Re: Question propmted by response to [Re: More USB install-images please!]
On Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:14:55 -0500, Richard Owlett wrote: Camaleón wrote: (...) You should first clarify what's what you have in mind, I'm not seeing your goal. Started a reply which got longer and longer as I realized not only what I had left out but some unspecified (even to myself) assumptions. I also came across some links that caused me to rethink some issues. I'll post a better formed question to a new thread. Okay :-) In the meantime the short version is: I have: 1. one 16GB USB drive (freshly FAT32 formatted) 2. two WinXP machines(1 w CD drive, 1 w/o ) 3. iso of ~dozen distros (most had the word Live in description) By point 3 you mean you have several LiveCD ISO files, right? I want: 1. bootable USB drive with choice of a dozen Linux distros at boot time Uf... Then you are looking for something like a multi-LiveCD bootable from your pendrive. It could be possible but I'm not aware of any ready- made application. I would search for more info in Google, for instance: http://superuser.com/questions/26548/multiple-livecd-isos-on-a-single-usb-drive [I really want persistence] That will depend on the LiveCD's you are using. I remember that in the past some LiveCD/LiveUSB allowed data to be stored on the hard disk or under a dedicated USB partition. 2. two WinXP machines whose hard drive had not been touched [had bad experience with a dual-boot setup that I was supposed to be able to back out of - didn't work out for unknowABLE reasons] Purpose: 1. Which distros can physically run on _BOTH_ my machines. Run, from a LiveUSB? here you have some: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_USB And also here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tools_to_create_Live_USB_systems I'd say nowadays there are many options... 2. Which distros require least tweaking to run adequately. For this I can't tell, you will have to read about this on every distribution LiveUSB FAQ/requirements page as this is something it is continously changing :-? 3. Which of above is most natural for way I think and work. I dunno, really, there can be many that fits your needs although there are distributions aimed to be run as LiveUSB (Slax, Puppy...) because they're small and run very fast you may also find them a bit lacking, so YMMV. Greetings, -- Camaleón -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/pan.2011.09.29.13.14...@gmail.com
Re: Question propmted by response to [Re: More USB install-images please!]
Camaleón wrote: On Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:33:29 -0500, Richard Owlett wrote: [OWLETT SNIPS MUCH] I'm considering moving from Windows to Linux. I've downloaded the iso's of about a dozen distro's chosen on disparate desires. Most, but not all, are Debian based/inspired/... I have fully equipped desktop machine and a laptop w/o a functioning CD drive. I wish to determine for each distro: 1. will it run from a USB stick on both machines? how well? 2. how well do I like the result? You meant...? a) Run (like a LiveUSB) b) Install from USB flash c) Install into USB flash This needs to be expanded a bit :-) [SNIP SOME MORE ;] You should first clarify what's what you have in mind, I'm not seeing your goal. Started a reply which got longer and longer as I realized not only what I had left out but some unspecified (even to myself) assumptions. I also came across some links that caused me to rethink some issues. I'll post a better formed question to a new thread. In the meantime the short version is: I have: 1. one 16GB USB drive (freshly FAT32 formatted) 2. two WinXP machines (1 w CD drive, 1 w/o ) 3. iso of ~dozen distros (most had the word Live in description) I want: 1. bootable USB drive with choice of a dozen Linux distros at boot time [I really want persistence] 2. two WinXP machines whose hard drive had not been touched [had bad experience with a dual-boot setup that I was supposed to be able to back out of - didn't work out for unknowABLE reasons] Purpose: 1. Which distros can physically run on _BOTH_ my machines. 2. Which distros require least tweaking to run adequately. 3. Which of above is most natural for way I think and work. Thank you -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/4e838e4f.7070...@pcnetinc.com
Re: Question propmted by response to [Re: More USB install-images please!]
On Wed 28 Sep 2011 at 16:14:55 -0500, Richard Owlett wrote: Started a reply which got longer and longer as I realized not only what I had left out but some unspecified (even to myself) assumptions. I also came across some links that caused me to rethink some issues. I'll post a better formed question to a new thread. In the meantime the short version is: I have: 1. one 16GB USB drive (freshly FAT32 formatted) 2. two WinXP machines (1 w CD drive, 1 w/o ) 3. iso of ~dozen distros (most had the word Live in description) I want: 1. bootable USB drive with choice of a dozen Linux distros at boot time [I really want persistence] PLAN A -- Install Debian live (Squeeze) to the USB drive by booting a CD from one of your machines. The drive should now be bootable from either machine. Use the OS for all your everyday tasks. Get used to it. Do lots of reading. A month or two should have you feeling fairly confident with the system. By the end of this time you'll be so enchanted with the technical excellence of Debian it is likely you will have forgotten about all the other isos. If not, you can find out about GRUB 2's loopback facility and how it can be used to boot most isos from the GRUB menu on the USB drive. PLAN B -- http://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multiboot-usb-creator/ Persistence may or may not be a problem but saving to a USB stick is a possibility. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/20110928235241.GA21171@desktop
Re: Question propmted by response to [Re: More USB install-images please!]
On Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:33:29 -0500, Richard Owlett wrote: Camaleón wrote: On Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:08:58 +0200, Jan Olav Agle wrote: I sometimes install Debian on machines belonging to family and friends. On my latest install I tried the boot.img.gz on an USB-stick. It failed halfway trough, complaining about a missing suitable ISO-image. Not wasting time, I dd'ed the netinstall iso onto the stick and installed. (...) Are you aware of this? 4.3.1. Preparing a USB stick using a hybrid CD or DVD image http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch04s03.html.en#usb-copy- isohybrid I realize that page is explicitly referring to Debian GNU/Linux 6.0 system (codename “squeeze”). Yes, and I hope also for onwards versions (6.0) I'm considering moving from Windows to Linux. I've downloaded the iso's of about a dozen distro's chosen on disparate desires. Most, but not all, are Debian based/inspired/... I have fully equipped desktop machine and a laptop w/o a functioning CD drive. I wish to determine for each distro: 1. will it run from a USB stick on both machines? how well? 2. how well do I like the result? You meant...? a) Run (like a LiveUSB) b) Install from USB flash c) Install into USB flash This needs to be expanded a bit :-) Just to clarify. The above Debian ISO images (CD/DVD/MiniISO hybrid) are aimed to be installation sources for the target system. And every distribution provides different sets of installation media, LiveCD images, LiveUSB... Questions: 1. how compatible is it with Debian based distro's? 2. how compatible with non-Debian distro's? Hum... how compatible is what and against what are we comparing, exactly? One of my goals is to keep as much as possible the same between distro's. Given that goal, is there another method to set up my comparison? You should first clarify what's what you have in mind, I'm not seeing your goal. Greetings, -- Camaleón -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/pan.2011.09.27.11.24...@gmail.com
Re: More USB install-images please!
jan.o...@agle.no wrote: I sometimes install Debian on machines belonging to family and friends. On my latest install I tried the boot.img.gz on an USB-stick. It failed halfway trough, complaining about a missing suitable ISO-image. Not wasting time, I dd'ed the netinstall iso onto the stick and installed. As far as I know, the debian-6.0.2.1-i386-netinst.iso is the ONLY one that can be used on both USB and CD-rom. Why not give debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso the same functionality The netinstall-image install requires much time on slow lines. I HAVE tried dd'ing debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso to a stick. It will not boot. Didn't expect it to do either. Had to try. Then there's most likely a problem with your BIOS I'm afraid. For both amd64 and i386, the first disc in *every* set is created using iso-hybrid options to make it work both on CD/DVD as well as on USB: businesscard netinst CD#1 DVD#1 BD#1 As normal, I ran lots of tests when I created the images for 6.0.2.1, but just to make sure 100% that things are OK I've just downloaded debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso onto a USB stick. It booted just fine on an i386 netbook here. -- Steve McIntyre, Cambridge, UK.st...@einval.com Who needs computer imagery when you've got Brian Blessed? -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/e1r8bsk-0005vw...@mail.einval.com
Re: More USB install-images please!
On 27/09/2011 19:28, Steve McIntyre wrote: jan.o...@agle.no wrote: I sometimes install Debian on machines belonging to family and friends. On my latest install I tried the boot.img.gz on an USB-stick. It failed halfway trough, complaining about a missing suitable ISO-image. Not wasting time, I dd'ed the netinstall iso onto the stick and installed. As far as I know, the debian-6.0.2.1-i386-netinst.iso is the ONLY one that can be used on both USB and CD-rom. Why not give debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso the same functionality The netinstall-image install requires much time on slow lines. I HAVE tried dd'ing debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso to a stick. It will not boot. Didn't expect it to do either. Had to try. Then there's most likely a problem with your BIOS I'm afraid. For both amd64 and i386, the first disc in *every* set is created using iso-hybrid options to make it work both on CD/DVD as well as on USB: businesscard netinst CD#1 DVD#1 BD#1 As normal, I ran lots of tests when I created the images for 6.0.2.1, but just to make sure 100% that things are OK I've just downloaded debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso onto a USB stick. It booted just fine on an i386 netbook here. Have you tried unetbootin to write iso to stick. I used it a few times and it worked every time. Install it with apt-get. Johan S -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/4e821fad.2060...@telkomsa.net
Re: More USB install-images please!
* Johan Scheepers johans...@telkomsa.net [110927 14:12]: On 27/09/2011 19:28, Steve McIntyre wrote: jan.o...@agle.no wrote: I sometimes install Debian on machines belonging to family and friends. For repeated installations of the same Debian distributions, setting up an approx server on your laptop can save you much time. The approx cache in /var does not take much space, even if you are installing multiple distributions (such as stable and testing). RLH -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/20110927202523.gc3...@broadcaster.org
More USB install-images please!
I sometimes install Debian on machines belonging to family and friends. On my latest install I tried the boot.img.gz on an USB-stick. It failed halfway trough, complaining about a missing suitable ISO-image. Not wasting time, I dd'ed the netinstall iso onto the stick and installed. As far as I know, the debian-6.0.2.1-i386-netinst.iso is the ONLY one that can be used on both USB and CD-rom. Why not give debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso the same functionality The netinstall-image install requires much time on slow lines. I HAVE tried dd'ing debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso to a stick. It will not boot. Didn't expect it to do either. Had to try. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/20110926150858.6654e...@asus.lan
Re: More USB install-images please!
On Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:08:58 +0200, Jan Olav Agle wrote: I sometimes install Debian on machines belonging to family and friends. On my latest install I tried the boot.img.gz on an USB-stick. It failed halfway trough, complaining about a missing suitable ISO-image. Not wasting time, I dd'ed the netinstall iso onto the stick and installed. (...) Are you aware of this? 4.3.1. Preparing a USB stick using a hybrid CD or DVD image http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch04s03.html.en#usb-copy-isohybrid Greetings, -- Camaleón -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/pan.2011.09.26.13.32...@gmail.com
Re: More USB install-images please!
On Mon 26 Sep 2011 at 15:08:58 +0200, Jan Olav Agle wrote: As far as I know, the debian-6.0.2.1-i386-netinst.iso is the ONLY one that can be used on both USB and CD-rom. Why not give debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso the same functionality The netinstall-image install requires much time on slow lines. I HAVE tried dd'ing debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso to a stick. It will not boot. Didn't expect it to do either. Had to try. My understanding is that all the Debian images are hybrid isos so what you did with the netinst iso is also possible with the CD-1 iso. Would you post the output from /sbin/fdisk -l debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/20110926134425.GH6253@desktop
Question propmted by response to [Re: More USB install-images please!]
Camaleón wrote: On Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:08:58 +0200, Jan Olav Agle wrote: I sometimes install Debian on machines belonging to family and friends. On my latest install I tried the boot.img.gz on an USB-stick. It failed halfway trough, complaining about a missing suitable ISO-image. Not wasting time, I dd'ed the netinstall iso onto the stick and installed. (...) Are you aware of this? 4.3.1. Preparing a USB stick using a hybrid CD or DVD image http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch04s03.html.en#usb-copy-isohybrid Greetings, I realize that page is explicitly referring to Debian GNU/Linux 6.0 system (codename “squeeze”). I'm considering moving from Windows to Linux. I've downloaded the iso's of about a dozen distro's chosen on disparate desires. Most, but not all, are Debian based/inspired/... I have fully equipped desktop machine and a laptop w/o a functioning CD drive. I wish to determine for each distro: 1. will it run from a USB stick on both machines? how well? 2. how well do I like the result? Questions: 1. how compatible is it with Debian based distro's? 2. how compatible with non-Debian distro's? One of my goals is to keep as much as possible the same between distro's. Given that goal, is there another method to set up my comparison? TIA -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/4e80b769.8040...@pcnetinc.com
Re: More USB install-images please!
On 26/09/11 23:08, Jan Olav Agle wrote: I sometimes install Debian on machines belonging to family and friends. On my latest install I tried the boot.img.gz on an USB-stick. boot.img.gz is *just* the boot loader. To make it function you *must also* copy an .iso image to the USB-stick - or else it gives your *that* message. :-) It failed halfway trough, complaining about a missing suitable ISO-image. HowTo:- wget hd-media.img wget cd.iso dd if=hd-media.img of=/dev/stick mount /dev/stick /mnt cp cd.iso /mnt umount /mnt Not wasting time, I dd'ed the netinstall iso onto the stick and installed. The netinstall contains a bootloader. # parted debian-6.0.0-i386-netinst.iso print debian-6.0.2.1-i386-netinst.iso: 198MB Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B Partition Table: msdos Number Start EndSize Type File system Flags 1 32.8kB 198MB 198MB primary boot, hidden As far as I know, the debian-6.0.2.1-i386-netinst.iso is the ONLY one that can be used on both USB and CD-rom. Why not give debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso the same functionality ISO-hybrid boot is tricky - and is not supported on all machines (and even then sometimes required fiddling with the BIOS). It also doesn't play well with multi-arch... There are issues with jigdo (which you are strongly encouraged to use when downloading CD/DVD images):- http://lists.debian.org/debian-cd/2010/09/msg00017.html Additionally the CD/DVD images are designed primarily for CD/DVD installations, so I'm guessing that's the prime consideration when choosing a boot scheme. You might want to check that CD2 doesn't have ISO-hybrid boot... in the dim past I've been able to boot from the second CD when the first CD wouldn't. Coverting a standard ISO image to an ISO-hybrid image is not hard either. The netinstall-image install requires much time on slow lines. Quick way # cat debian-6.0.2.1-i386-netinst.iso /dev/stick # parted /dev/sde print Model: TOSHIBA TransMemory (scsi) Disk /dev/sde: 1999MB Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B Partition Table: msdos Number Start EndSize Type File system Flags 1 32.8kB 198MB 198MB primary boot, hidden I HAVE tried dd'ing debian-6.0.2.1-i386-CD-1.iso to a stick. It will not boot. Didn't expect it to do either. Had to try. Needs the boot.hd.img (first). Cheers -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/4e811b07.6050...@gmail.com
