Topic: Install SME from USB pen?

[arne]

Thanks a lot !

Using the instructions for the ipcop and downloading a program called physdiskwrite.exe I were finally able do download a flash image of ipcop and then make it bootable from a usb. (Well it did make the boot of the Linux kernel, but it crashed further on due to some hardware problem, but ok booting worked.)

Its looks like booting from usb is something that can be done, but it looks like something "not so easy" to be able to boot and install the sme server from a memory stick.

Anybody who have tried with just an external UDF CD ROM ?

[arne]

Excuse me, correction:

Anybody who have tried with just an external USB CD ROM ?

[arne]

This works. Not a sme installer but at least an usb boot installation that works .. possibly a step ahead ?

http://linitx.com/support/download.php

[drywalldude]

I have installed mandrake linux w/usb cd with some success. I know to make sure that "boot to usb device" being enabled in the bios is important in this, but I think more that it might be a kernel support issue. If all fails try using ver 7.03 of sme and see if you are sucsefull in booting all the way. Maybee not though it just dosen't seem that it should be that complicated of a thing to do..........so I guess before the weekend I will go and get a pen of my own so I can join the endever. Not that I really need this but it is a interesting project

I think 512meg should be good?????

[arne]

I am up and running with a Slax Linux (Live slackware) from a USB stick just now, so I am a bit more optimistic. The Slax from the USB stick runns really nice.

Yes I would be happy for some cooperation with "the sme install from the usb stick" project.

I think that the sme installer project can be done as well. I have never seen or even heard about a "install from the USB stick installation", but the prisiples for a "live from a USB stick" should work, I believe. (Some of it should be equal, it shall only do something else, install a distribution on a harddisk, not just "running live".)

By the way, for the Slax Linux installation I also use a 512 MB memory stick. Actually it is to big, so I will replace it with at 256 MB for this installation. Then the 512 MB should be the right one for the sme

Best reg Arne.

[tariqf]

Got a 512 meg usb 2 pen from ebuyer should arrive monday. Will begin to battle with getting this working then...

Can I just say it's great to have so many people inetested in getting this up and running. Lets hope we can achieve it and maybe get the USB installer image included as a download option.

[arne]

Yes, I hope we can make it. I first made an installation of the Slax Linux and were rather optimistic. I now try to make a USB boot for a firewall distribution, but this one is rather difficult ..

Hope we can make it for the sme installer, and from a theoretical point of wiew, it should be quite possible .. (??!!)

One of the really nice sides about the sme server is actually the user forum

Arne.

[arne]

Just to get started with something ..

Have found that Hewlet Packard has a utility that can make a usb bootable in dos (Fat16/Fat32):

http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/hpcpqdt/us/download/20306.html

Have tested it. Worked pretty well. By the way I used a Windows Millenium startdisk to pull over the mbr and some basic system files.

No problem to make the usb pin dos bootable and to copy over the sme installation files to the usb pin.

I remember from the old days when we booted the PC from a floppy and then went into a directory dostools to make a manual boot of the cd when the pc couldn't autoboot from cd.

Question: When you have booted the usb pin using dos/boot, could it then be possible to navigate into the dosutility folder and from there "manually" initiate some further Linux boot or installation ??

Arne.

[arne]

Don't know if it could be an idea to try to do something with the loadlin.exe that is in the dosutil folder. Don't know ..

http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-mini/Loadlin+Win95-98-ME.html

[arne]

If yoy open the loadlin16.tgz file you will find some more interesting info.

One other question I'm thinking about .. is loadlin.exe (if this can be used) compatible with fat 32, or will it require fat16 .. don't know, has to be tried.

[arne]

Some other ideas different from the dos boot approach:


http://d-i.pascal.at/

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/archive/5/2004/10/4/244214

[arne]

After some reading and searcing around, I have now made 3 different Linux installations on 3 different USB sticks to see what can be used. These 3 distributions are: Slax, Floppyfw and Damnsmalllinux.

