You are not logged in.

#26 2012-09-10 19:22:18

TheSaint
Member
From: my computer
Registered: 2007-08-19
Posts: 1,523

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

I don't know how much you solved.
I would agree that most of the case the root in the fstab on the USB memory is /dev/sda1. But if you used UUID post ls -lF /dev/disk/by-uuid with USB plugged and compare with USB/etc/fstab.
Another problem, the boot loader is the one from the CD, probably.
I don't know anything about genfstab and I won't trust it so much.


do it good first, it will be faster than do it twice the saint wink

Offline

#27 2012-09-11 14:39:51

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

I haven't solved the issue yet. I've compared my fstab with the result of ls -lF /dev/disk/by-uuid and everything adds up.
Regarding the bootloader, it seems to be the root of my problem. Though it confuses me, since syslinux and grub are bootloaders, and I can boot the bootloader from the usb-stick. Still I can't boot into arch without the presense of the live cd.
Without the live cd it seems that my root partition is loaded and services load, then dropping to a blank screen.

Offline

#28 2012-09-12 14:55:40

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

What mechanism desides whether your usb is listed as sdb, sdc etc. ?

After a lot of experimentation I found out that when I prepare the usb it is called sdc, where sdb is the live cd. So when I remove the live cd, the fresh install stick becomes sdb.
Hence I will need to use sdb3 as my root drive. That is definitely the cause of my problem. But I am using UUID's which are Unique, thus I still do not understand how 'mechanism X' can get confused about the drive mapping (Is this an understandable sentence?)

Offline

#29 2012-09-12 16:55:47

DSpider
Member
From: Romania
Registered: 2009-08-23
Posts: 2,273

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

Post your syslinux.cfg and the output of:

$ lsblk -f

"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

Offline

#30 2012-09-12 21:43:47

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

outout of lsblk -f
sdb
     sdb1   /boot
     sdb2
     sdb3   /
     sdb4

syslinux:

LABEL arch
                  MENU LABEL Arch Linux
                  LINUX ../vmlinuz-linux
                  APPEND root=UUID=43fd6f72-e479-4059-9906-c9ebe555f985 ro
                  INITRD ../initramfs-linux.img

LABEL archfallback
                  MENU LABEL Arch Linux Fallback
                  LINUX ../vmlinuz-linux
                  APPEND root=/dev/sdb3 ro
                  INITRD ../initramfs-linux.img

Last edited by odp (2012-09-13 19:31:00)

Offline

#31 2012-09-13 06:20:19

DSpider
Member
From: Romania
Registered: 2009-08-23
Posts: 2,273

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

Hmmm... Apparently "lsblk -f" from a chroot is useless. You should've been getting something like the one from the fstab wiki page. You really should check it before you chroot (i.e. before you run "arch-chroot /mnt"):

# lsblk -f /dev/sdc

Or, alternatively:

# blkid

But I see your problem:

                  APPEND root=uuid=43fd6f72-e479-4059-9906-c9ebe555f985 ro

I'll ask you again, which part of the basic config wasn't clear?

Look again.

Last edited by DSpider (2012-09-13 06:21:03)


"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

Offline

#32 2012-09-13 19:33:39

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

Sorry DSpider. That was a type0 from my side. I meant UUID with capital letters. I corrected the post above.

Offline

#33 2012-09-13 22:40:01

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

Fun fact. I can manipulate the kernel line syslinux for instance, root=UUID='uuid' is the same as root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/'uuid' is the same as root=/dev/sdb1. Any of the mentioned statements will produce the same scenario - search for root device, mount as real root after a short pause, then some services/modules load in a flash and I'm dropped to a blank screen. I was at one time able to get an error that said something in the line of, root device successfully mounted sbin/init Does not exist. So I recreated the ramdisk From a live cd but same result.

Offline

#34 2012-09-14 07:12:20

DSpider
Member
From: Romania
Registered: 2009-08-23
Posts: 2,273

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

For the last three days or so I have been running Arch from a USB stick and I was waiting for you to get it right, on your own, because it's not that difficult. But it seems you can't. So here's what I did:

- transferred my current Arch (i686) install to a USB stick.
- chrooted into it (without rebooting).
- added the usb hook to /etc/mkinitcpio.conf and ran "mkinitcpio -p linux" (otherwise you'd be editing that file for nothing).
- updated the bootloader's configuration (syslinux.cfg) and /etc/fstab.
- rebooted with the USB stick first in the BIOS boot priority.

