Porteus

Hello,
since yesterday I try out how to install the different editions of

Porteus-v3.2.2 final,64bit

to various media
- harddisk
- DVD
- USB sticks
- .........

Here now problem with Porteus` "create live USB" option.

After selecting the appropriate ISO file and the target USB stick, the start of the procedure gives an error message:


========= Messages ========
ERROR: Illegal ISO file

and it does not go on.

I tried with all editions of Porteus-v3.2.2 final,64bit
Of course I checked the integrity of the ISOs after downloading them.

With the same ISOs I can successfully create life DVDs with K3B
and Rufus builds bootable USB-media from them.
But with Rufus you can not create persistant partition on the USB sticks.

What do I wrong?
Is there a workaround?

THX
Karl

The script search for a pattern "ISO 9660 CD-ROM"
check your iso with it should return

@donald
thank for your advice.
I checked it from my presently used distro Mint LMDE.
The returned message seems to be ok:

karl@mintdebianclear ~/Downloads $ file Porteus-XFCE-v3.2.2-x86_64.iso
Porteus-XFCE-v3.2.2-x86_64.iso: ISO 9660 CD-ROM filesystem data 'Porteus' (bootable)
karl@mintdebianclear ~/Downloads $

Hhhmmm

Perhaps you can help me with another issue too:
Porteus has bootproblems with Multiinstallation-System
viewtopic.php?f=81&t=6606

Have a nice day
Karl

Hi
I'm on 3.2.2-XFCE-32 Bit and tested the live-usb with a Porteus-XFCE-v3.2.2-x86_64.iso
( md5sum 8d497ab986740be36cde6f0baaa918f6 ) --> onto an USB-thumb drive.
It runs without errors.

...a wild guess..
my system is NOT localized (into german)
if yours is localized, try again (reboot) without the (german) language modules.
e.g. always fresh mode.
(more than once things did not work as expected because of the localization.)
As an example, a script searches for a card but couldn't find it because it was translated into the german word Karte.

EDIT
regarding your Multiinstallation-System Question
I think that you have allowed porteus to write its bootloader
Most likely the bootloader you had before was "grub".
Porteus doesn't use grub, therefore the original grub couldn't get updated but were overwritten.
The usual way is to install porteus without bootloader and add a (porteus) entry in the existing bootloader.
Ed_P is the expert for those entries.

@donald
If the checked string varies depending on locale,
a fixed locale ("C") should be used as following.

*) It is generated from my lack of enough thinking.

function "checkISO()"
of shell script "002-xorg.xzm@/usr/share/live-usb/bin/live-usb"
that is included by "live-usb-3.1-noarch-7" package

===OLD

checkISO()
{
if [ -n "$ISONOCK" ]
then
return 0
fi
file $ISO_FILE | grep -q -e 'ISO 9660 CD-ROM'
}

===NEW

checkISO()
{
if [ -n "$ISONOCK" ]
then
return 0
fi
local SAVE=$LANG
export LANG=C
file $ISO_FILE | grep -q -e 'ISO 9660 CD-ROM'
local RESULT=$?
export LANG=$SAVE
return $RESULT
}

Thanks.

@ neko

Thanks for the code snippet

==> my lack of enough thinking <==
Don't worry, you do a great job...much appreciated.

I think we'll have to wait what waldmattis reports.

Hi.

Thanks god I am a retired person and so have the time (and interest) to spent a lot of time in exploring,
why the installation of Porteus is such a nerve-wrecking thing.

Believe me: in the now two years I tried out a lot of different Linux distros, I have never had to undergo
so silly problems, that I could not resolve myself.
(With one exception: the early KORORA, which is fedora-based)

Today I will upload two screenshots showing installer problems when trying to install Porteus to an USB-stick.
1) Ubuntu Mint 18.1, 64bit
2) Mint LMDE (Debian) 18.1

Oohh, straight now I see, that there is no way to upload screenshots.
So I try to explain, what would to be seen on the screenshots - the original text is in German, so please excuse my bad translation:
ad 1) shows:
The file "Porteus-installer-for-Linux.com" could not be opened:
The coding of the characters could not be identified.
Make sure that you do not try to open a binary file.
Choose a character coding from the dropdown-menue in this window and try again"

ad 2) the window shows "Porteus Installer" as headline
the text is:
The following utilities are required and missing from your system:
sfdisk
Please install necessary packages and run the installer again.
Press Return to close this window...........

