Arch Linux

iamnafets

Member

Registered: 2006-12-28

Posts: 8

Install from USB Drive

Hey Guys,

I did some searching and was unable to come up with anything.  What I need to do is install FROM instead of ON TO a USB drive.  Here's the thing: I'm building a beowulf cluster from a bunch of eBay computers without CD-ROM.  The Head node is going to have 4 HDD's RAIDED together with no CD-ROM and each of the nodes comes without a CD-ROM either.  What I'd like to do is copy all the files from the install CD onto a USB drive and use that to install.  Is that possible and are there any tricks to it?  I know the BIOS has to support booting from a USB drive, but other than that would a flat copy work? 

Thanks in advance for all you guys do, Arch is amazing and definitely my favorite.  Fast, advanced, and customizable.

//SORRY: Did some more searching there are a few posts on this issue.  One here: http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?t=18643  Can an admin delete this thread?

Last edited by iamnafets (2007-07-08 07:16:48)

rayjgu3

Member

From: Chicago IL usa

Registered: 2004-07-04

Posts: 695

Re: Install from USB Drive

if you have a usb pen you could install some micro distro (dsl feather puppy) onto it via another pc (friend family work)
then follow this guide
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fas … nux_System
i havent tried this particular method but im sure it will work if you alter it a bit for your needs like boot up usb pen download iso onto hdd & extract it, instead of copy from cd