DSL on USB Pendrive

satimis · 02-28-2006, 11:05 AM

Hi folks,

dsl-2.2b

My PC can support both USB-ZIP and USB-HDD booting. I did the installation from LiveCD which is running without problem.

First I tried installing USB-ZIP without success. Nothing has been installed.

Then I tried installing USB-HDD.

Booting method - vga=normal (also tried "toram")
other language only hit [ENTER]

Installation completed without complaint. On checking after mounting the Flash Drive (pendrive);

# ls -l /mnt/sda1

Code:

total 1856
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root   2048 Mar  1  2006 boot.cat
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root    119 Mar  1  2006 boot.msg
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root   1592 Mar  1  2006 f2
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root   1595 Mar  1  2006 f3
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root    256 Mar  1  2006 german.kbd
dr-xr-xr-x  2 root root   8192 Mar  1  2006 knoppix
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root 994807 Mar  1  2006 linux24
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root  33780 Mar  1  2006 logo.16
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root 802165 Mar  1  2006 minirt24.gz
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root root   2709 Mar  1  2006 syslinux.cfg

But the pendrive failed to boot.

Where can I find the installation maunual? Only a short description was found on FAQ.

TIA

Also I doubt whether the Avixe Platinum Drive which I'm running can boot. How can I check it?

B.R.
satimis

pljvaldez · 02-28-2006, 12:05 PM

What errors are you getting on boot?

satimis · 02-28-2006, 07:43 PM

Hi pljvaldez,

No error indicated, just can't boot DSL on the USB pendrive.

I selected following booting sequency on my PC;

1st boot - USB-HDD
2nd boot - CDROM (I have no CD on it)
3rd boot - HD-0

It booted HD-0. I have FC3 running on HD-0. For such reason I doubt whether Avixe, the USB Flash Drive, supports booting.

Tks

B.R.
satimis

satimis · 02-28-2006, 08:32 PM

Hi pljvaldez,

I got it done, by reinstalling it as USB-ZIP. This time I succeeded.

DSL is now running on USB pendrive but the speed is a little bid slower.

Avixe Platinum Drive supports;
19MB/sec (read) - max
14MB/sec (write - max

Would installation on USB-HDD have better performance?

I suspect Avixe Platinum Drive can't boot on USB-HDD. Is there any way to check it?

TIA

B.R.
satimis

satinet · 03-01-2006, 07:30 AM

Quote:

DSL is now running on USB pendrive but the speed is a little bid slower.

what are you comparing it to? usb is not that fast to be honest. and 1.1 is really slow.... are you sure it's not 1.1? and it's not in mega bits rather than bytes. even if you have a usb 2 device is will run at 1.1 if the pc only has 1.1 ports...

Unfortunately, the problem with booting DSL from a pen drive is more often related to poor/buggy bios support for usb devices.

conicidentally i was just reading this:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=29963

satimis · 03-01-2006, 10:43 AM

Hi satinet,

Tks for your advice and link.

Quote:

what are you comparing it to?

LiveCD

Quote:

are you sure it's not 1.1?

The Avixe Platinum is USB 2.0

Quote:

..... if the pc only has 1.1 ports...

How to check it?

B.R.
satimis

satinet · 03-03-2006, 08:28 AM

i think you're missing my point.

the "Avixe Platinum is USB 2.0" might be 2.0, but if the ports on the computer are 1.1 then the Pendrive will run at 1.1 speed.

the live cdrom probably has a faster read spead but a slower access time than the pen drive...

guess you need to check your motherboards manual or website to see if it's 1.1 or 2.0.

you can do "lsmod|grep -i usb" and see what that bring....

satimis · 03-03-2006, 08:47 AM

Hi satinet,

Quote:

you need to check your motherboards manual or website to see if it's 1.1 or 2.0.

I'll check whether the manual is still available later. The motherboard is at least 3~4 years old.

Quote:

you can do "lsmod|grep -i usb" and see what that bring....

# lsmod|grep -i usb

Code:

usb_storage            72329  0
scsi_mod              146313  2 sd_mod,usb_storage

Others noted with tks.

satimis

satinet · 03-03-2006, 08:55 AM

do "lsmod |grep -i hci"

if echi doesn't come up you are on usb 1.1 (or more acturatly, linux has detected 1.1)...

satimis · 03-03-2006, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by satinet

do "lsmod |grep -i hci"

if echi doesn't come up you are on usb 1.1 (or more acturatly, linux has detected 1.1)...

# lsmod |grep -i hci

Code:

uhci_hcd               35025  0

What is "uhci_hcd" ? Tks

satimis

satinet · 03-03-2006, 09:04 AM

that means DSL thinks you have usb 1.1.

therefore it will be rather slow...

you need to check that this is what your motherboard really has...

satimis · 03-06-2006, 07:44 PM

Hi satinet,

I found out with "lsmod|grep -i usb" on running FC3. It is USB 1.1.

Either I have to get an USB 2.0 PCI controller or to upgrade the boardboard "2thmax 8KHA" which has been used for sometimes.

Would the performance be better if selecting "toram" on installing DSL 2.2b on USB pendrive?

B.R.
satimis