Syslinux - Mar 2017 - "isolinux.bin missing or corrupt" when booting USB flash drive in old PC

On 03/19/2017 11:28 PM, David Christensen via Syslinux
wrote:
> I will try to do an install later, and will report the result.
Booting the USB flash drive I prepared, the Debian installer runs:

Select a language		English

Select your location		United States

Configure the keyboard		American English

Detect and mount CD-ROM

Incorrect CD-ROM detected

The CD-ROM drive contains a CD which cannot be used for installation.

Please insert a suitable CD to continue with the installation.


I tried disconnecting the optical drive -- same result.


So, I guess the first part of the Debian installer is in the initrd.gz I 
copied from 8.7.1-i386-xfce-CD-1.iso to the root of the USB flash drive, 
the rest is somewhere in debian-8.7.1-i386-xfce-CD-1.iso, and I am 
missing whatever tricks are required to invoke the remaining contents of 
debian-8.7.1-i386-xfce-CD-1.iso (?).


Then again, putting an "isohybrid" image on a USB flash drive and
trying
to patch it into working seems back-asswards; I should be building a 
bootable Linux USB flash drive with the Debian installer on it.


Is there a WWW page/ article/ site, printed article/ book, or any other 
document that explains, in technically complete and accurate detail, how 
an i686-era (circa 2003) x86 personal computer boots from a USB device? 
And, how to build a bootable Linux USB flash drive for such a machine?


Should I be asking on the debian-boot or debian-cd mailing lists?


David

Hi,

David Christensen wrote:
> Booting the USB flash drive I prepared, the Debian installer runs:
> [...]
> The CD-ROM drive contains a CD which cannot be used for installation.
Afaik, the software in a Debian ISO looks for particular files to
identify the device with the ISO.
Did you copy the whole file tree of the ISO to the USB stick filesystem ?
Including things like the /.disk directory ?

Well, SYSLINUX did its job of booting.

> Should I be asking on the debian-boot or debian-cd mailing lists?
Yep, debian-cd at lists.debian.org should be the right one.
I'd tell briefly what i did to set up the stick. If i had to equip a .cfg
file with an APPEND instruction which loads Linux, then i would show
that .cfg file.


Have a nice day :)

Thomas

On 03/21/2017 01:14 AM, Thomas Schmitt via Syslinux
wrote:
> Hi,
>
> David Christensen wrote:
>> Booting the USB flash drive I prepared, the Debian installer runs:
>> [...]
>> The CD-ROM drive contains a CD which cannot be used for installation.
>
> Afaik, the software in a Debian ISO looks for particular files to
> identify the device with the ISO.
> Did you copy the whole file tree of the ISO to the USB stick filesystem ?
> Including things like the /.disk directory ?
No.  I interpreted:

https://www.debian.org/releases/jessie/i386/ch04s03.html.en#usb-copy-flexible

If you used an hd-media image, you should now copy the ISO file of a 
Debian ISO image[4] onto the stick. When you are done, unmount the USB 
memory stick (umount /mnt).


As:

# cp -ip 
/mnt/samba/data/dpchrist/iso/debian/8.7.1/i386/debian-8.7.1-i386-xfce-CD-1.iso 
/mnt/usb/.

>> Should I be asking on the debian-boot or debian-cd mailing lists?
>
> Yep, debian-cd at lists.debian.org should be the right one.
> I'd tell briefly what i did to set up the stick. If i had to equip a
.cfg
> file with an APPEND instruction which loads Linux, then i would show
> that .cfg file.
Okay.


David