USB

Forum: DSL Ideas and Suggestions
Topic: USB
started by: zeroZshadow

Posted by zeroZshadow on Sep. 05 2005,16:50

i thing that installing on an USB drive is to hard at the moment, because some people don't get it or just can't.

i suggest a small program (windows) that installes DSL on ur USB, so that people don't have to boot and maby even config there net to download the tool that installes DSL to the USB including that tool in DSL directly or just giveing it on the site here would be allot easier

Posted by cbagger01 on Sep. 05 2005,18:25

I agree with your assesment of this problem and the need for a solution.

However, I doubt that there will ever be a Windows-based tool to do the pendrive installation because:

1) It requires writing code and/or scripts in MSWindowsland and the developers have little interest in doing this. Since they are Linux developers, I completely understand why.

2) If the new user can't burn and ISO and choose "Install to Pendrive" from the Fluxbox menu, then they probably shouldn't be attempting a USB install yet. It really isn't all that difficult. If they have a USB drive, then they most likely also have access to someone's CD burner and a 10 cent blank CD-R disk.

I think that the whole you-must-be-connected-to-the-Internet thing can be problematic for people who have winmodems or other network connectivity problems.

Maybe the solution is to include the current versions of the pendrive install scripts inside the base dsl iso. When executed from the menu, the script can go out on to the Internet and try to upgrade itself by wgetting the latest version of the script. If it cannot reach the Internet, it then falls back to the local included version.

Another option would be to create a small pendrive.dsl or pendrive.tar.gz extension that can be downloaded via Windows and then copied over to a floppy disk or a hard drive partition and then loaded via myDSL.

I may not have thought things through thoroughly, but you get the general idea.

What does everyone else think?

Posted by zeroZshadow on Sep. 05 2005,19:03

well, its allot better then it's now, but if i'm correct it IS able to download that pendrive thing already isn't it??

is there i way i can include that in the iso, so it'll still works, because (strgely) not even a single device on my brand new pc is found by dls !!!!

so no internet no network, i tryed to look with "lspci" and all says unknown device, while it does know the name....

and i tryed on my dad's pc (also a dell, but another model) and it work like a charm (damn guy doesn't want me to install to usb on his pc...)

if i got it correctly it couldn't load allot of modules.

i would really like to be helped with this. because i'm trying to test if there more dell's with this problem.

the reason for this is simple, my school has only dell's and want to give some lessons with linux, so booting for USB (wich we all have there) would be handy.

whe don't have cd drives there so a live cd is not useable, usb is my last option.

i hope you people are able to help me out here.

see ya

Posted by cbagger01 on Sep. 05 2005,20:18

Specifically, choose:

Apps -> Tools -> Install to USB Pendrive -> For USBHDD Pendrive.

Posted by zeroZshadow on Sep. 05 2005,20:25

lol but didn't i said i don't have internet connection :P

it needs that to download the tool to install it to usb...

btw i just found out that t just CAN'T READ stuff at loading

it gives all kidns of errors like can't read and insert the cd, but it just loads and go's on

allot just isn't loaded.

and it also thinks i have a i8592 and then gives a counting error :P

i hope this helps ya

its a DELL dimension 9100, but then a bid better because of the better video card and extra's

Posted by cbagger01 on Sep. 06 2005,02:32

Hmm...

Try booting with this command:

dsl vga=normal xsetup

and then choose Xvesa and 640x480x16bit

I don't know about the internet connection problem.

Try typing

lspci -v

inside an root xterminal window and post the results.

Posted by ke4nt1 on Sep. 06 2005,06:29

Grab the new DSL 1.5 from the repository,
and burn it to a CD..

Pendrive installs no longer require net access!

73
ke4nt

Posted by zeroZshadow on Sep. 06 2005,16:38

thanks man, but i'm still gonna try to give you a full error report, maby u can use it.

stupid dell :P

Posted by zeroZshadow on Sep. 06 2005,17:10

well i tryed to make the error's write to a file by using dmesg > output.txt
but it seems that doesn't really work well.

and now i can finealy USE the install on usb, it doesn't really see the usb anymore..

i checked and it was on sdc, i followed the installer 5 times, but it still doesn't work, AND more important, i still get that BIG LIST of errors at starting

Posted by rabbitofdeath on Sep. 06 2005,17:22

yay! 1.5!