hi
i have installed several distros on usb pendrive devices and they were bootable (they were : boot and iba flags),
i have an old broken screen 4 gb mp3 player that i wish to use as a portable linux distro.

i did the same installing steps as i did with the usb pendrive devices and tried several distros (pclos minime 2008, ubuntu 8.10) but the mp3 player is not recognized by the computer as bootable, even when i press F12 in order to see the boot menu, the mp3 player is not seen.

on the contrary, when i use a pendrive device it is being seen in the boot menu.

i am almost sure that it is something within the mp3 player's software as i never had this problem with normal pendrives, but i am not an expert in software so i can not even imagine how to figure it out.

p.s.

the mp3 player is recognized threw My Computer in xp and threw storage device in linux and i can move files into and out of it.

Maybe it's the firmware in the device preventing it from working the way you want. Have you done a google search to see if it has ever been done (or even possible to do it) with that model/brand?

Nexus, thanks for the answer....
well, i have been googling for more than an hour and did not find a thing.
actually, i did not google the word "firmware" as i don't know what it means (i'm from israel, hebrew speaker....lol)
generally it is from the cheapest mp3 players models it looks like a finger, plays mp3/wav etc...., can use for moving files as an usb mass storage device.
if you can help me to figure out the relevant details of this creature i will be gratefull.
i have winxp machine and linux machine (so choose the commands/way to get this info from the player)

more info :

my boot menu has the following options (in this order):

usb storage stick
(this is how it recognizes my sundisk cruzer crossfire 512 mb)
usb hard drive
(this is how it recognizes my sundisk cruzer crossfire 4 gb )
removable device
cd-rom/dvd-rom
sata hard drive
boot to lan

lot's of thanks ahead
doronb

This link will clarify what firmware is in computing terms: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmware. As for getting information on your device, simply plug it in, then open a terminal/console session and type this:If you get 'command not found' try:I'll break down what this command will do (I might as well teach while I preach )

lsusb - lsusb is a utility for displaying information about USB buses in the system and the devices connected to them.

-vv - makes the output very detailed.

> - is used to redirect the output.

In this case I am telling the computer to redirect the output (result) of lsusb to a file named usb_devices_info (which will automatically be created) instead of to the screen. You will find this newly created file in your /home/username folder where you can now open it up and read through at your leisure.

It doesn't answer your question on booting from the device, but you will now have a lot more info about the device to research on.

well, thnx nexus, i have learned something new today thanks 2u.

(1) i stared for a while in the output file and i think that i know which output is about my mp3 player, it is written below in blue color.

(2) i also googled some more and found that my player is called S1 mp3 player and found a site that deals with these beautiful chinese creatures. it explains a lot about the firmware but now i am definitely ignorant and can't figure out if it is possible to get my goal.

so, i am asking from u that if u understand this firmware issue, and can donate a minute from your time, please have a look at this link, u probably gon'a find in seconds the right hint about the possibility (or not) to make it bootable.
here's the link : http://www.s1mp3.org/en/docs_advanceduguide.php

lots of thanks
doronb

p.s.
here's the output from the usb_devices_info file :

*** it says that it is a 2gb mp4 but it is actually 4 gb mp3 (?????#$%^&????) ***

Bus 002 Device 004: ID 10d6:1101 Actions Semiconductor Co., Ltd D-Wave 2GB MP4 Player
Device Descriptor:
bLength 18
bDescriptorType 1
bcdUSB 2.00
bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level)
bDeviceSubClass 0
bDeviceProtocol 0
bMaxPacketSize0 64
idVendor 0x10d6 Actions Semiconductor Co., Ltd
idProduct 0x1101 D-Wave 2GB MP4 Player
bcdDevice 1.00
iManufacturer 0
iProduct 1 USB 2.0(HS) Flash Disk
iSerial 2 A00000600001
bNumConfigurations 1
Configuration Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 2
wTotalLength 32
bNumInterfaces 1
bConfigurationValue 1
iConfiguration 0
bmAttributes 0x80
(Bus Powered)
MaxPower 500mA
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 0
bAlternateSetting 0
bNumEndpoints 2
bInterfaceClass 8 Mass Storage
bInterfaceSubClass 5 SFF-8070i
bInterfaceProtocol 80
iInterface 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x01 EP 1 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x82 EP 2 IN
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Device Qualifier (for other device speed):
bLength 10
bDescriptorType 6
bcdUSB 2.00
bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level)
bDeviceSubClass 0
bDeviceProtocol 0
bMaxPacketSize0 64
bNumConfigurations 1
Device Status: 0x0000
(Bus Powered)

Judging by what I read on that site, I'm leaning towards it not being possible. However there is a way to clear this up, on that same site is and email address (I presume of the person who wrote about flashing the firmware), I would advise you send him an email and ask him not only if it is possible to boot from this device, but also if he can point you to any resources/online help.

In case you can't find the email address it's: ian <dot> hawdon <at> gmail <dot> com

thnx,
i'll do it today
doronb

The MP3 player is just a mass storage device, so it's probably you BIOS that isn't picking it up properly.

Problem is, most MP3 players still run at USB 1.1 speed (of the top of my head, that's about 11mbs) which is not fast! The best thing you can do it to actually buy a USB stick that does run at USB 2.0 speed

thanx ian,
it's indeed not a problem to buy another disk-on-key, the issue is that i already have this not usefull player on the shelf and this curiosity buzz (you must know it.... ;-)

i thought that this mp3 player is a usb 2.0 according to the following lines :

a quote from the above output :

.
.
.
bcdUSB 2.00
.
.
iProduct 1 USB 2.0(HS) Flash Disk
.
.


am i so wrong ?
if so, i will use it just as a mean to move files..... ;-(

but thnx 4 the reply anyway
doronb

If it's an S1MP3 player, and the firmware is 9.X.XX then yes, it is a high speed USB 2.0

If it's a 3.X.XX firmware, the player is running at USB 2.0 Full Speed which is really USB 1.1 speed!

As USB booting is still fairly new, maybe your BIOS isn't recognising the player as a Mass Storage device, an upgrade MIGHT fix this, but upgrading your BIOS is very risky!

Never be too sure about your memory size either, the only true way to check is to open your player, locate the NAND chip, and get the true size from the part number:

http://s1mp3.org/en/docs_hwspecs.php#flash

What it doesn't say is that K9xBGxxxxx is a 32Gb (GigaBit) = 4096MB (MegaByte) Samsung

I don't know what the Hynix number would be, but the data sheets should tell you

ok, thnx
i quit,
it seems way more exausting task for a person in exams "vacation",
i even don't know how to find my firmware #####
so, i will use it as a simple mass storage device and boot from my sandisk cruzer sticks.
but thnx for the help and time
doronb

I'm wondering if this utility from Lexar might work??

http://www.pendriveapps.com/2008/05/...edia-bit-tool/

Goog

it shouldn't be necessary to make it look like a fixed disc, I still think it's a BIOS issue is not recognising the Actions chip as a bootable device... maybe this is by design!