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GParted forum → Live Media → Boot gparted-livecd- off usbstick
... when I booted my PC it said "Missing Operating Sysytem"
Hello here.
Had same problem.
Fixed it formatting with the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
Now it boots from the pendrive.
Please tell if it works for you, because mine gets stuck when loading linux. (3 different distros, nearly all possible boot options)
Hmm I am now trying to make a bootable usb stick and I followd all the steps but when i try to boot on it, it says boot error. Only boot error. Pleaze help
Fixed it formatting with the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
Now it boots from the pendrive.
Sure thing : This is the best way to use any usb-key : run the manufacture-builtin-script !
Thx for reporting !
Hmm I am now trying to make a bootable usb stick and I followd all the steps but when i try to boot on it, it says boot error. Only boot error. Pleaze help
Did you try to run the script I built, witch can be run from within linux ? (http://gparted.sourceforge.net/liveusb.php , and exactly there : http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd/s … h.tar.bz2) ?
I can't get it to boot.
I've got a pendrive and a cardreader. Both devices boot from USB fine - when using a premade Live USB image, for example the Debian ones from live.debian.org. It loads the Debian bootloader, displays the Debian logo, and everything. So my machine should be capable to boot from USB (it's brand new too and lets me comfortably select any USB device via a BIOS selection menu).
However, not so much luck with gparted. I followed the steps manually; I tried the set_usb.sh as well. All commands execute fine, i.e. it copies the files executes syslinux, the partition is FAT and bootable and everything. But when trying to boot it, all I get is an empty black screen with a cursor blinking in the upper left corner. If the device was completely un-bootable, it'd display an error message, but the way it looks to me it thinks that it's bootable but doesn't actually do anything.
Any idea what the problem could be here?
Are there perhaps any other USB devices that could cause the trouble?
My own computer can't boot at all with an external USB hard disk connected and powered ON. In the modern computers, some devices are internally connected by usb connections, like card readers, WiFi ports etc. In this case you could try to temporarily disable some of them.
I installed gparted on my usb in windows by doing this.
- copy gparted.dat boot/gparted* syslinux/* to my usb root
- run syslinux.exe -fma F: (f b/c i did a driver hack so my usb drive is a fixed local drive so it can be partioned with in windows and windows can see all the partions on the usb drive)
i pulg in my usb drive and boot from it. every thing loads fine. after i select lang and keyboard i get this error:
root block device is unspecified or not detected.
what do i do to fix that? I didn't change the syslinux.cfg file. so i have root=/dev/ram0 in there.
I have a Memorex Traveldrive 512MB FAT16 partition active with contents of Gparted Clonecd live copied to it. From there I've copied from boot gparted* and everything from isolinux and syslinux to the root directory of the pendrive. I then ran syslinux and noticed that it did create ldlinux.sys however I do not have vmlinuz1 or vmlinuz1.igz but instead remains vmlinuz and gparted.igz. When I boot to the usb pendrive I get the boot prompt with the message that image linux can not be found. I typed vmlinuz and it said it was incorrect or corrupt which I find hard to believe because it comes off a cd that works. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
[bump]
This does not work for me. I freshly formatted a 512mb cruzer micro mounted on E: in windows XP. I extracted the contents of the iso with 7zip. Then I move gparted.dat boot/gparted* syslinux/* into E:.
Then I downloaded syslinux-3.52.tar.bz2, extracted it, went to the win32 sub directory and ran "./syslinux.exe E:" (under cygwin bash). This creates a ldlinux.sys file in E:.
Then I reboot. I checked that USB booting was enabled in the bios, then hit F10 to get to the boot menu. I select "cruzer micro" from the boot menu. All I get is "boot error" and it proceeds to boot XP after a few seconds.
I don't know what to do here. I am not good with windows, which is why I need gparted in the first place. I tried formatting as both fat16 and fat32 and neither worked. I wanted to check the partitions, but XP doesn't seem to come with fdisk (WTF?!?!). What is going on here?
I figured this out. I needed to pass the flags "-ma" to syslinux. You should note this in your howto.
Do you mean check the partitions in the usb stick? Many of them can't be partitioned. Some of the newer ones can be partitioned.
There is usually a special tool to format them, that comes in a mini-cd with the stick, in most cases.
Hello all, I have a few questions about booting gparted from a USB stick...
Background:
I have a 1GB stick I'm turning into a little toolkit... I am able to boot from it using a variety of OS's and different bootloaders, I'm also able to create multiple partitions visible to Windows, and I know the limitations of the target hardware (both my stick and the machines I'll boot). Everything there is groovy. I am from the Windows world, but I'm becoming proficient in Linux quickly, and I use a variety of Linux LiveCD tools already; I just want to have everything on one little stick instead of a book of CD's.
Setup:
I can't (won't) run the syslinux script to install Gparted to my USB drive. I already have GRUB Legacy on there and configured to boot memtest86, a DBAN floppy image, DSLinux, an MS-DOS floppy image, and soon a BartPE install will be booted from a second partition.
I have copied gparted.dat and gparted.igz to /boot/images, and gparted to /boot/kernels, and the /syslinux directory all on my USB drive. My GRUB menu.lst entry looks like this:
kernel /boot/kernels/gparted root=/dev/ram0 init=/linuxrc real_root=/dev/loop0 looptype=squashfs loop=/boot/images/gparted.dat udev dokeymap scandelay=6 cdroot dodmraid nosound docache
initrd /boot/images/gparted.igzIt was copied from the Gparted LiveCD, and I thought I had changed everything I needed to match the paths on my USB drive.
