1 Topic by cmdr

  • cmdr
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  • Registered: 2008-07-30
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Topic: Creating Bootable USB flash drive with script from Live CD

Hi,

of course, there is a way to create a bootable USB stick with "Live USB Helper" program, but wouldn't it be nice to have a tiny bash script ("usb2boot") on EVERY "Gparted Live CD", which

1. converts virtually every USB Stick to a bootable removable "Harddisk" without the help of global players like HP or M$,
2. optimizes CHS values for sticks smaller than 7GiB,
3. needs less files for the booting than "isolinux" or "Grub", but offers much more features (including chainloading of ISO-Images),
4. uses an easy update feature, once the USB stick is created (just download the latest Live CD ISO to its root directory and launch "usb2boot" again. No more burning, no "unpacking" !) ?

Is it a dream ? No, its (almost) reality. I just did some final tests, if it's practicable ... and it worked.
Of course, there is still some "fine tuning" to do (dialogues , fault messages, some code redundancy etc.). Which Linux bootmanager do I use ? Grub4DOS, which could even boot the Live CD (why not ? It's not necessary for my script, but it would offer the feature to start the Live ISO directly - if this would no more be suppressed by "GParted" itself, notabene).

What files do I need ?

1. usb2boot (bash script, uses "dd", "fdisk", "mkdosfs", "Xdialog")
2. grldr.mbr (16-sector bootloader as MBR; doesn't need a bootable Volume Boot Record)
3. grldr (Bootmanager-Kernel; in root directory)
4. menu.lst (Editable menue script; in root directory)
(5.) Splash image(s) for the menue ( optional; separate directory or in "live")

I appreciate your comments !

Kind regards
cmdr

PS: I will give you a link to the script here, as soon as I'm ready with my work.

2 Reply by stevenshiau

  • stevenshiau
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  • Registered: 2008-04-02
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Re: Creating Bootable USB flash drive with script from Live CD

Thanks for your idea. Yes, when the file is ready, please let us know so that we can give it a try.

Steven.

3 Reply by cmdr (edited by cmdr 2009-06-04 23:21:40)

  • cmdr
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  • Registered: 2008-07-30
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Re: Creating Bootable USB flash drive with script from Live CD

Hello,

my baby is born, and here it is !

It's zipped and contains nine files. A "package.lst"  explains their functions and how to test the whole program. All components are there to install it as Desktop icon within "GParted".

My virus protection identifies the main program as dangerous, but I assure you, that there is no
harm with my script. Of course, it erases all former content of your USB Stick, when making it bootable !

I added a further function : mounting / unmounting an USB Stick per mouse click, because all
components were there, and this was very useful on testing the program.

Your experiences with various sticks or failure reports would be very interesting for me.

Kind regards
cmdr

PS: The script code is commented in great detail.