system (hints score 5 of 5)
     Volume size 3.977 MiB (4169728 bytes, 2036 clusters of 2 KiB)
     Volume name "MGAISO-ESP"
ISO9660 file system
   Volume name "Mageia-9-Live-Plasma-x86_64"
   Publisher   "MAGEIA.ORG"
   Preparer    "DRAKISO"
   Application "GNU XORRISO 1.5.2"
   Data size 3.770 GiB (4047917056 bytes, 1976522 blocks of 2 KiB)
   El Torito boot record, catalog at 65
     Bootable non-emulated image, starts at 66, preloads 2 KiB
       Platform 0x00 (x86), System Type 0x00 (Empty)
     Bootable non-emulated image, starts at 1976522, preloads 4 MiB 
(4194304 bytes)
       Platform 0xEF (EFI), System Type 0x00 (Empty)
       FAT12 file system (hints score 5 of 5)
         Volume size 3.977 MiB (4169728 bytes, 2036 clusters of 2 KiB)
         Volume name "MGAISO-ESP"
   Joliet extension, volume name "Mageia-9-Live-Pl"
==========

The LMDE .iso is a conventional hybrid. The Mag .iso is NOT.

-- 
Mike Easter

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#28104

Mike Easter wrote:
> The LMDE .iso is a conventional hybrid. The Mag .iso is NOT.

Interestingly, the gglAIov (google AI LLM overview mode) had a fine time
'talking about it'.

> The "unconventional" configuration of the Mageia .iso hybrid image
> is often a point of discussion because it uses a strictly isohybrid
> format that doesn't always align with how common USB-writing tools
> (like Rufus) expect partition tables to be structured.

much more here:

https://share.google/aimode/UufFsbXZL0jRKaYx7


-- 
Mike Easter

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#28108

On 2026-04-23 16:16, Mike Easter wrote:
> Mike Easter wrote:
>> The LMDE .iso is a conventional hybrid. The Mag .iso is NOT.
> 
> Interestingly, the gglAIov (google AI LLM overview mode) had a fine time
> 'talking about it'.
> 
>> The "unconventional" configuration of the Mageia .iso hybrid image
>> is often a point of discussion because it uses a strictly isohybrid
>> format that doesn't always align with how common USB-writing tools
>> (like Rufus) expect partition tables to be structured.
> 
> much more here:
> 
> https://share.google/aimode/UufFsbXZL0jRKaYx7
> 
> 
Please see https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Installation_Media for several 
suggestions of how to dump one of our isos to optical or USB media, from 
Windows or other popular Linux distributions.

Personally, I've used our Isodumper from when it was first available for 
QA testing, But then, I've been using Mageia since the beginning.

TJ

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#28109

TJ wrote:
> Please see https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Installation_Media for
> several suggestions of how to dump one of our isos to optical or USB
> media, from Windows or other popular Linux distributions.
> 
> Personally, I've used our Isodumper from when it was first available
> for QA testing, But then, I've been using Mageia since the
> beginning.

That's an excellent page.

Part of my interest in Mageia was to find out about its live persistence.

This item in the wiki is the 'controversy':

> All Mageia ISO images are hybrid, which means you can burn them to a
> DVD (CD works for netinstall) as well as USB stick and and they can
> boot.

So, what Rufus recognizes as a hybrid is not the same as what some other 
tools such as isodumper recognize. My current understanding is that the 
usual 'strategy' for 'converting' an .iso which was 'built' for burning 
as an optical and making it into a hybrid which can also be written to 
USB is to use the utility isohybrid on an ISO 9660 image which was 
created by such as mkisofs (or others) to make the hybrid. I don't know 
how Mageia does it.

-- 
Mike Easter

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#28110

Mike Easter wrote:
> So, what Rufus recognizes as a hybrid is not the same as what some other 
> tools such as isodumper recognize.

Rufus has a strategy for dealing w/ 'non-hybrid' .iso/s to write to USB; 
that is to use its 'dd' function; so that is how it resolves the MGA 
'different' kind of hybrid.

I realize that 'talking about' Rufus which is Win only in a linux group 
is off-topic, but the MGA 'difference' goes beyond Rufus into the 
disktype story posted earlier.

I believe that MGA built its hybrid in the way it did so that it could 
perform in the manner described in that wiki page TJ referred.  But, it 
is 'unusual' (or unconventional) in the sense that other distro/s which 
are hybrid don't do it that way.

-- 
Mike Easter

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