installing linux from USB?

[Cody]

My point wasn't to place the iso on the drive itself but format the drive, 
then manually extract the files fromt he iso. I don't think any iso program 
such as burn cdcc will see a thumb drive as a burnable device.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kerry Hoath" <kerry at gotss.net>
To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." <speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 12:20 AM
Subject: Re: installing linux from USB?


> Many installers do loop mount an iso off the thumb drive and are 
> configured to do so. Debian's installer can do that, as can Ubuntu's.
>
> They expect to load the kernel and initial ram disk, and then find the 
> rest of the installer after that.
> Usually the kernel is loaded by a boot loader such as syslinux, grub lilo 
> or similar. The boot loader also has to understand and load an initial 
> ramdisk, then once that is all set the installer finds components from 
> there.
> It can pick the files directly up off the thumb drive, however depending 
> what file system you have on the drive depends whether Linux or the Bios 
> can recognize it.
> Whatever file system you use needs to be supported by Linux and preferably 
> support long file names unless you use the .iso file and the installer 
> loop mounts it.
>
>
> Many bioses won't boot a USB drive unless it contains a FAT file system 
> either in floppy mode, (no partition table)
> or on a primary fat partition complete with boot sector and partition 
> table.
> This is the difference between booting USB floppy, and USB HDD support.
> If booting from an USB CDROM it's an eltorato boot and different again.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Cody" <churst35 at verizon.net>
> To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." 
> <speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
> Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 1:24 PM
> Subject: Re: installing linux from USB?
>
>
>> Why burn the iso? just extract the files from the iso and then copy them 
>> onto the drive and boot with it. an iso program is not going to pick up a 
>> USB thumb drive because it is looking for a opticle drive/that is what 
>> those apps are designed to burn on.
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Tyler Littlefield" <tyler at tysdomain.com>
>> To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." 
>> <speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
>> Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2009 11:36 AM
>> Subject: installing linux from USB?
>>
>>
>>> Hello,
>>> Is it possible for me somehow to take an iso and write it to a USB key 
>>> so I can install debian like that? the computer I want deb on has a 
>>> messed up cd drive.
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>
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