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#1 2013-02-05 09:11:00

theblazehen
Member
Registered: 2012-12-05
Posts: 32

[solved]USB wont boot on some computers.

Hi all.

I have installed arch on a usb from a running arch system after doing pacman -S arch-install-scripts.
It boots on my Acer Aspire One which picks it up as a USB-HDD however when I tried to boot it on a different computer it didn't work and faliled with the error "Boot Error".

I have succesfully booted both ubuntu and fedora on the same pc.
Any ideas?

Not able to access my arch system right now but will the fact that arch is installed to a partition (sdb1) and not directly affect it(sdb)?

Previously I used the universal usb installer from pendrivelinux.com with it set to format the drive. I believe it did not use partitions.

I believe I just answered my own question. Anyone mind confirming if I'm correct ?

Last edited by theblazehen (2013-02-08 15:38:47)

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#2 2013-02-05 09:30:38

olive
Member
From: Belgium
Registered: 2008-06-22
Posts: 1,490

Re: [solved]USB wont boot on some computers.

Some older bioses boot from USB in "floppy mode" (it shows the disk as a floppy if it is not partionned, otherwise the first partition is shown as a floppy, possibly with a limitation of size). If you know your bootloader, you can manage to make it bootable (I think this is much easier with syslinux than with grub, because it can detect at boot time from where it is booted; without having you to explicitly tell it). You can also try the plop boot manager (http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager/index.html). It is able to boot USB devices in hard disk mode even without Bios support.

Last edited by olive (2013-02-05 09:32:10)

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#3 2013-02-05 17:32:03

theblazehen
Member
Registered: 2012-12-05
Posts: 32

Re: [solved]USB wont boot on some computers.

Thanks will try plop

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#4 2013-02-06 13:40:05

theblazehen
Member
Registered: 2012-12-05
Posts: 32

Re: [solved]USB wont boot on some computers.

what did you mean by bootloader settings?

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#5 2013-02-07 20:44:25

olive
Member
From: Belgium
Registered: 2008-06-22
Posts: 1,490

Re: [solved]USB wont boot on some computers.

theblazehen wrote:

what did you mean by bootloader settings?

I didn't use that word. You can easily configure syslinux to boot in floppy mode. Make a small boot partition say /dev/sdb1, mount in on /boot. Install syslinux (or exlinux) as usual in /dev/sdb1 (taking care that syslinux see /boot as /) ans this should work. Things are more complicated with grub because you have to tell it that /boot is a floppy (I am not so familiar with grub2). Read the wiki for more details.

Last edited by olive (2013-02-07 20:54:08)

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#6 2013-02-08 06:54:03

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

Re: [solved]USB wont boot on some computers.

theblazehen wrote:

Hi all.

I have installed arch on a usb from a running arch system after doing pacman -S arch-install-scripts.
It boots on my Acer Aspire One which picks it up as a USB-HDD however when I tried to boot it on a different computer it didn't work

Did you try the fallback entry?

On the "different computer", check the BIOS and see if the boot priority set to your equivalent of "Removable Dev." first, "CD-ROM" second, "Internal Drive" third. Then adjust the "Hard Disk Priority" (even if it's not technically a HDD) to boot the USB stick first.


"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).

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#7 2013-02-08 13:20:12

bernarcher
Forum Fellow
From: Germany
Registered: 2009-02-17
Posts: 2,281

Re: [solved]USB wont boot on some computers.

theblazehen, in case you wonder where your post went. The moderators' board got this message on 13:52:09:

It won't boot syslinux and I try and boot it by pressing esc and selecting usb-zip0 .
I have tried plop bootloader and that fixed it. Thanks guys smile

You inadvertently used the "Report" button to send this. wink

BTW: Don't forget to mark this thread [SOLVED] if this is the case now.


To know or not to know ...
... the questions remain forever.

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#8 2013-02-08 15:38:00

theblazehen
Member
Registered: 2012-12-05
Posts: 32

Re: [solved]USB wont boot on some computers.

Oops ... sorry
Just saw the re and assumed it said reply, my bad.

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