installing linux from USB?

[Tyler Littlefield]

wo, when did I say I wanted to burn an iso to a USB? I was born at night, 
but not last night. I just wanted to get the iso on to the USB somehow.

----- 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 12:27 PM
Subject: Re: installing linux from USB?


> Yes, this is the same thing I've said twice, iso burning apps do not burn 
> to thumb drives only opticle drives. This is what tyler wanted to do and 
> am pointing out that this cannot be done.
> ----- 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 7:40 AM
> Subject: Re: installing linux from USB?
>
>
>> Now i'm really confused. You don't burn an iso to a thumb drive, as a 
>> thumb drive is a USB storage device not a cdrom/dvdrom style device.
>>
>> If you want the files off the .iso onto the thumb drive, you'd have to 
>> loop mount the iso under linux and copy them off, or copy them off under 
>> Windows with daemon tools, virtual drive, power iso etc etc etc.
>>
>> Many installers just let you put the .iso onto the thumb drive along with 
>> the boot loader and initial ram disk.
>> there are automated scripts and programs on www.pendrivelinux.com that 
>> given the correct Linux Iso give you a bootable installer flash drive.
>> This hides the complexity from the user.
>>
>> Of course if you are building these drives from the command-line, you 
>> either follow a guide or use a script.
>>
>> Regards, Kerry.
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- 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 8:04 PM
>> Subject: Re: installing linux from USB?
>>
>>
>>> 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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>>
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