UNSOLVED - Remaster on usb stick gives "boot error"

[Maurice]

I made a remaster of my fully updated PcLinuxos 2011 using Live USB Creator and burned it to a 14gb usb stick but when I try to boot from it I get "Boot Error" with no indication what the error is.

Booting from USB is enabled in bios. Size of the iso is 2.9 gb and the usb partition I made for it is 7gb so no space problem.
 
However, when I looked at the files in the stick I found that the /boot/grub file was empty. I also saw that the theme jpgs in the isolinux file were of the old bull type and not the latest.

Thanks for any help

Maurice

[melodie]

Hi,
I had problems looking a bit like that with usb stick recently, so I reformatted the stick with gparted, and reinstalled the iso on it just after. This solved the problem.

[Maurice]

Hi,
I had problems looking a bit like that with usb stick recently, so I reformatted the stick with gparted, and reinstalled the iso on it just after. This solved the problem.

But how should that have made any difference? I also used gparted to do the partitions.

[Crow]

Maurice, have you tried to burn the remaster again?  Do you have another way to test your iso? I'm considering a fully updated PCLOS.

I've been making several remasters lately and didn't found problems so maybe if you tell us the steps you took to make the remaster we can help.

[Maurice]

Maurice, have you tried to burn the remaster again?  Do you have another way to test your iso? I'm considering a fully updated PCLOS.

I've been making several remasters lately and didn't found problems so maybe if you tell us the steps you took to make the remaster we can help.

Yes, I've tried burning it at least twice, maybe three times, with the same error message.

To make the remaster I partitioned a 14gb usb intp two equal partitions of 7gb each formatted them to fat32 (or ext3- I forget which, but would that make a difference?), then followed the steps as outlined in Live USB Creator.

I don't know how else I can test the remaster. The iso I use is a fully updated Pclos.

However there is something that might be pertinent. Whilst burning the usb the first stage - installing the files (53) took about 1-2 minutes but the next stage - the boot part took 20-30 minutes. That seems far too long to me and that might be where the problem lies?

I've also tried it with netbootin but with that method I get the message that it cannot see the usb device and asks me to format it to fat32. I do this but get the same message over again. Two, three, four times till I got tired with it and went back to Live USB Creator.

[djohnston]

Maurice,

Yes, the filesystem does make a difference. But, the LiveUSB script checks for the existence of ext2,3 or ext4 filesystem. Are you specifying writing GRUB to the MBR when you run the script? Do you delete all the old files before writing to the partition again?

For what it's worth, if you're using the newest script from Synaptic that Just18 wrote, I can tell you it does work correctly. I tested it several different ways on three machines over a three day period. I burned 4 different isos several times, and ended up with 3 isos on my 16GB thumbdrive. I can assure you, the multiboot option also works.

[Maurice]

Maurice,

Yes, the filesystem does make a difference. But, the LiveUSB script checks for the existence of ext2,3 or ext4 filesystem. Are you specifying writing GRUB to the MBR when you run the script? Do you delete all the old files before writing to the partition again?

For what it's worth, if you're using the newest script from Synaptic that Just18 wrote, I can tell you it does work correctly. I tested it several different ways on three machines over a three day period. I burned 4 different isos several times, and ended up with 3 isos on my 16GB thumbdrive. I can assure you, the multiboot option also works.

Well - progress - of a sort ....

I reformatted the usb to ext3 and, yes, specified writing grub to the mbr, deleted the old files.and it actually booted from the usb. I got a menu of 3 items, all similar, chose one, got the start up progress screen, it progressed all the way to the right and then just hung. I gave it 15 minutes or so but it just stayed put. I tried the other menu items with the same result.

But if the file system does matter then why does netbootin specify fat32?

I'm sure it does work properly and it must be something I'm doing - or not doing. But I can't figure out what. After spending a lot of time on it I'm tempted, like others in another thread, to forget it, just backup the stuff I might need and, as cuervo said 'don't sweat the small stuff'.

[wedgetail]

Maurice

Don't let temptation over come you with a nice big USB stick like that  

Plug the stick in and post the result of fdisk -l lower case L of course


Addition:
An after thought, while you have the stick there do parted -l this is not gparted  but plain old parted again of course lower case L this is just a sort of another fdisk exercise

[Maurice]

Maurice

Don't let temptation over come you with a nice big USB stick like that  

Plug the stick in and post the result of fdisk -l lower case L of course


Addition:
An after thought, while you have the stick there do parted -l this is not gparted  but plain old parted again of course lower case L this is just a sort of another fdisk exercise

Well - yes - after all it was a Christmas present from my daughter so maybe I ought to keep trying.

[root@localhost ~]# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sdb: 16.0 GB, 16039018496 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 15296 cylinders, total 31326208 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000654c6

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *          32    14473215     7236592   83  Linux

[root@localhost ~]# parted -l

-bash: parted: command not found

[Just17]

Maurice ........   you have not said whether you are using the latest version of the LiveUSB Creator or not.
That information is significant.
In addition, you have not said what options you chose when doing the install.
Telling us that there are three 'similar' entries on the boot menu is hardly informative.
What are they .....  and did you choose to put them there?