Issue:
When I select that menu option everything looks to be working properly, the kernel loads, devices are found, etc. I make it all the way to where I'm prompted for a keymap and language as expected, then it fires this error "Invalid loop location /boot/images/gparted" and drops me to the shell prompt.
Does anyone have any idea where I went wrong? Thanks in advance.
Sorry for bothering BUT....
1. I know very very very little about Linux
2. I try to get the Gparted LiveCD on my USB stick under Windows and reading div. forums confused me totally 
3. Thanks heaven I found this forum..... 
4. I tried to work according to http://gparted-livecd.tuxfamily.org/
so here my questions.
1. Do I have to format the stick with Linux (I have Knoppix) or is it enough using HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
(who does it become a booting device? MS DOS startdisk?)
2. After this, do I have to copy
gparted.dat
gparted.igz
splash.lss
syslinux.cfg
options.msg
boot.msg
gparted
Bootable Disc (Directory)
GPartedCD (Directory)
into my stick ?
3. And then ?
"(3) UMOUNT the usb stick and execute this command:
syslinux -s /dev/sda1
(imagine sda1 is the partition of your usb key ; but it could be something else such as sdb1."
This is giberisch for me 
What does it mean UMOUNT, and how do I execute this Command under Windows ?
Hope you have patience with me, and can help me... 
Hi All,
[SOLVED]
After much puzzlement at trying to get a USB stick to boot and work with Gparted (creating this in Windows), I got this working.
This info was found on and .
I have combined these instructions for ease of use, and posted on this thread as I was here earlier looking for solutions.
Instructions:
1. Download the Windows 98 system files from HERE. This is a zip file that contains all of the system files that you will need. Create a new folder and extract these files into the folder that you just created. Make sure that you preserve the directory structure.
2. Download the HP USB Disk Format Tool and format the USB flash drive as bootable. This requires the DOS system files downloaded in the previous step.
3. Download the GParted LiveCD iso and use an iso virtual disk tool (WinRAR, ISO Buster, or Alcohol 120% free trial version) to extract files from it (with paths).
4. Copy the following files:
gparted.dat
boot\gparted
boot\gparted.igz
syslinux\*.*
...All to the root of the USB flash drive.
5. Download syslinux (either Windows or linux version); For Windows, extract the syslinux.exe file in the win32 folder to somewhere convenient (e.g. c:\temp).
6. Use syslinux it to make USB flash drive bootable into Linux, open a cmd window:
Go to start menu
Select "run"
in the box, type "cmd", press Enter
cd <to where you put syslinux.exe>
syslinux -ma X:
Where X: is your USB flash drive
7. Reboot, hold F12 (for most motherboards) and select boot from USB Drive.
GParted should now boot.
Big thanks to the original authors, and of course to the authors of Gparted
Moots
ahhaaaa....
First of all THANKS ! :thumbsup:
It means, that the stick is first made DOS-bootable and on top of it Linux-bootable ?
AND, should the "syslinux -ma X:" option, been activated/installed under DOS?
PS. your sylinux link doesn't function. 
It means, that the stick is first made DOS-bootable and on top of it Linux-bootable ?
Yes. Strange, isn't it? I think the only reason we use the HP tool is to tell the stick that it's bootable (the DOS boot files on there are incidental, I think)
AND, should the "syslinux -ma X:" option, been activated/installed under DOS?
I downloaded syslinux.exe for Win32, ran it under XP in a cmd window. I've updated the instructions above to make this step clearer.
PS. your sylinux link doesn't function.
Thanks for the hint. Oops, a trailing slash broke the link, now fixed.
P.S. You're welcome!
OK, now ist clearer, but...
I downloaded syslinux.exe for Win32, ran it under XP
I work at the moment with Vista, its new to me hope it works....
in a cmd window.
äähhhhhmmmm ?:/?
I've updated the instructions above to make this step clearer.
in a cmd window.
cmd = command interpreter, enables you to run text mode commands; as close to running DOS within windows as you'll get. Should run OK in Vista (I'm on XP so can't verify)
How to open a cmd window:
Go to start menu
Select "run"
in the box, type "cmd", press Enter
In black window which appears...do stuff as above
(instructions updated also)
well well well....
its me again....
first of all thanks again but I am afraid that besides my lack of knowledge, my USB stick is defect.
I think I'll try it on a new one, so to be sure here the files and folders I have on my Stick after I followed your instructions step by step:
boot.msg
commnd.comgparted
gparted.dat
gparted.igz
io.sys
ldlinux.sys
msdod.sys
options.msg
splash.lss
syslinux.cfg
I then extracted syslinux-3.54 and copied ONLY syslinux.exe from folder win32 to D:
after running CMD I changed to D: but then....
trying to run syslinux -ma f: I got following massage:
accessing physical drive; Zugriff verweigert
did not successfully update the MBR; continuing...
D:/>I will tell you whether it worked with a new Stick.
On the other side, in case I'll manage running Knoppix 5.1.1 on my Notebook so I can use its Gparted, I think I will leave it...
THANKS again anyhow. :thumbup:
(Zugriff verweigert = access denied)
Hi, I'm trying to use the set_usb.sh script with GParted version 0.3.4-8.
When I run the script I get the following error
set_usb.sh: 27: function: not foundand then it fails. any ideas?
Also, if I follow the steps manually everything seems to work. syslinux executes with no errors, and the following files are on the drive
boot.cat
gparted
gparted.igz
help.msg
memtest86
boot.msg
options.msg
splash.lss
syslinux.cfg
gparted.datHowever, when I try to boot I get the message that "Pen drive exists with no operating system. Remove the drive and insert a system disk."
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