**** small linux

joshd · 09-19-2005, 11:21 AM

im dl'ing a 50MB mini linux distro, but it is a n iso file. how do i put this onto a usb memory stick? i want to make it bootable.

horndude · 09-19-2005, 11:31 AM

mount -o loop -t iso9660 <isofile> <some_directory>

then cd into the directory where you mounted the iso and copy the files to the usb memory stick

you will need some sort of boot loader and I dont think **** small linux will work this way, but you can give it a try

dont forget to unmount the iso with unmount <isofile> with no other options

joshd · 09-19-2005, 12:17 PM

i mounted using alcohol 120, and inside there are just a few folders, so i dont think it would be bootable like that.

how do you make the usb stick bootable in the first place?

horndude · 09-19-2005, 01:32 PM

well if your using windows, make sure you have "view all files" checked in folder options or it might not be showing all the files in **** small linux, although there probably arent very many folders, I would expect DSL would unzip many of them into place during the install process

As far as booting,I dont know any other way to do it other than using a bootloader of some sort, and it would have to have USB support.

http://www.tldp.org

Go there and look up the boot process, theyve got a "how-to" there that describes how linux boots in great detail. Might be a good idea to do some research on embedded linux systems too, caus essentially thats where your going with this.

joshd · 09-19-2005, 02:05 PM

for the several small linux distros i have found, it seem that they all need you to install a bootloader. i dont want to to this, as i will make it difficilt to boot to the usb drive anywhere but home.

is there a distro that will just boot straight off the usb key, whatever comp it is in (if it is set up to boot from usb) without the need for bootloaders?

the thing would hardly be portable if you have to install a bootloader everytime you want to use it on a comp you have not used it with before, would it.

horndude · 09-19-2005, 05:38 PM

Probably, but ive never used one. Try here: http://www.linux.org and look in the distributions section for a USB linux distro.

I know they exist, but its likely to be an embedded style distro with all precompiled binaries and very little sharing of libraries, which is something you can make using an already installed linux system.