MIssing KNOPPIX file system - one big file?

Forum: USB booting
Topic: MIssing KNOPPIX file system - one big file?
started by: Walter_wpg

Posted by Walter_wpg on May 22 2006,07:10

I'm using a Kingston Data Traveler 512MB USB flash drive. My PC has a USB-ZIP boot option, so after booting my system from the live CD, I used the utility to "install to USB-ZIP". That installation seemed to work okay. My flash drive was seen, the LED flashed, the installer said partitions were created, etc. Afterwards, I could see both partitions (as /mnt/sda1 and /mnt/sda2).

However, when I attempt to boot from the USB drive, it starts off fine, I get the nice DSL spash screen, and then it starts examining the system. Eventually, it stops with the "cannot find KNOPPIX file system" message that others have reported.

If I look at the flash drive contents, I see 9 or 10 files in the root directory, and a KNOPPIX folder. If I look in the KNOPPIX folder, all I see is one big 47MB file. Is this correct? Somehow, I was expecting to see all of the standard folders and file you see on the CD.

If the one-big-KNOPPIX-file is normal, then why is the "file system missing".

If the one-big-KNOPPIX-file is abnormal, why didn't the correct files get set up? Can I just erase the one 47MB file, and then just copy the contents of the KNOPPIX folder over from the live CD?

Posted by ZoOp on May 22 2006,10:01

Hi,
did you try a pendrive USB-HDD install on sda1? I experienced sometimes analogous problems with USB-ZIP, causing either by my machine or by my usb stick. Just an idea.
yours
z

Posted by Walter_wpg on May 22 2006,17:19

An update... I have now tried this same USB drive set up for ZIP startup on a new HP laptop, and it worked just fine. Boot sequence completed, and it went all the way to the desktop, and I was able to run the browser.

So, it appears that the USB drive with that "one big KNOPPIX file" is actually okay, but that maybe I need to tweak or edit something to handle my other PC (also relatively new, but a Foxconn mainboard).

Posted by roberts on May 23 2006,00:34

The install seems fine.
But USB-ZIP is not always smooth saling with various M/B & BIOS.
Also, sometimes it is required to also enable USB keyboard even if you don't have one. Sometimes it is helpful to plug pendrive in different USB slots, the ones in the back seem to be more reliable than those that might be in the front.