I had hoped that there should be one common and typical way to set up the booting and communication to the memory stick, but one can hardley say that, they are a bit different.

Possible the Damnsmalllinux installation has a "framework" that can be used for a sme installation USB stick.

Basically you will need 3 basic prinsipples I believe:
1. The USB stick must be recognised as a fat (not fat32) system disk.
2. You must run the Linux installation boot image.
3. You must be able to mount and read the file structure on the installation USB stick.

One idea: Could it be possible to just use an existing and working Damsmalllinux on a USB stick installation, and then just write this over and replacing the files with sme installation files ??

There is a boot kernel at the sme installation cd
\dosutils\autoboot\vmlinuz

Could it work to write over the damnsmalllinux kernel with the sme installation kernel ?

The damnsmalllinux installation using existing images were the mort easy one.

For the floppyfw installation I used a more "make it all from the bottom approach". I wrote down these notes:

MINI, MINI HOWTO:

1. Format the USB stick using fat file system. (Not fat 32 !)
2. Use the program syslinux.exe, run command syslinux.exe -m e: (Where e: is the drive letter for the USB stick.) http://syslinux.zytor.com/
3. Download the newest flash tar.bz2 from this link:
http://www.zelow.no/floppyfw/download/Development/
4. Extract the compressed file and copy the files over to the USB stick.
5. check if the config file is still missing om the flash image. If this is the case, copy it over from an earlier version. (Note the installation can not run or boot without a config file.)
6. Reboot your PC, set the Bios to boot from USB HD.
 7. You are up and running with a floppyfw from the USB stick !

Problem: I have used really a lot of workhours to do the 3 USB installations and I am a bit "out of time" with some other projects.

Do you have time/interesst to make to make som further testing/development of these ideas or other ideas arond this an leave the results here ?

I will try to come back an proceed on after a little while.

Arne

[arne]

By the way .. one thing more:

My old USB 1.1 and my new USB 2.0 Apacher Handy Steno stick works perfectly for USB booting purposes.

My SanDisk cruzer micro USB 2.0 stick can be rather tricky. (You will, some times have to pull out the power cable to reset the USB controller between reboots.)

Apacher Handy Steno USB 2.0 is, I think, a very good one for Linux booting !

Arne.

[arne]

I have now made a combined Damsmalllinux and "all the sme installation files" in a common 512 MB USB stick. I can boot it and get up Damnsmalllimux, and also I have access to all the sme instalatin "files" (images) on the USB stick.

I can now make a bot from the USB stick with the sme installation cd files on it via dos (using the HP tool) or via Linux using Damsmalllinux, so I can have access to all the "files" from dos or from Linux.

On the other hand I have not been able to find anything to "grip hold on" starting a installation prosess to the harddisk neither via dos or via Linux.

Anybody who got an idea ?

Seems like such a "install from an usb project" is a lot more difficult than a normal "boot the Linux from a USB stick" project.

Sending this msg from a Damsmalllinux on a USB stick with also the sme installation files on it.

Could it be that the sme installarion files is on a "wrong format". Does "images" give any reasonable sence ?

Arne.

[arne]

Ok, I have come a litle bit further on I think.

There is a program utility that are able to prepere filesystems for linux called syslinux:

http://syslinux.zytor.com/

There is also a program utility that is called winimage that is able to open up and pull out the contents of the images on the sme installation disk, so it comes over to en accessable form:

http://www.winimage.com/download.htm

I think it lookes like quite clear that it is technically possible to make an sme installation from a USB stick, but that it still will require some workhours to find out about "all the smaller details".

I think that it will be a major issue to set up the file "syslinux.cnf" the right way.

I hope that there is someone with a lot of knowlwdge about these things that cold give a helping hand.

One other major problem: Don't know the functions of the different images at the sme CD.

Anybody who knows ?