Unable to boot to USB

[Domaris]

Hi! I've used the TinyMe LIVE cd for a little bit and I really like it. I've installed it on a 1GB USB flash drive without any problems, except I can't boot to it from my laptop

This is what I get when I try to boot from USB:

Code:

RAMDISK: Couldn't find valid RAM disk image starting at 0.
VFS: Cannot open root device sda1 or unknown-block(0,0)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)

^^ I've instaleld Xubuntu on a USB flash drive before and had to mess with the /boot/grub/menu.lst file in order to make it boot from USB, so I tried both hd(0,0) and hd(1,0) in this file, nothing worked.

How can I fix this? Thanks a lot

[manuelf]

Hi,

I have exactly the same problem.
The grub loader finds the vmlinux and initrd, but when the kernel tries to mount the root device it fails.
Looking at the output it seems to me, that the TinyME kernell has no proper USB drive support compiled in. So it doesn't find my USB Stick and therefore can't mount the root fs. Could this be the case?
If so - is there a tinyME kernel available that supports this (cause I like TinyME from first impression a lot!)

Sidenote: I was able to get this USB boot working on the same hardware with debian 40r5 kernel.

Bye
Manuel

[shade66]

:o exactly same problem fo me:

normal boot freeze at splashscreen,

safe boot says:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RAMDISK: Couldn't find valid RAM disk image starting at 0.
VFS: Cannot open root device sda2 or unknown-block(0,0)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

any have workaround?  ???

[Mel Byrne]

I tried a full install of TinyMe to a 4GB USB drive and ended up with the same result. I know this problem probably has to do with the USB device name in my boot configuration.

The correct answer might be "die Noob!", "RTFM" or "just re-compile the kernel", but I'm sure there's something simpler.  Could I prevail upon someone to share a known answer for this problem?

[KDulcimer]

What I do to install TinyMe to a USB drive is use the tutorial at http://www.pendrivelinux.com to install PCLinuxOS MiniMe to a USB drive, then use XArchiver to extract the TinyMe ISO. I then copy the TinyMe over the MiniMe files on the drive.

[sanmik]

[quote author=KDulcimer link=topic=133.msg2853#msg2853 date=1237866264]
What I do to install TinyMe to a USB drive is use the tutorial at http://www.pendrivelinux.com to install PCLinuxOS MiniMe to a USB drive, then use XArchiver to extract the TinyMe ISO. I then copy the TinyMe over the MiniMe files on the drive.
[/quote]


Do you then have a persistent TinyMe?

[KDulcimer]

It works the same as a LiveCD.

[forpeterssake]

[quote author=KDulcimer link=topic=133.msg2879#msg2879 date=1238041777]
It works the same as a LiveCD.
[/quote]

Can you then follow steps similar to the USB Pen Drive Linux instructions to get a persistent install?

[Mel Byrne]

After evaluating several different distros, I really think TinyMe comes up to the top of the heap. I am a real fan of PC-LinuxOS, as I have used successfully used it along with Open Office on laptop in an MS Windows world -- and no one was any the wiser!  You can't get much better than that, IMHO. ;D

I have the following usage scenarios:

1)  3 out of 4 computers at my house have hard-drive controller that have failed. This also means that the CD-ROM controller is dodgy at best, totally failed at worst.  Solution: Linux on a bootable USB stick

2)  Going to work at a client site often means you have to wait for days or weeks before you receive a login ID and password for the company Windoze machines.  In the meantime, you have to be productive. Solution:  Linux on a bootable USB stick. Often you can get internet access, so your webmail and any Web-based apps (e.g. Gliffy, Zoho) are available, meaning you can be productive instead of sitting on your hands

3)  My kids at the local primary school have limited access to the new machines in the computer room at school, however many classrooms have the "old" PCs.  Viruses and other nasties aside, kids don't always orient well to an unfamiliar desktop environment.  Solution:  Linux on a bootable USB stick.  Bring your home-based desktop with you and find your files exactly where you left them (probably in "my-documents").


TinyMe, with the Copy2Ram option, works well in all these situations. However I have had difficulties in creating a bootable USB stick and persisting any changes (such as installing a program via Synaptic) to the memory stick.  I have used the "MiniMe" USB install instructions shown at pendrivelinux.com, however without success.  I have played around with Super GRUB, unetbootin-windows-319.exe and the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool.  I did once manage to create a bootable stick, but in trying to modify it for persistent storage, I seem to have stuffed the Master Boot Record.

Two questions: ???

1.  Is it possible to use the Fedora 9 LiveUSB Creator with TinyMe?  I haven't found anything as yet that is so simple, but still works everytime (for me, anyway). If I were TinyMe's 'Product Marketing Manager', I'd suggest a "Live USB creator for Idiots" or something similar. Modify the Fedora 9 package perhaps?  When our own computer has gone down, our options to use someone else's computer are usually limited.

2.  Is it possible to use TinyMe's "Install TinyMe" program on the desktop to perform a full hard-disk type install on USB flash media?  Given that there are heaps of very large USB drives available at the moment, it *seems* logical that the Draklive install process would be the same whether you had a 1TB Western Digital USB hard drive, or a 4 GB SanDisk USB flash drive -- media reliability notwithstanding. But if TinyMe runs with Copy2Ram and Swap is configured for a RAM disk as well, wouldn't that work, without overstressing the flash drive?


Props to KDulcimer for all the good work so far.
Thanks for reading.