Linux - GeneralThis Linux forum is for general Linux questions and discussion.
If it is Linux Related and doesn't seem to fit in any other forum then this is the place.
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
I am trying to use YUMI to create multi-bootable USB drive for multiple distros such as Slacko, Knoppix, Tiny Core, Slitaz and etc. I have had success with this before, but I can't seem to get it with my current system. There is a strange element of hardware at play here.
When plugged into USB 2 port, Knoppix and Slacko aren't able to find files required to boot with (puppy_slacko64_6.3.0.sfs for example). With TC and Slitaz, X is never able to start correctly and menu items seem to be missing from Slitaz boot menu. All this comparing to running the iso with a VM.
When plugged into the USB 3 port, Knoppix and Slacko are able to boot, but loose keyboard and/or mouse functionality on desktop. (Also Knoppix seems to be missing its desktop background image compared to running in VM). TC and Slitaz no change.
Everything seems to run better on my wife's laptop. At least Slacko and Knoppix are functional (they are missing some images though), TC and Slitaz still don't want to run X.
I tried Slacko using Grub and Syslinux instead as well. Also tried using the older single distro USB pendrive creator.
YUMI and SARDU were old favorites of mine. I carried one thumb loaded with each of them at all times for AV, recovery, forensics, and fun.
They stopped working for me. I now use the product at www.easy2boot.com almost exclusively. I find it is easier to use, loads properly on more (newer) machines, and works better for my specific mix of live-cd and install images.
Mind you, I would not throw away YUMI. It works for a few things on the rare machine where SARDU and EASY2BOOT have issues! Thumb devices are cheap, and a keychain holster for two or three is small, inexpensive, and handy.
I am looking at Easy2Boot now and it does look promising. Rufus was another old go to for me. Still, it leaves me scratching my head about how USB 3 vs 2 port could even make a difference?
I'd look at a larger usb drive and make real installs but www.pendrivelinux.com was the place for some good live to usb information. You may have already been there.
When usb 3 came out, almost no distro's had support for it. Not sure what you are running but most current distros support some or most usb 3 controllers.
What I always do is boot to bios and see that the usb is shown correctly in hard drive order.
As part of the project (old one died) I just got a 32GB. I think pendrivelinux is where YUMI lives, if I recall correctly. If you mean install into the USB multiple distrust as if it were just a hard drive? With lots of partitions? One thing I need is win7 installer, so not sure if that would work.
Edit: forgot to mention; I didn't even intentionally try to use the USB 3 port, I just happened to leave it in there the first time after loading.
Well, Easy2Boot has helped a little bit so I guess I'm getting somewhere. TinyCore now works perfectly. Slitaz menus look correct, still no X desktop (I guess X works, but not the desktop?). Slacko still has the same issue (including differences with different USB ports). Haven't tried the others.
Edit: was also able to find out slacko startup has lots of "device descriptor read/64, error -32" and "unable to enumerate USB device" errors
I suspect a loader versus how the data/drive is viewed in bios issue.
Exactly what I was thinking. Both YUMI and SARDU unpack the ISOs into load trees. Loading multiple files and blocks from these could be more vulnerable to read issues than the ISO load easy2boot uses which drops it down to one (or two) small load(s) and one big one.
I suspect a major factor is also how well the guest OS image handles the hardware once it is loaded. Most modern live-cd and live-usb images handle hardware well, but many older ones do not. We sometimes forget just how fast things have improved in the OSS and Linux ecosystems!
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.