$ lsblk -f
NAME   FSTYPE LABEL      UUID                                 MOUNTPOINT
sda                                                           
├─sda1 ntfs   Games      9E68F00568EFD9D3                     
└─sda2 ext4   Backup     14d50a6c-e083-42f2-b9c4-bc8bae38d274 /media/Backup
sdb                                                           
├─sdb1 ext4   Arch_Linux 978e3e81-8048-4ae1-8a06-aa727458e8ff
├─sdb2 ntfs   Windows    6C1093E61093B594                     
└─sdb3 ext4   Storage    f838b24e-3a66-4d02-86f4-a2e73e454336 /media/Storage
sdc                                                           
└─sdc1 ext4              f1b3eaec-8ab2-40fc-91a7-ed79400c8016 /

I don't know what the problem is on your end, because it fricken works. Notice the usage by UUID, that /dev/sdc was formatted as ext4, and that it doesn't have a separate boot partition or anything special. You probably just forgot to mount the boot partition under the proper folder before re-generating the initramfs image ("mkinitcpio -p linux"). Repartition your USB stick with just one big root. Keep It Simple.

Last edited by DSpider (2012-09-14 07:15:23)


"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

Offline

#35 2012-09-14 07:30:51

DSpider
Member
From: Romania
Registered: 2009-08-23
Posts: 2,273

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

I forgot to mention that my USB stick was already bootable. If you have a fresh USB stick, you need to reinstall Syslinux: the files (updated ldlinux.sys, in particular), MBR boot code and make the partition active by setting the boot flag.

# extlinux --install /media/some_UUID/boot/syslinux
# dd bs=440 count=1 conv=notrunc if=/usr/lib/syslinux/mbr.bin of=/dev/sdc
# parted /dev/sdc toggle 1 boot

But if you're installing by following the Beginners' Guide, you should have already done this, using the "syslinux-install_update" script.

Last edited by DSpider (2012-09-14 07:33:52)


"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

Offline

#36 2012-09-14 11:13:12

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

That is exactly what I am doing here.

I just reinstalled it with only one big root partition. After install and reboot I was able to boot into the new system once! From that point on same result. If I continue to just reboot and try again I am logged in once in a while, so it is a very inconsistent result.

NB! When my screen goes black after mounting root, the power save still engage after a few minutes. So what do I do? I type in root for username and my password (I am blind here) then type reboot. What happens? It reboots

Last edited by odp (2012-09-14 11:23:43)

Offline

#37 2012-09-14 12:16:33

DSpider
Member
From: Romania
Registered: 2009-08-23
Posts: 2,273

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

Try a different USB stick then.


"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

Offline

#38 2012-09-16 11:52:54

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

I've tried that now and the result is the same. I've also tried a different distro, just to verify that it is not the usb sticks fault. I tried to change the resolution in the kernel line with no result. So could it maybe be hardware dependent? A graphics driver that might not be present?

Offline

#39 2012-09-16 12:00:26

DSpider
Member
From: Romania
Registered: 2009-08-23
Posts: 2,273

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

Try resetting the BIOS to its defaults. You may have chosen "Full-Speed" (USB 1.1) instead of "Hi-Speed" (USB 2.0).


"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

Offline

#40 2012-09-16 12:19:43

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

That did not change anything. I wanted to write, "That did not change anything on my HP compaq 2510p" and thought hey lets google boot problems with HP compaq 2510p.
Look what I found https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=131184

Offline

#41 2012-09-24 09:48:02

DSpider
Member
From: Romania
Registered: 2009-08-23
Posts: 2,273

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

Have you figured it out yet?

This time I partitioned a 16 GB USB stick (as 5 GB FAT32, and 9.90 GB btrfs) instead of transferring my current system with rsync.