Under Windows 7, 64bit:
when I run the porteus-installer-for-windows from drive E: , which is my DVD-device,
the installer defenitely selects E: for installing Porteus. What a nonsense.
No way to change its selection.

What I found working
- Rufus
- Untebootin in latest version
- copying the Porteus files to a USB-device and run the Linux or Windows installer from the USB-device.
Which one depends on what OS is running in the background.
But in all cases you dont get persistence.

So, what to do?
Did I miss (not see) a possibility to upload screenshots?

THX to all of you caring for these problems.

Regards
Karl

a never ending story goes on.

I booted from CD, used gparted to divide a USB-stick into two ext4-partitions:
- 3 GB, labeled "PortRoot"
- 25 GB, labeled "PortHome"

Then (also from CD) Porteusinstaller to install Porteus to the 3GB partition.

Successfull restart from USB-Stick.
Password for Wifi typed in, keyboard changed to german.

Restart from USB:
Porteus remembered the Wifi-password, keyboard layout still US, though in the settings for the keyboard GERMAN is on top of the list.

I downloaded firefox, standard destination folder /tmp/usm
Porteus claims successful download, but the folder /tmp/usm is empty

Restart from USB, the folder /tmp/usm is still empty.
Keyboard types US, although GERMAN is still listed on top.

Now manual correction of system time via "Change date and time" and one click on the arrow upwards to correct the time.

Reboot from USB-stick

Booting hangs endless with error message (==) system config directory "/usr/share/X11/xorg.config.d

What to do?

Regards
Karl

@ waldmattis
Screenshots and more. Please refer here: http://forum.porteus.org/viewtopic.php? ... 070#p52067

Hi Karl

screenshots:
upload the pics to (e.g.) postimage.org,-it's free of charge-, and link here.
depending on the size of the pics they can be displayed directly
or as an enlargeable preview.

ad 1)
The file "Porteus-installer-for-Linux.com" should not be opened but executed.

ad 2)
It is not porteus fault if sfdisk is missing in Mint LMDE

copying the Porteus files to a USB-device and run the Linux or Windows installer
from the USB-device.Which one depends on what OS is running in the background.

That's a correct way to install porteus

keyboard settings

change them in the system settings, not only in the applet..

Hi,
I booted from DVD, started gparted from DVD, partitioned USB-stick fresh
into 2 ext4-partitions
- 4 GB
- the rest

Installed from DVD
restarted from USB: SUCCESS
typed in my Wifi-Password, successfully logged into my wifi.

Restarted from USB
Boot hangs up with error message: INIT: Id "x1" respawning too fast: disabled for 5 minutes.

Was there a testing at all before launching this distro?

Hoping for better news
Karl

@donald
I forgot for LMDE:
Synaptic packagemanager said, that sfdisk was installed.

With I "opened" Linux-installer, I meant "run".

I changed the keyboard layout in the system settings

Delete the other keyboard layouts so that only German remains.

Hi.

Now I am sitting in front of my computer and wait for Porteus to boot from USB-stick.
And every 5 minutes I get another Line saying:

INIT: Id "x1" respawning too fast: disabled for 5 minutes.


So currently I see on my monitor:
INIT: Id "x1" respawning too fast: disabled for 5 minutes.
INIT: Id "x1" respawning too fast: disabled for 5 minutes.
INIT: Id "x1" respawning too fast: disabled for 5 minutes.
INIT: Id "x1" respawning too fast: disabled for 5 minutes.
INIT: Id "x1" respawning too fast: disabled for 5 minutes.

I will reboot now and came back in some time.

waldmattis wrote:Was there a testing at all before launching this distro?

To give an idea of complexity of the task, testing has been going on since 29th February, however distro cannot afford to remain static, and updates from upstream have to be implemented, which then apart from enhancements, also introduce further unknowns, as I understand it.