cannot boot from usb

Discussion:

c***@antenna.nl

2010-06-03 10:33:54 UTC

Hi list,

I use Ubuntu 10.04

I downloaded an usb image from http://rom-o-matic.net/ and wrote it to usb:

sudo dd if=gpxe-1.0.0-sis900.usb of=/dev/sdb1

I changed the bios to boot from the usb but it doesn't work. It goes
to the next boot device (harddisk). I'm sure I changed the boot order
in the bios correctly.

Thanks

Thomas Miletich

2010-06-03 11:08:51 UTC

Permalink

Hi
As far as I remember, the .usb image is supposed to be written to the
entire usb drive, instead of a partition on the usb drive. You can
either use the .hd image type and write it to sdb1, or use the usb
image and write it to sdb, instead of sdb1:

sudo dd if=gpxe-1.0.0-sis900.usb of=/dev/sdb

Please keep in mind that this will destroy the current partition table
and any filesystem that may be on the usb drive. If you want to keep
the filesystem, you may be interested in instaling syslinux or grub on
the drive and use the .lkrn image type.

Thomas

Post by c***@antenna.nl
Hi list,
I use Ubuntu 10.04
sudo dd if=gpxe-1.0.0-sis900.usb of=/dev/sdb1
I changed the bios to boot from the usb but it doesn't work. It goes
to the next boot device (harddisk). I'm sure I changed the boot order
in the bios correctly.
Thanks
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c***@antenna.nl

2010-06-03 12:19:50 UTC

Permalink

Ofcourse you are right, i feel a bit stupid now! But still no
luck........ it doesn't boot from the harddisk anymore but I get a
black screen and nothing happens.

Post by Thomas Miletich
Hi
As far as I remember, the .usb image is supposed to be written to the
entire usb drive, instead of a partition on the usb drive. You can
either use the .hd image type and write it to sdb1, or use the usb
sudo dd if=gpxe-1.0.0-sis900.usb of=/dev/sdb
Please keep in mind that this will destroy the current partition table
and any filesystem that may be on the usb drive. If you want to keep
the filesystem, you may be interested in instaling syslinux or grub on
the drive and use the .lkrn image type.
Thomas

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ThinkGeek and WIRED's GeekDad team up for the Ultimate
GeekDad Father's Day Giveaway. ONE MASSIVE PRIZE to the
http://p.sf.net/sfu/thinkgeek-promo
_______________________________________________
Etherboot-discuss mailing list
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/etherboot-discuss

r***@gmail.com

2010-06-03 12:43:56 UTC

Permalink

Hello Chantal,

If you're getting a black screen now and the BIOS boot order doesn't
continue on to the hard disk, it appears as though your USB stick is indeed
being booted by the BIOS insofar as [attempted] execution of the MBR code,
but curiously you're not getting any farther than that.

Of course, the newer a motherboard is, the more likely you'll be able to
successfully boot via USB, but ensuring a USB boot is not always the
easiest thing to do. That said, could you verify that the stick works by
booting it directly in a virtual machine or from another computer which
you've known to successfully boot USB sticks? Apologies if you're already
certain that the machine you're attempting to boot currently should work :-P

Otherwise speaking, I'd suggest erasing and attempting to rewrite the .usb
image to the stick or some such. I'm not too knowledgeable on
troubleshooting this particular issue, but just wanted to offer you some
steps you might like to take.

Regards,
Andrew Bobulsky

Post by c***@antenna.nl
Ofcourse you are right, i feel a bit stupid now! But still no
luck........ it doesn't boot from the harddisk anymore but I get a
black screen and nothing happens.