Regarding the filesystem ......  you are informed on the first page that you must have an ext filesystem. That is a requirement .....  it is an open Linux file system, not something that may be patent encumbered from MS.
You could ask why does Netbootin insist on a Microsoft file system to create a LiveUSB on which it cannot put a MS OS.

About the delay ..... when at the grub boot option page press the Esc key and then OK.
Highlight the boot entry you will use, Press the E key, highlight the first line that shows, press the E key again .......  and near the end of the line that shows (scroll to the end using the arrow key), delete the two boot options "quiet" and "splash=silent" ......   press the Enter key and then press the B key to boot the OS.

Doing this will show all the boot lines scrolling up the page, until it comes to a stop.
You can then report the last few lines shown, which might help understand what is happening.

Have you tried booting your remastered ISO by any other means ......  Vbox or CD/DVD?

[Maurice]

Maurice ........   you have not said whether you are using the latest version of the LiveUSB Creator or not.
That information is significant.
In addition, you have not said what options you chose when doing the install.
Telling us that there are three 'similar' entries on the boot menu is hardly informative.
What are they .....  and did you choose to put them there?

Regarding the filesystem ......  you are informed on the first page that you must have an ext filesystem. That is a requirement .....  it is an open Linux file system, not something that may be patent encumbered from MS.
You could ask why does Netbootin insist on a Microsoft file system to create a LiveUSB on which it cannot put a MS OS.

About the delay ..... when at the grub boot option page press the Esc key and then OK.
Highlight the boot entry you will use, Press the E key, highlight the first line that shows, press the E key again .......  and near the end of the line that shows (scroll to the end using the arrow key), delete the two boot options "quiet" and "splash=silent" ......   press the Enter key and then press the B key to boot the OS.

Doing this will show all the boot lines scrolling up the page, until it comes to a stop.
You can then report the last few lines shown, which might help understand what is happening.

Have you tried booting your remastered ISO by any other means ......  Vbox or CD/DVD?

I did state in my first post that my Pclos 2011 is fully updated, however I just checked on synaptic I am using the latest version - 0.9.5.

The 3 menu entries to which you refer were not made during the installation process  but after it was competed and I was booting the usb stick. These menu entries were - kde, which was the name I gave when requested, kde with persistence and kde with copy to ram. And, no I did not choose to put them there - I was not given the choice.

I will try what you suggest re the boot stuff and report back.

No I haven't tried any other method.

[AS]

Maurice ........   you have not said whether you are using the latest version of the LiveUSB Creator or not.
That information is significant.
In addition, you have not said what options you chose when doing the install.
Telling us that there are three 'similar' entries on the boot menu is hardly informative.
What are they .....  and did you choose to put them there?

Regarding the filesystem ......  you are informed on the first page that you must have an ext filesystem. That is a requirement .....  it is an open Linux file system, not something that may be patent encumbered from MS.
You could ask why does Netbootin insist on a Microsoft file system to create a LiveUSB on which it cannot put a MS OS.

About the delay ..... when at the grub boot option page press the Esc key and then OK.
Highlight the boot entry you will use, Press the E key, highlight the first line that shows, press the E key again .......  and near the end of the line that shows (scroll to the end using the arrow key), delete the two boot options "quiet" and "splash=silent" ......   press the Enter key and then press the B key to boot the OS.

Doing this will show all the boot lines scrolling up the page, until it comes to a stop.
You can then report the last few lines shown, which might help understand what is happening.

Have you tried booting your remastered ISO by any other means ......  Vbox or CD/DVD?

I did state in my first post that my Pclos 2011 is fully updated, however I just checked on synaptic I am using the latest version - 0.9.5.

The 3 menu entries to which you refer were not made during the installation process  but after it was competed and I was booting the usb stick. These menu entries were - kde, which was the name I gave when requested, kde with persistence and kde with copy to ram. And, no I did not choose to put them there - I was not given the choice.

I will try what you suggest re the boot stuff and report back.

No I haven't tried any other method.

Maurice,

the latest version of LiveUSB-Creator is 0.9.7.

AS

[Maurice]

I've tried again but got a completely different install setup. Almost as if it were a different program altogether. The last time it set out 3 different stages - 1 install files, 2 fix grub, 3 Finish. It was the 2nd stage that took so long before.

This time the install didn't have 3 stages, just a few queries then a meter that flashed back and forth for some minutes and then reported Finished, remove disk and restart, or wording to that effect.
It put another remaster on the usb with 3 more menu items but that also failed to work.

[melodie]

Hi,
I had problems looking a bit like that with usb stick recently, so I reformatted the stick with gparted, and reinstalled the iso on it just after. This solved the problem.

But how should that have made any difference? I also used gparted to do the partitions.

I would say a file system can get corrupted ? I am not an expert on the matter.... I suppose someone knowing how electronic items can stay healty or get sick would have more answers. Fact : it is sometimes a good solution.

Have you tried your ISO in Virtualbox, to be sure it is good ?

[djohnston]

Maurice,

1) When you run More Applications > Configuration > PVLinuxOS Live USB Creator, what version does it show?
2) How many partitions are on the USB?
3) What are the results of fdisk -l from a terminal as root?
4) What is on the USB drive now that you cannot afford to lose?