USB booting :: understanding dsl-embeded and usb booting



Hello !

It's now two weeks since i  heard of dsl and started to use it. But i am still
unable to make a proper install on my pen drive (256 Mo).

I've downloaded via rtc and folowing the advice of Meo, the 1.1 embeded version, and i would appreciate if somebody could bring some explanations to the following :
1/ what is embeded ?
2/ i unzipped to my pendrive, wich i formated before (and i'd vérified the geometrry about 32sectors max, ok) . I'd booted once. Then, i've reformated and created two partitions, one for dsl embeded, one for data (ext2)
I then unzipped embeded again, it won't boot anymore...
From windoz xp, i can run dsl from the key using qemu, but this is not what i aim to.
From suze also, it runs, but if i try to install to  usb key, a message appears wich says there is no connection to the web.
3/ The forums are very informative, but many contradictory infos shows up specialy about booting from an usb key, i 've read it must be formated in fat, fat 16, or fat 32, i tried them all since one week and the problem of booting is elsewhere...

Under Suze 9.1, i  unzip to my key, and if i run  syslinux, the files are replaced by the only 7.7 ko file "ldlinux.sys"

My usual os is suze 9.1, sometimes knoppix live CD, some other tries by
curiousit. My native language is french, please forgive the errors i may do writting.

thanks  for your help...

:O
If your desire is qemu, i.e., dsl-embedded then I would not consider two partitions.
Qemu uses a virtual harddisk to store backup and extensions. This virtual disk can be accessed by DSL when booting via BIOS, cdrom, or even floppy.
This virtual disk is in the same partition of qemu.

Here's my view on the state of USB booting.
Facts
   USBZIP = "install to Pendrive, frugal_usb.sh"
   USBHDD = "pendrive_usb.tar.gz" called from "Install to Pendrive, when selected"
1. More computers can boot USBZIP than USBHDD
2. USBZIP requires certain geometry in order to boot
3. USBHDD is easier to boot but not suitable for qemu as it is a sinle Linux partition.
4.  The USBZIP script only makes a small 50MB partition so it too is unsuitable for dsl-embedded, (see my other post
for why)

So where does this leave you wanting to use qemu?

1. With a new pendrive, I would not format, or partition  it, if I want to use qemu. Instead the first thing I would attempt, is to apply syslinux.exe -s e:\   (where e: is your pendrive!) then unzip dsl-embedded onto this pendrive. If this works your done.

2. You can use the hp flash formatting utility, this made a bios usbhdd compatible partition for me, then apply syslinux.exe -s e:/

3 .You can read the docs about geometry and try to make a large single bios usbzip compatibale partition and manually apply syslinux.exe -s e:/   or

4. I see some posts that claim to only need to format fat32. I have had no succes with this. Your mahine's BIOS options may support it.

If you need to start over, look for your manufacture's flash formatting utility to reset to factory defaults.

HTH
Hi Robert /

Thanks for the reply, ( i was writing from dslm embeded, wich i boot
from my usbkey as usbzip once... but next time i  reboot (had to check for my passwd for this board via suze) i   had the message knoppix image could'not be found sorry or something... so here i am under suze again... (the very limited shell do not seems to any utility to me ... docs somewhere ?)

i have to find out why dsl cannot boot again, and furthermore how to configure  and specialy how to get the keyboard in french... remembered ... because i 'd prefer not to have to type in  "lang=fr" shure  !

i downloded embeded without understanding what it exactly is, because
i was told to do so by meo

i ended formating the danelec 256 mo key this way ie 128 mo fat16 and the rest as ext2 .
i used sfdisk to do so and check the geometry uhh 1024 sectors... afterthat i did dd and then mkdosfs...

after many trials i understood i had to umount before applying syslinux
to the fat partition and also it seems one s have to unzip embeded strait to the key without passing thru a temporary directory ?

i now start using dsl, lemitelyou it looks very nice to me, just tryin to damn find more docs because as for today it is not easy to enter
the maze and to find one s way...

especial notes : the dialup config works perfectly, although it do not makes  it very clear for entering the infos (provider), i got connected  straightaway and  the firefox provided in the package  is working fine,

the config panel seems to behave strangely (cannot reduce, do not  refresh when overcomes an other winndow)

there is no doc about the window manager, i found a few things via google-uberalles, well, this is it,

i do not feel too interessed in using qemu but it is a sort of salvation raft
for use on some computers with uindoz

please let me know if i may help for doing some translation work

albertoshi wiznosushi
ho roberto,

just to be more precise : i refuse to "apply syslinux.exe" wichmean i'd had to use
WDZ in order  to get  a linux workin, no, i won't do it, finaly.

I aim to use only tux on computers (or other open source os'ses) and my graal is to get infos in  order  too do so...

cheers !:p
No Problemo,

You can download the 5way.tgz which all the tools to do it all in Linux.
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original here.