Post by c***@antenna.nl
Hi list,
I use Ubuntu 10.04
I downloaded an usb image from http://rom-o-matic.net/ and wrote it to
sudo dd if=gpxe-1.0.0-sis900.usb of=/dev/sdb1
I changed the bios to boot from the usb but it doesn't work. It goes
to the next boot device (harddisk). I'm sure I changed the boot order
in the bios correctly.
Thanks

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post by Thomas Miletich

Post by c***@antenna.nl
ThinkGeek and WIRED's GeekDad team up for the Ultimate
GeekDad Father's Day Giveaway. ONE MASSIVE PRIZE to the
http://p.sf.net/sfu/thinkgeek-promo
_______________________________________________
Etherboot-discuss mailing list
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/etherboot-discuss

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post by Thomas Miletich
ThinkGeek and WIRED's GeekDad team up for the Ultimate
GeekDad Father's Day Giveaway. ONE MASSIVE PRIZE to the
http://p.sf.net/sfu/thinkgeek-promo
_______________________________________________
Etherboot-discuss mailing list
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/etherboot-discuss

c***@antenna.nl

2010-06-03 13:14:00 UTC

Permalink

Thanks Andrew,

The machines are pretty old so it is possible that usb boot is not
supported (although I can choose USB in the boot order), I "fixed" it
by using a floppy disk image instead.

Post by r***@gmail.com
Hello Chantal,
If you're getting a black screen now and the BIOS boot order doesn't
continue on to the hard disk, it appears as though your USB stick is
indeed being booted by the BIOS insofar as [attempted] execution of
the MBR code, but curiously you're not getting any farther than that.
Of course, the newer a motherboard is, the more likely you'll be able
to successfully boot via USB, but ensuring a USB boot is not always
the easiest thing to do. That said, could you verify that the stick
works by booting it directly in a virtual machine or from another
computer which you've known to successfully boot USB sticks? Apologies
if you're already certain that the machine you're attempting to boot
currently should work :-P
Otherwise speaking, I'd suggest erasing and attempting to rewrite the
.usb image to the stick or some such. I'm not too knowledgeable on
troubleshooting this particular issue, but just wanted to offer you
some steps you might like to take.
Regards,
Andrew Bobulsky

Post by c***@antenna.nl
Ofcourse you are right, i feel a bit stupid now! But still no
luck........ it doesn't boot from the harddisk anymore but I get a
black screen and nothing happens.

Post by c***@antenna.nl
Hi list,
I use Ubuntu 10.04
I downloaded an usb image from http://rom-o-matic.net/ and wrote it
sudo dd if=gpxe-1.0.0-sis900.usb of=/dev/sdb1
I changed the bios to boot from the usb but it doesn't work. It goes
to the next boot device (harddisk). I'm sure I changed the boot order
in the bios correctly.
Thanks

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post by Thomas Miletich

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marty Connor

2010-06-03 13:32:22 UTC

Permalink

Hi Chantal,

You should join the ***@etherboot.org mailing list:

http://etherboot.org/mailman/listinfo/gpxe

where there are more people who are actively using gPXE and will be
happy to hear from you.

I thought we had an appnote on our wiki that talked about how to create
a USB stick that is bootable with either a DOS or Linux (ext2/ext3) file
system on it.

gPXE's .usb format is sometimes confusing to systems, and I sometimes
use a FreeDOS formatted memory stick to put a copy of syslinux.

There are lots of tutorials on the web about making USB drives DOS
bootable. Things like:

http://wiki.fdos.org/Installation/BootDiskCreateUSB

Once you have a DOS bootable USB drive you can put Syslinux on it, and
updating the drive becomes as easy as copying a new .lkr[n] file to the
USB drive.

Who else uses a DOS formatted USB driver for USB booting gPXE?

/ Marty /

P.S. For fun, build a gPXE .iso formatted image and look at the files
on it. :) Something very similar could be used with a USB stick and DOS.

Post by c***@antenna.nl
Thanks Andrew,
The machines are pretty old so it is possible that usb boot is not
supported (although I can choose USB in the boot order), I "fixed" it
by using a floppy disk image instead.

Post by c***@antenna.nl
Ofcourse you are right, i feel a bit stupid now! But still no
luck........ it doesn't boot from the harddisk anymore but I get a
black screen and nothing happens.

Post by c***@antenna.nl
Hi list,
I use Ubuntu 10.04
I downloaded an usb image from http://rom-o-matic.net/ and wrote it
sudo dd if=gpxe-1.0.0-sis900.usb of=/dev/sdb1