And I mounted the root partition with:

# mount -o compress=lzo /dev/sdc2 /mnt

big_smile

And after installing Arch Linux, it works fine. I combined these two methods (on Linux) to make it bootable:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/US … O_from_RAM
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/US … _USB_drive

The kernel and initramfs images are located in the "Boot" folder, on the FAT32 partition, because Syslinux has this limitation (not that big of a deal). Then I added the contents of a Windows 7 ISO, weeded out the EFI stuff and now there are just two folders on my USB stick:

  • Boot

  • Sources

On Windows it shows up as 5 GB (meaning I can always use it to store a 4.36 GB image), because Windows can't read more than one partition on removable devices - you need a separate driver for that.

X:\Boot\Settings\syslinux.cfg
/etc/fstab
/etc/mkinitcpio.conf -- I removed the fsck hook because it complained during the initramfs creation process.


I'm a happy camper right now. big_smile If I have some time this week, I'll update the Installing Arch Linux on a USB key article, after my own heart.

Last edited by DSpider (2012-09-24 11:07:51)


"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

Offline

#42 2012-09-24 13:49:19

TheSaint
Member
From: my computer
Registered: 2007-08-19
Posts: 1,523

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

I think you should try this pendrive on another PC.
It's my doubt that you have problem with a particular video card.
You might to add nomodeset to the kernel line.

Last edited by TheSaint (2012-09-24 13:50:05)


do it good first, it will be faster than do it twice the saint wink

Offline

#43 2012-09-24 17:59:49

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

I will try nomodeset right away.

Since my last post, I tried the arch distro which name we dont mention. It installed fine, ran smooth untill I updated the kernel. Then same scenario played out.

So it could very well be.

Offline

#44 2012-09-24 18:08:40

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

well that worked! Except my resolution is somewhat odd and my screen is displayed with black borders on the sides. But one step closer

Offline

#45 2012-09-24 19:23:27

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

Ok, nomodeset enabled me to boot into the system and create a xorg config file for the monitor. After reboot I was able to remove nomodeset in the kernel line and run arch with a satifactory resolution.

For what it is worth, should it not be added to the wiki for instance in the troubleshooting chapter?

Offline

#46 2012-09-24 20:39:22

DSpider
Member
From: Romania
Registered: 2009-08-23
Posts: 2,273

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

odp wrote:

For what it is worth, should it not be added to the wiki for instance in the troubleshooting chapter?

It's already in the guide: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Be … t_problems


Basically, you follow the guide, except for this "usb" hook when you get to the "Create an initial ramdisk environment" part, and maybe the fstab, too (though apparently, the root is mounted even if it's not specified in the fstab). Anyway, the "nomodeset" issue isn't specific to the USB stick. It would've happened even if you were installing on a HDD or SSD. And it's totally unrelated to the earlier errors that you posted about "10 seconds" and "could not find root device blablabla" ! Whatever happened to those? Did they magically go away, I gather? PEBKAC at it's finest, then.


"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

Offline

#47 2012-09-24 23:33:51

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

uhh ohh, I feel silly for missing that part.

Well additional I added i915 to the modules in mkinitcpio.conf rebuilt and removed the xorg conf file I made.

It all works like a charme.

You are right! But regardless my issues where solved and I can move on with new knowledge gained. Magic no! Community support yes!
HAHAHA, yeah well hopefully the new course i'm taking 'human-computer interaction' will solve that or I should just move into the woods.

Thanks for everything DSpider, I will mark this solved.

Offline

#48 2012-09-25 16:45:01

TheSaint
Member
From: my computer
Registered: 2007-08-19
Posts: 1,523

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

But how transportable would it be?
I have HD USB and I can plug in all of my PC at home, FYI 5.
It seems that latest kernel doesn't make much hassle if not using nomodeset.

Last edited by TheSaint (2012-09-25 16:46:21)


do it good first, it will be faster than do it twice the saint wink

Offline

#49 2012-09-25 23:36:29

odp
Member
Registered: 2012-04-26
Posts: 136

Re: [SOLVED]How do I install the new arch onto an usb stick?

You mean because of the i915 module? If so good question, because without it Arch wont boot correctly...Or it will but the sceen will turn off when udev loads.

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB