Arch Linux 2012 does not boot from flash media

drinkeru · 02-05-2015, 06:28 PM

Hi.
I am trying to install archlinuxarm-13-06-2012.img on a micro SD card. I have followed the tutorial on http://www.instructables.com/id/Rasp...ing-ArchLinux/ to install the OS on the card however when i restarted my machine all i seen was a blinking cursor but that was it. No menu option no nothing.

Then I thought, maybe I didn't do it properly, so I have installed arch linux on a 8 GB usb stick but the result was the same as it was for the sd card. I have tried various software to install the OS on the USB stick : USBwrite and Win32Imager.

I have read some online stuff..but the information is quite varied and I'm running out of time.

Any help please?

Soadyheid · 02-06-2015, 10:59 AM

Quote:

I have installed arch linux on a 8 GB usb stick

I thought the Raspberry Pi could only boot from the SD card, not a USB drive.
Silly question... I assume you have the model B+? (MicroSD)

Play Bonny!

drinkeru · 02-06-2015, 09:59 PM

yes it is the model B+.

drinkeru · 02-18-2015, 10:56 AM

Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Basically I have used WinDiskImager and UnetBootin to install the Arch image on the SD card but when I boot I only get the flickering line no cmd line no menu nothing. I have tried installing the OS on a USB stick and it did manage to boot though. But I did the same process for the Micro Card, nothing. I have used a USB like adaptor for the MicroSD card, set the BIOS settings to boot from the USB. The USB adaptor with the micro SD card acts as any other USB with an OS on it right ?

Soadyheid · 02-19-2015, 09:30 AM

Sorry to ask a silly question, you're booting the SD card in the Raspberry Pi, not your Windows PC? Am I correct?

I ask as you mention trying to boot from a USB port:

Quote:

...set the BIOS settings to boot from the USB.

As far as I understand, there is no BIOS on a Raspberry Pi!

You won't be able to boot an ARM Linux install on an x86 Intel/AMD PC, different processor architecture.

Hmmm... You'd probably get the symptoms you're seeing.

Play Bonny!

michaelk · 02-19-2015, 09:58 AM

I would try the latest image file from the Arch website and verify the download was successful using the MD5 sum. Using the current version the given instructions for setting up networking might be a bit out of date.

http://os.archlinuxarm.org/os/
http://archlinuxarm.org/os/ArchLinux...-latest.tar.gz

The ARM image file is incompatible with a desktop PC i.e x86-64. You can transfer the image using the above utilities but it will not boot on a normal desktop computer.

Germany_chris · 02-21-2015, 04:50 AM

dd bs=4M if=/path/to/archlinux.iso of=/dev/sdx && sync

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php...allation_media

If you're going to use that old of an .iso you going to have to play in you pacman.conf to get your certs and keyrings all organized before you do anything other than the pacstrap. I'd also suggest that Arch probably isn't for you since you avoided the Arch wiki which will have 99% of your answers.

drinkeru · 02-21-2015, 03:30 PM

Thank you all for the feedback.

@Soadyheid,michaelk,Germany_chris
- I have tried both the Raspberry Pi and a Windows Laptop.At one point I thought there might an installation issue that is why I installed the OS on a usb stick and tried it out. When trying to boot from the Pi I think I experienced cable issues [no cable detect; no signal( i am investigating these config.txt issue on the 2012 however am not sure what the configure file is on the 2015 version )] so then I thought I should try it on my laptop and see if it works. I didn't think about architecture because the latest version or arch (2015) provides a menu and boot options: x86_64 , arm, reboot etc.
- I have considered the newer versions of arch linux and have tried the same things; installed it on SD media put in the connected Pi connected it, didn't work. Checked to see if the OS installed correctly by using a micro SD adaptor on my laptop, booted up and the OS works fine. The problem is I am trying to build/configure an IDS by following the earlier mentioned tutorial in which the author has used 2012 arch. Im thinking it will take me more time to build, some compatibility issues might arise etc. I could carry on with this version however I had trouble encountering the equivalent of arch_2012's config.txt file.
- I have checked that website out and did follow some of its guidelines but yes I am very new to the arch linux.I fail to see pacman.conf on the 2012 install: I have arm128_start.elf, arm102_start.elf, arm224_start.elf, bootcode.bin, cmdline.txt, config.txt, copying.linux, kernel.img, kernel_cutdown.img, kernel_emergency.img, LICENCE.broadcom, loader.bin and start.elf.

I also thank you all for your time and patience.