[Solved] Instructions fail to produce bootable USB

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phalange
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[Solved] Instructions fail to produce bootable USB

Post#1 by phalange » 22 Jun 2021, 02:31

Hi following the steps here http://www.porteus.org/tutorials/37-ins ... -v-10.html I am able to mount the iso as a loop device, copy the /boot and /porteus dirs to the USB stick (in my case sdb1 formatted ext4), and run the linux script which completes successfully.

But rebooting the laptop and entering the boot menu, the USB is not available as a boot option.

I'm using the v5 rc1 iso currently on the mirror.

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Ed_P
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Instructions fail to produce bootable USB

Post#2 by Ed_P » 22 Jun 2021, 04:56

Hello phalange.

Those steps were written for Porteus 3.? something. Read the USB_INSTALLATION.txt file in the ISO you downloaded.
Ed

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ncmprhnsbl
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Instructions fail to produce bootable USB

Post#3 by ncmprhnsbl » 22 Jun 2021, 08:00

the instructions as described are still pretty much how it's done.. and if the script runs without error, it usually should be good..
phalange wrote:
22 Jun 2021, 02:31
But rebooting the laptop and entering the boot menu, the USB is not available as a boot option.
you're talking about the "bios boot selection menu", accessed by pressing some key?
on my hardware, it shows any USB connected, regardless of whether it's bootable or not.. might not be a standard thing..
presuming you're not using EFI bios?
the Porteus-installer-for-Linux.com script produces /boot/syslinux/ldlinux.sys file .. check to see if that's there..
Forum Rules : https://forum.porteus.org/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=44

phalange
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Instructions fail to produce bootable USB

Post#4 by phalange » 22 Jun 2021, 14:27

Thanks for the responses.
Ed_P wrote:
22 Jun 2021, 04:56
Those steps were written for Porteus 3.? something. Read the USB_INSTALLATION.txt file in the ISO you downloaded.
There's a document called install.txt in /boot/docs but it doesn't differ from the one on the Porteus site.
ncmprhnsbl wrote:
22 Jun 2021, 08:00
you're talking about the "bios boot selection menu", accessed by pressing some key?
on my hardware, it shows any USB connected, regardless of whether it's bootable or not.. might not be a standard thing..
presuming you're not using EFI bios?
the Porteus-installer-for-Linux.com script produces /boot/syslinux/ldlinux.sys file .. check to see if that's there..
Yes, entering the boot menu on the laptop. I tried two devices, one an Asus laptop, the other a Thinkpad 470s.
The Asus ignores USBs that aren't bootable, the TP shows them but simply won't boot.

/boot/syslinux/ldlinux.sys is there.

Yes EFI.


UPDATE, I see the USB_INSTALLATION.txt file now in the EFI folder of the ISO. THat has EFI instruction in it. Testing now.

phalange
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Instructions fail to produce bootable USB

Post#5 by phalange » 22 Jun 2021, 15:01

UPDATE 2

This is still not producing a bootable USB stick.

Steps:
gdisk /dev/sdb
x (expert mode)
z (zap)
o create new gpt
w write

cfdisk /dev/sdb
1 partition of 128GiB (type = microsoft general)

mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/sdb1

mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/hd

mount -o loop /dir/dir/Porteus.iso /mnt/loop

cd /mnt/loop

cp -r {EFI,boot,porteus} /mnt/hd/

cd /mnt/hd/boot

./Porteus_linux_script_name.com
enter ok

reboot

also tried 512MiB partition (sdb1) type=EFI and second partition (sdb2) type=linux
copied EFI and boot to sdb1 and porteus to sdb2
ran script
changed cheat code according to USB_INSTALLATION.txt

Either way, the device is not recognized as bootable.

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Ed_P
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Instructions fail to produce bootable USB

Post#6 by Ed_P » 22 Jun 2021, 15:32

phalange wrote:
22 Jun 2021, 14:27
UPDATE, I see the USB_INSTALLATION.txt file now in the EFI folder of the ISO. THat has EFI instruction in it. Testing now.
There is something wrong with your ISO. This is where the USB_INSTALLATION.txt file is on the ISOs I have.

Code: Select all

guest@porteus:~$ ls -g /mnt/live/mnt/isoloop
total 8
drwxr-xr-x 3 root 2048 May  4  2020 EFI/
-r--r--r-- 1 root 1512 Nov 16  2019 USB_INSTALLATION.txt
drwxr-xr-x 4 root 2048 Jul 13  2020 boot/
dr-xr-xr-x 7 root 2048 Jan 24 09:03 porteus/
guest@porteus:~$ 
It's definitely not in the EFI folder.

Some notes I have for creating an EFI bootable USB drive that may help.

Code: Select all

## Run GParted to partition & format the USB drive with a msdos Partition table.  ##
##  Use GParted's View > Device Information to check Partition Table type.        ##
##  Use GParted's Device > Create Partition Table if Partition Table shows as GPT.##
Ed

phalange
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Instructions fail to produce bootable USB

Post#7 by phalange » 22 Jun 2021, 20:14

Ok, so the issue is that the device was formatted as GPT. Once formatted to MBR the usb was bootable.

Marking solved. Thanks for your help.

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Ed_P
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Instructions fail to produce bootable USB

Post#8 by Ed_P » 22 Jun 2021, 23:53

:good: Good to hear. :)
Ed

ryoschin
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[Solved] Instructions fail to produce bootable USB

Post#9 by ryoschin » 06 Jan 2024, 21:24

I am having the same issue. The script ran successfully, yet when I select the USB as the device to boot from, it boots to the local OS. The Partition table is msdos, while the filesystem is ext4.

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[Solved] Instructions fail to produce bootable USB

Post#10 by Ed_P » 07 Jan 2024, 04:46

Is your pc EFI based? Did you disable the Secure Boot option? Are you booting via grub2? What script are you referring to? Did you check the ISO's USB_INSTILLATION.txt file?
Ed

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