USB install HOWTO

Forum: Other Help Topics
Topic: USB install HOWTO
started by: Modrak

Posted by Modrak on Feb. 08 2004,02:47

4allLAMERS under Windows
I've secesfully done it on Windows 2003 Enterprise server

-----------------DOWNLOADING----------------------
0. Get SYSLINUX (http://syslinux.zytor.com/)
1. Get IsoBuster (from SmartProjects corp.)
2. Get latest FlonixUSB edition(flonix.com)
3. Get latest DamnSmallLinux (please find it yourself

)
-----------------Get KNOPPIX from ISO-------------
4. Lunch IsoBuster
5. Open the latest DSL's ISO
6. Extract the KNOPPIX folder (aprox 50MB) to c:\dsl
--------------Put the other parts together-----------
7. Extract flonix.zip to c:\dsl !!!EXCEPT THE KNOPPIX FOLDER!!! So only the files,do not copy the NOT THE DIRECTORY
8.Copy c:\dsl > f: (usbdrive)
------------ :angry:

BOOTING

--------
9. Unpack the syslinux.exe from syslinux.zip to any folder (but you must find it then

10. Start the command line (START > Run... > "cmd")
11. cd,cd,cd and if you are in the dir where the syslinux.exe is...type syslinux f: (that's your usbdrive)
-----------SWEET !!! It's working !!!----------
12. Try to boot on your compuer. [Not working...mailto:ondras@di.cz]
13. Try to boot on father's laptop
14. Try it at your friend's computer.

------------THE ISOBUSTER--------------
Instant of IsoBuster you can
4. Burn the ISO to CD-RW (you will never need it then so CD-R is not good)
5. Open the CD-RW in some file manager (explorer.exe ;-)
6. Copy the whole (whole ?? there is only one file) KNOPPIX to c:\dsl

Please read the USB Install FAQ on DSL page...before asking me questions.

Many computers in computer stores have the USB booting ON.
So go to nearest PC Shop and put the flashdrive into computer and watch the guy that looks after the computer.He was like crazy when I booted up DamnSmall :laugh:

Posted by hasty on Feb. 08 2004,13:50

>>>He was like crazy when I booted up DamnSmall

God one

Posted by G8RR3TT on Feb. 13 2004,12:59

Has anyone been able to do this with WinXP? I'm getting an error about the application trying to direct access the USB drive. Any thoughts??

Posted by TyphoonMentat on Feb. 13 2004,13:45

If XP is giving you problems with syslinux trying to access the drive, make sure first that the USB drive isn't being accessed by any other applications. If it still doesn't work, try using a DOS floppy (FreeDOS if you want to rid yourself of Microsoft altogether

)

Posted by Modrak on Feb. 13 2004,15:56

Please click ingnore...I had to do this too

Posted by gnuoob on Feb. 23 2004,23:38

Quote (Modrak @ Feb. 07 2004,21:47)

BOOTING

--------
9. Unpack the syslinux.exe from syslinux.zip to any folder (but you must find it then

is this for installing a usbstick in an already installed OS or for installing the OS on the stick for mobil transportation?

Posted by TyphoonMentat on Feb. 24 2004,19:04

For installing DSL on a USB stick.

Posted by rivethead on Feb. 24 2004,23:26

I did the above and am unable to get the OS to boot from the stick. I tried using the flonix floppy boot image and it will not boot - says it cannot find the flonix usb version. I copied the KNOPPIX/knoppix as specified, but it won't accept DSL. It will however boot into flonix if I put flonix 4.1 in place of the compressed DSL file. Any ideas?

Posted by trokair on Feb. 25 2004,01:36

I did the above as well, and am on Win XP Pro, trying to get this to work off of an IBM Microdrive via a CompactFlash adapter. When I run syslinux f: (where the drive is), I keep getting an error that says:

"Could not read the whole boot sector"

Ideas?

Thanks!
-Kyle

Posted by jarcmaster on Feb. 28 2004,14:47

Quote (Guest @ Feb. 13 2004,07:59)

Has anyone been able to do this with WinXP? I'm getting an error about the application trying to direct access the USB drive. Any thoughts??

You can make all the steps on any windows system excepting the SYSLINUX E: *WHERE E IS YOUR FLASH DRIVE*, what you need to do, is do that command in a Windows 98 or ME environment, it will work, I did it and had the same problem, but still is not booting!

Posted by trokair on Mar. 10 2004,04:02

Hey guys, I've been messing around with a few things, and found a little distro called RUNT that comes with a ZipSlack-based USB Boot disk. Any idea if it would work with DSL?

-Kyle

Posted by Joshua on June 02 2004,02:28

Is flonixUSB not available for download anymore.... I click I wan't it on the flonix site and it says it will be available in stores soon.

Posted by AJamesLorenz on June 15 2004,02:12

Hey guys, i also went to the flonix website and searched google, and couldn't find it anywhere figured this was just a dumb question... any help?

Posted by Liam on June 18 2004,00:20

Hey all,

Also having the same problem finding Flonix USB Edition.

Liam.

