Install FC5 on USB hard drive?

[jdpipe]

Hi all

I have downloaded FC5 test 2 (ie 4.91) and I am trying to install it on my new USB hard drive. With my USB drive connected at the back of my pentium 4 box, I insert the CD-ROM and boot from it, then at the Fedora prompt, I type 'linux expert'. After the couple of lines of "........" stuff, the screen goes black and I see just a flashing underscore in the top left.

I have verified the media is OK, and I have also been able to access the USB drive from windows. Also the Ubuntu 5.10 installer detects it and is able to format it, etc. But I want to run Fedora.

Any suggestions on what the problem here with the FC5 installer could be?

Cheers
JP

EDIT: just to note that I actually have the exact same problems when attempting to use the FC4 install CD. If I have my USB drive plugged in when I switch on, then the installer hangs after the 'vmlinuz.........' thing. If I don't have USB drive plugged in, it works fine but I don't get the option to install to the USB drive.

[borgi2008]

Hello,

i don't think that you can easily install Fedora or any other System on the USB Harddisk because the USB kernel modules must be compiled in the kernel and i think the most distributions don't have it.

Borgi2008

[jdpipe]

Hi borgi

I don't think that's right. I have been able to access my USB hard drive using the ubuntu installer CD in 'rescue mode'. I have also been able to access my hard drive from my current FC4 system afterboot-up -- no changes to kernel were required.

I really think it is just a question of manually configuring your GRUB or INITRD or whatever it is. This is something that should be easily described in a simple HOWTO. There are plenty of examples on the net of people who claim to have done it. But at this stage I remain perplexed.

You know that easy installation to a USB hard drive would be a big marketing point -- and a big plus for people wanting to trial a system without having to erase their old system.

Cheers
JP

[zikade]

Booting from USB-Drives falls apart into to pieces: your BIOS must be able to boot from an USB-Drive and, as you said, your initrd has include the modules for that. I did that once with Ubuntu, worked pretty well.

[jdpipe]

So what do you think is likely to be happening here such that the FC4 and FC5t2 CDs don't boot when USB drive is connected? It should certainly not cause it to hang. Maybe there are some 'secret' options I need to type at the boot prompt?