UNSOLVED - Remaster on usb stick gives "boot error"

[Maurice]

Maurice

You can go ahead with the m but then you will see the a you need to use next, I was saving steps.   

Got you.

[root@localhost ~]#
fdisk /dev/sdb

Command (m for help): a
Partition number (1-4): 1

Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.

WARNING: Re-reading the partition table failed with error 16: Device or resource busy.
The kernel still uses the old table. The new table will be used at
the next reboot or after you run partprobe( or kpartx(
Syncing disks.
[root@localhost ~]# q
-bash: q: command not found

fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sdb: 16.0 GB, 16039018496 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1949 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: 0x0009869e

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *        2048     2136644     1067298+   6  FAT16
/dev/sdb2         2136645    31310684    14587020   83  Linux

[wedgetail]

Maurice

Did notice the errorr message, bothers me as I don't get that but I have another stick.

Now leave the USB key inserted and try to boot.

I am doing some calculation, have you tried the reboot, it should be fine to try

[Just17]

OK Reinstalled Minime with LUC with the same results as before

DG33FB ---- Not a bootable disk
DELL      ---- Booted successfully

Good morning  

That is good news ......  it means you are now back to a stable working condition we have a grasp of.

Maybe adding the boot flag to the first partition, which you have done, will allow this to boot in the DG33FB.

If not then the unused first partition can be changed a little with KDE Partition Manager to hopefully allow it to boot.

Awaiting the report on the attempted boot in the DG33FB before anything else is done.

[Maurice]

Maurice

Did notice the errorr message, bothers me as I don't get that but I have another stick.

Now leave the USB key inserted and try to boot.

I am doing some calculation, have you tried the reboot, it should be fine to try

I rebooted on DG33FB but got same error message - Not a bootable disk

[wedgetail]

Maurice

Some work I have been doing here indicated that this would be a likely outcome.  The shortcut route I had you take was in the hope we could have avoided partitionmanager but it is on again. 

We need to know if you can get partitionmanager to work, that is the KDE Partitionmanager.

[melodie]

Hi,
I lost part of the thread : is the ISO made by Maurice working ? Could he start it in Virtualbox or mount it on loop ?

[Maurice]

Maurice

Some work I have been doing here indicated that this would be a likely outcome.  The shortcut route I had you take was in the hope we could have avoided partitionmanager but it is on again. 

We need to know if you can get partitionmanager to work, that is the KDE Partitionmanager.

Yes, it works. I often use it instead of gparted.

[wedgetail]

Maurice

Fine, we now need to use a mixture of programs to start over again.  This will follow Just18 in post 110.

1.. With KDE Delete your existing two partitions (to get access to the New Partition button in top line)
2.. Make two new partitions I think it was 100 MB FAT16 suggested and the rest ext3
3.. you do not format with KDE at this stage
4.. Leave KDE
5.. For my calculations please do a fdisk-l here and post
6.. Now use PCC to format the two partitions FAT16 and ext3
7.. Then carry on with installing minime.iso again
9.. When finished you check that the USB key works in the DELL820, if not just stop
10.. Try in DG33FB

Melodie
The ISO is fine, it is a geometry layout in the USB that keeps changing in my opinion for one thing. I do not understand yet how the USB is perceived in his BIOS either.  

Added:
You may or may not have seen that what we thought was an original KDE-mini iso freshly downloaded version that Maurice was struggling with it seems rather early on he replaced this with his KDE full size, I was on the watch out but did not notice. 

[Maurice]

Maurice

Fine, we now need to use a mixture of programs to start over again.  This will follow Just18 in post 110.

1.. With KDE Delete your existing two partitions (to get access to the New Partition button in top line)
2.. Make two new partitions I think it was 100 MB FAT16 suggested and the rest ext3
3.. you do not format with KDE at this stage
4.. Leave KDE
5.. For my calculations please do a fdisk-l here and post
6.. Now use PCC to format the two partitions FAT16 and ext3
7.. Then carry on with installing minime.iso again
9.. When finished you check that the USB key works in the DELL820, if not just stop
10.. Try in DG33FB

fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sdb: 16.0 GB, 16039018496 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1949 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: 0x0009869e

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1              63     2216969     1108453+  83  Linux
/dev/sdb2         2216970    31310684    14546857+  83  Linux

Now doing the LUC

[wedgetail]

Maurice

My prediction is it will fail, but I hope I am wrong.

In any case I would like you to do a cfdisk in a root konsole

cfdisk /dev/sdb

It will look something like this

                                 cfdisk (util-linux-ng 2.18)

                                      Disk Drive: /dev/sdc
                                Size: 4005560320 bytes, 4005 MB
                      Heads: 255   Sectors per Track: 63   Cylinders: 486

    Name           Flags        Part Type    FS Type             [Label]           Size (MB)
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    sdc1                         Primary     ext3                [problem]           3997.49

This is just for me.
It is a test when the geometry of the USB is too far out of whack it will fail. Your USB key is not but the size is 4 times what I have to test. I am expecting it will work fine, just copy/paste but you can skip the bottom part.

[Maurice]

Maurice

My prediction is it will fail, but I hope I am wrong.

In any case I would like you to do a cfdisk in a root konsole

cfdisk /dev/sdb

It will look something like this

                                 cfdisk (util-linux-ng 2.18)

                                      Disk Drive: /dev/sdc
                                Size: 4005560320 bytes, 4005 MB
                      Heads: 255   Sectors per Track: 63   Cylinders: 486

    Name           Flags        Part Type    FS Type             [Label]           Size (MB)
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    sdc1                         Primary     ext3                [problem]           3997.49

This is just for me.
It is a test when the geometry of the USB is too far out of whack it will fail. Your USB key is not but the size is 4 times what I have to test. I am expecting it will work fine, just copy/paste but you can skip the bottom part.

Your prediction was correct
DELL -- worked
33FB --  Not a bootable disk

 cfdisk (util-linux-ng 2.18)

                             Disk Drive: /dev/sdb
                       Size: 16039018496 bytes, 16.0 GB
             Heads: 255   Sectors per Track: 63   Cylinders: 1949

   Name        Flags      Part Type  FS Type         [Label]        Size (MB)
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   sdb1                    Primary   vfat                             1135.09
   sdb2                    Primary   ext3                            14895.99

[Just17]

No boot flag that time 

[wedgetail]

Maurice

On this USB install, we just need to make sure it has the boot flag.  This does not destroy anything.

root konsole fdisk /dev/sdb

don't use the m, well you can no harm
a
1
w
q

fdisk-l and post so I can see the boot flag has gone up.  Same as you have done before.

Just try and boot the DG33FB.

The next step is to kick the geometry, instructions next post

Edit:
Just18  

[Old-Polack]

Maurice

On this USB install, we just need to make sure it has the boot flag.  This does not destroy anything.

root konsole fdisk /dev/sdb

don't use the m, well you can no harm
a
1
w
q

fdisk-l and post so I can see the boot flag has gone up.  Same as you have done before.

Just try and boot the DG33FB.

The next step is to kick the geometry, instructions next post

Edit:
Just18  

wedgetail:

Why do you repeatedly end that string with the q command. Did you bother to actually read the definitions of the commands?

w   write table to disk and exit

q   quit without saving changes

If the w command has been executed, the fdisk application has already stopped running, after having saved the partition table.

[wedgetail]

Old-Polack

I wondered how long I would get away with it, let us say no I did not know that.  

May I ask you, can you see any reason why the bootflag can have any impact when we know there is a grub on the USB key. I am aware of this seems to have solved problems but struggle to see why.