Posted by roberts on June 18 2004,04:15

Maybe this thread will help: < http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin....5;t=177 >

Posted by Ody on June 21 2004,16:29

from here you can download Flonix linux:

< Flonix Linux Download >

Posted by wizkid17 on June 27 2004,10:18

thanks for help

Posted by stefan on June 27 2004,14:08

can somebody sent me the file for making a starup disk i can`t lauch it

Posted by Jakob G // Altrafunk // Khesahn on July 16 2004,00:24

ARGGHH!!! I HATE WINDOWS XP!!! :angry:

Posted by frogbert on July 17 2004,07:19

Due to this being one of the most useful, yet most poorly written tutorials on the site I thought I'd redo it for everyone:

Downloading

1. Get SYSLINUX (http://syslinux.zytor.com/)
2. Get Daemon Tools (http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/portal/index.php) or even WinRar (http://www.rarlabs.com)
3. Get these files from FlonixUSB edition (http://frogbert.host.sk/linux/flonix.zip)
4. Get latest DamnSmallLinux (Do the obvious... or google for it I suppose)

Extract DSL files
5. Mount the DSL iso image using Daemon Tools
6. Copy the knoppix folder to your flashdrive

Make your flashdrive Bootable
7. Extract syslinux
8. Press start>run and type cmd.exe
9. Change directory into your syslinux directory
10. Type syslinux.exe g: (where g is your flashdrive location) note. it is important to include the exe on the end of syslinux, or else it will call a com file and Windows XP will bitch at you.

Extract Flonix Files
11. Extract the files from the supplied flonix.zip file onto the root directory of your g:

And your done!
Reboot your computer and make sure your computer is set to boot from a USB hard disk

Posted by ratatosk on July 19 2004,22:26

Thanks for rewriting the directions. First off, the flonix.zip file you linked appears to be corrupted. I tried downloading it twice and both times my uncompressing software choked on it. This is no big deal for me, since I just got the full version of flonix and extracted what I needed.

But unfortunately, I still wasn't able to get DSL (or Flonix) to fully boot on my computer. Whether I have the /knoppix directory from the DSL iso or from the Flonix download, when I boot up the computer, it fails to mount /dev/sda1. I'm guessing it's simply not finding it, but I don't really know why.

I saw in another thread that enabling USB keyboard support sometimes helped, so I did that... But no luck. No matter what I do, it boots, but ends up panicking a few steps after it fails to mount /dev/sda1.

I may fiddle around with miniroot.gz and try to figure out if my USB drive is for some reason somewhere other than /dev/sda1, but if anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.

Posted by roberts on July 19 2004,22:55

What kind of computer is this? There are basically two standards for USB devices based on manufacturer of the computer/motherboard. Have you tried the latest bootusb.img from the DSL site and the readme on the CD in the other documentation area of Getting Started?

Posted by ratatosk on July 20 2004,02:39

Well, it's a Shuttle SN41G2 SFF PC. When I try to boot, it finds USB devices handled by: usbcore.o, ehci-hcd.o, usb-ohci.o and usb-storage.o. But then when it tries to mount, I get "No such device or address."

As for messing with the bootusb.img, I don't have a floppy drive on this computer, and thought I would try to get this working before pulling out an old computer with a floppy drive to try booting that way. If I can't get something figured out in the next few days, though, I guess I'll throw another computer together (I think I have a floppy drive around here somewhere) and try it that way.

** Edit **
Well, I got an old floppy up and running and used rawrite to create the bootusb.img disk, then copied that to the root of my USB drive, and finally used syslinux.

It booted up just like when it used the flonix booter (only it looked like DSL this time), but after it did all of the USB drive searching, it said it could not find the filesystem. While there wasn't any specific mount error, I'm guessing that it was once again unable to mount the USB device after booting from it.

Posted by pdurys on July 24 2004,16:49

Quote (ratatosk @ July 19 2004,22:39)

Have you checked my notes in < this article >?

Posted by TwinGears on July 26 2004,02:45

I found the instructions a little hard to follow, but then again I don't run windose. So I was hoping to help those that need an easier way for DSL to go onto the USB memory toys.
after downloading the bookusb.img and damsmall*.iso
su; exit - you know the program
mount /mnt/USB - what ever your fstab reflects
syslinux -o bootusb.img /dev/sdb - typically sda for most users
mount -o loop damsmall...iso /mnt/cdrom
mount -o loop bootusb.img /mnt/floppy
cp -v /mnt/floppy/* /mnt/USB
cp -vr /mnt/cdrom/KNOPPIX/ /mnt/USB
umount /mnt/USB /mnt/cdrom /mnt/floppy

I have to say that this little JetFlash stick works like a charm running linux, even only using 1.1 rather than USB2 it's still amazingly slick!
Ok it's not going to make me retire Gentoo but I have to say thanks to those that made this all work so easy and well.
;)

Posted by ratatosk on July 26 2004,03:28

Well, I took some tips from this thread ((http://damnsmalllinux.org/static/act-ST/f-5/t-177/st-30)) and decided to edit my linuxrc file so that it would try to mount /dev/sda on bootup, and not just /dev/sda_. I just booted into Knoppix off of the CD, mounted my USB stick, unpacked miniroot.gz, mounted miniroot and then added /dev/sda to the linuxrc file. Then I zipped it back up and it worked just fine. BTW, I was using the July 12th bootusb.img.

Perhaps whoever manages the bootusb.img will want to add /dev/sda to the linuxrc file of bootusb.img permanently.