can't make a bootable liveusb with livecdtools

ganlu · #1 1st October 2009, 06:03 PM

Everything seems fine, but the usb disk can't boot. No error message, just simply can't boot. When I use livecd-iso-to-disk, the process went successfully. I have checked the shasum value of image file, which is cerrect for sure. Anyone help? Thanks.

ryptyde · #2 1st October 2009, 08:33 PM

What version of Fedora are you using when running livcd-tools as there was a problem a while back:

Quote:

If you are running Fedora 9 or 10, be sure to install the latest operating system updates to fix a bug that will render Fedora 11 LiveUSB sticks unbootable. You can use a graphical update tool, or run "yum update" as root.

this was taken from the fedora livecd wiki.

beaker_ · #3 1st October 2009, 08:46 PM

Partition type might be catching you (compatibility). Format it as Fat, as in Fat16.

ryptyde · #4 1st October 2009, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beaker_

Partition type might be catching you (compatibility). Format it as Fat, as in Fat16.

You can use FAT32 also if you plan on using a persistent overlay >2GB.

beaker_ · #5 1st October 2009, 09:05 PM

Yeah but some, mostly older, machines wont pull themselves up. FAT16 often boots where FAT32 won't.

ganlu · #6 2nd October 2009, 06:39 PM

Sorry not to list my configuration firstly, I am running Fedora 11 with the lastest updates, and the format of my usb disk is FAT 32, FAT 16 can't support > 2G partition if I don't make mistake.

JEO · #7 2nd October 2009, 07:17 PM

Check to make sure that the fat32 partition has the boot flag set "on" (windows calls this making the partition "active"). It's a common reason why a usb won't try to boot. You can set the boot flag on with parted.

beaker_ · #8 2nd October 2009, 09:53 PM

Um FAT supports up to 4G but JEO makes a good point. Also, gparted is a gui to JEO's reccomendation.

ganlu · #9 3rd October 2009, 04:29 AM

Oh, I have used cfdisk to make sure the partition has been marked "boot", so I guess it's ok, anything could be wrong with livecdtools?

ganlu · #10 3rd October 2009, 04:29 AM

I forgot to mean I am using a ThinkPad T40.

JEO · #11 3rd October 2009, 06:45 AM

Since you posted this in Fedora 12 alpha/beta section, I take it you are trying to install that version using a live usb?

You might retry the installation using Fedora 11 live cd image to create your live usb just to see if that boots, which would point to a F12 bug if F11 works.

ganlu · #12 3rd October 2009, 08:01 AM

Yes, I am tring to install F12 Snap 3, I don't have F11 live image at hand, downloading this takes some time, so I maybe wait a while, thank you.

JEO · #13 3rd October 2009, 10:02 AM

Since you have F12 snapshot 3 I recommend you try burning it to a cd first, boot the cd and run the livecd-iso-to-disk from the /mnt/live/LiveOS directory. That way you are using the F12 snap 3 tools. Running the F11 script and tools on an F12 cd might be the problem.

#14 6th October 2009, 07:15 PM

I made my LiveUSB with this;

Code:

dd if=kde-x86_64-20091002.15.iso of=/dev/sdb

ganlu · #15 11th October 2009, 07:48 AM

Tried, Grub boot showed, then got a kernel panic, a little better than nothing happens. Wait for the beta release, thanks everyone.