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#1 2004-10-09 18:44:31

Nautivus
Member
Registered: 2003-10-04
Posts: 22

Installing to an external hard drive

I want to know if arch linux can be installed from the cd to an external hard drive. I have the arch 0.6 full cd , but when I try to install it my external hdd partitions didn't appear. There must be a module needed or something so it recognizes it or I'm not writing the correct dir in the others option when setting up the hdd for installation. In case it would help my hdd is an Seagate 160gb and I'm connecting it through usb.

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#2 2004-10-09 21:23:28

paranoos
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From: thornhill.on.ca
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 442

Re: Installing to an external hard drive

Try booting the arch install cd with the arch-scsi image
ie, when the first screen appears, instead of just pressing enter, type arch-scsi

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#3 2004-10-10 05:08:03

Nautivus
Member
Registered: 2003-10-04
Posts: 22

Re: Installing to an external hard drive

Thanks for your help, but I tried it and it didn't works. It just show the floppy and cd device with a loaddisk option. It seems that it is an option to load modules I think but I can't figure out how to load the hotplug module and adding the usb device to the /etc/fstab. I dunno if this is the correct way or if this would work. Also I read some articles about the usb device but all of them tell how to configure it based on an succesfull arch installation. I dunno if it works before installing it.

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#4 2004-10-10 06:58:06

paranoos
Member
From: thornhill.on.ca
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 442

Re: Installing to an external hard drive

If you boot up with arch-scsi, I would think it would detect your drive and make a device for it. the device should be located at /dev/discs/disc1/disc (assuming disc0 is an internal hard drive you have). have a look at this. if you're not sure, run cfdisk -P s /dev/discs/disc0/disc to see the partition table for disc0, etc (this should help you decide which one is the right drive).

looking at /dev/discs should be part of the installation manual, which i have a feeling you're not reading smile

i have an alternative manual, you might try reading that instead.

btw, that loaddisk stuff is for loading floppy disks that contain extra files for drivers or packages to install, for instance. i've never used it.

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#5 2004-10-14 02:13:46

Nautivus
Member
Registered: 2003-10-04
Posts: 22

Re: Installing to an external hard drive

Thanks for your help,  I have succesfully installed arch 0.7, my problem was that  I forgot to:

  modprobe usb-storage 

But now I'm having problems booting up my installation from the external hard drive. It seems that I need to do something to let my bios recognize it and then let me boot from it, I will googled to see if I can get my answers,
if anybody knows how to do it I will appreciate the help.

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#6 2004-10-14 03:04:10

paranoos
Member
From: thornhill.on.ca
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 442

Re: Installing to an external hard drive

the way to do it is compile a custom kernel with scsi and usb-storage compiled in, not as modules.

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#7 2004-10-14 11:53:05

zezaz
Member
From: Bordeaux, France
Registered: 2004-04-26
Posts: 80
Website

Re: Installing to an external hard drive

Just curious : the same applies exactly if you need to install Arch on a USB key?

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#8 2004-10-14 17:09:18

paranoos
Member
From: thornhill.on.ca
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 442

Re: Installing to an external hard drive

if you somehow found a usb key big enough for arch, then yes smile

by the way, in order to boot a device like that which isn't otherwise bootable by the bios is to put a bootloader on a device that CAN boot, such as an internal hard drive, or a cdrom/floppy.

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#9 2004-10-15 12:00:02

zezaz
Member
From: Bordeaux, France
Registered: 2004-04-26
Posts: 80
Website

Re: Installing to an external hard drive

paranoos wrote:

if you somehow found a usb key big enough for arch, then yes smile

I recently saw desktop distros fitting on mini-CDs, for example SAM (Mandrake-based):

  http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=sam

which proposes XFCE, Firefox and gaim on less than 210 Mo  smile

With 512 Mo USB sticks at an affordable price, i am beginning to dream of a "mobile desktop" always in my pocket. Maybe i will have to wait for cheaper 1Go sticks to have a really complete desktop, but anyway i believe this day is not that far away big_smile

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#10 2004-10-15 12:12:22

Mr Green
Forum Fellow
From: U.K.
Registered: 2003-12-21
Posts: 5,893
Website

Re: Installing to an external hard drive

emmm

http://cyti.latgola.lv/ruuni/index_en.html

50Mb

I think Damn Small Linux would fit on a 256mb too ????

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

just a question of messin' with iso to your liking ;-)


Mr Green

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#11 2004-10-15 12:57:15

zezaz
Member
From: Bordeaux, France
Registered: 2004-04-26
Posts: 80
Website

Re: Installing to an external hard drive

Hi Mr Green!

Amazing.

Mr Green wrote:

I think Damn Small Linux would fit on a 256mb too ????

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

just a question of messin' with iso to your liking ;-)

Well, my liking would be an Arch based live USB key, with a Gnome desktop, Openoffice, Firebird, Thunderbird, (and some more). That is, anything i need (and i have now on Arch smile ) for Internet and office, excluding dev tools. Ideally, updatable with pacman, without having to make an iso to update my os and apps.

The openoffice package alone being 208 Mb, i believe i will have to wait if i want a complete desktop to my liking. But i am not in a hurry wink

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#12 2004-10-15 13:03:02

Mr Green
Forum Fellow
From: U.K.
Registered: 2003-12-21
Posts: 5,893
Website

Re: Installing to an external hard drive


Mr Green

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