This is probably yet another tedious topic about installing Slackware (14.1 in this case) on to a computer, from a USB flash drive.

Looking through some of the help files on t'internet, I noted a comment saying that Slackware 14.1 .iso is pre-processed using isolinux so it can be written directly to a usb stick for instance.

Other sources, give a more elaborated (and probably how it should be done if you need to understand things) approach using files such as usbboot.img, extracting iso or using a package tree and other things. These seem related to earlier releases however.

In the past with other distros, I have been able to 'dd' the .iso to the formatted usb device and just boot and install.

Please will someone clear up my mind-melt and confirm if it is possible to write the slack14.1 .iso to the usb (e.g dd if=slack.iso of=/dev/sdb etc..), put the stick in the machine and install from it ?

Or, is it still the more elaborated affair in which case what is the statement about Slack 14.1 and the pre-processed with isolinux etc ?

A few links - the first one seems incomplete and mentions syslinux but not what you do with it before writing the .iso .

http://slackwiki.com/Install_Slackwa...SB_Flash_Drive
http://docs.slackware.com/slackware:install


Thank you for your guidance and comments.

Slackware ISOs are not post-processes, that's right.

Type this:Then insert your USB stick, triple check its device name then run dd.

Alternatively you can use one of the Slint ISOs available here as they are already post-processed.

Details about installation are there.

@Didier


Are you sure?

Because in one of the links I posted (from docs.slackware.com) is the following:

"..Starting with the 14.1 release, Slackware ISO images (both the ones available online as well as the discs sent out from the Slackware store) have been processed using isohybrid. This ..."

Hence my confusion and this thread.

Thank you

No I am not sure, I didn't check recently. Just try to dd the ISO image directly then.

PS But then, the files /isolinux/README.TXT in the file trees of Slackware version 14.1 have not been updated to reflect that change as they still state:PPS In, case you wonder, setting the number of heads to 255 and the number of sectors to 63 (maximum allowed in both cases) is just to prevent having more than 1024 cylinders, not allowed by old BIOS.

@Didier

Thank you. I will explore some more along the lines you advised.

I did try 'dd' the 14.1 iso to a usb before my OP, but it wouldn't boot.

If any one else is able to have a go and see if 'dd' to usb of the 14.1 iso successfully boots to the install process, that would be useful to know.

Thank you for any comments on that.

Well, I just checked and the file slackware-14.1-install-dvd.iso _is_ pre-processed, so I assume that you can't boot off your USB installer for another reason.

1. Is it 32-bit or a 64-bit edition?
2. Did you check the integrity of the ISO with md5sum?
3. Are you sure that your firmware (BIOS or UEFI) is properly set up to boot off an USB drive?

I remind that in case of an UEFI firmware set to boot off an UEFI equipped device only, you should use a 64-bit Slackware 14.1

I've always installed Slackware using a USB stick. dd always worked.

This information doesn't help to solve the OP's issue. You most probably don't the same hardware and firmware.

A little off-topic, but isn't that concern only for BIOSes older than 1998? Is this still an issue?

Not sure about that but at least that prevents to get a warning like:I hope that no one will open the USB stick to count the rotating platters

good day to all

As suggested above, I have verified the Slack 14.1 iso with md5sum after download.

I have tried to install the Slack iso on various machines. The iso is documented on slackware as having been prepared with isolinux so it can be installed directly off a USB flash stick (well that's how I understand it).

It was written to the USB stick using 'dd'. The stick was previously cleared with cfdisk to a partition of type 'b', made bootable and formatted with 'mkfs.vfat -F 32' just to reset it so to speak. Then 'dd' was issued to write it using dd if=slack.iso of=/dev/sd(x) bs=1M .

It failed to boot to install from 3 different machines (one intel, one amd etc all with different specs).

So, I downloaded a Mageia iso and repeated all the above steps. This worked fine.

I'm not sure what to conclude just yet, so I will try download a different Slack iso and try.


Thank you

I'm curious about the system (both hardware and system software) that the OP is working from. Seems like mostly guess work trying to figure out the error message.

EDIT:
I must have been typing when you posted your last. What was the system that gave the cylinders error?

Oh dear, I must apologise for wasting time on this!

I am a first class idiot.

I mounted the iso as a loop device to see what was in it. It turned out to be the source DVD iso !!! arrghhh

I had renamed the files I had downloaded (to make it shorter) and had not realised I was using the wrong one. I am sorry. How embarrassing and deserve to be mocked :-) Feel free.


Lesson learned.

It is completely useless to partition the USB stick with cfdisk and create a file system in this case. My guess is when using the dd command you wrongly wrote to a partition (the one you created) instead of the device itself.

Instead, plug in your USB stick then issue following command (I show also its output in my system):I check that my USB stick is /sdc: it has the right size and is bears the type "disk", not "part". So I issue following command:Replace /dev/sdc with the actual name of your device but not for instance /dev/sdc1.

PS I didn't see your last post before posting. Maybe this can help others.

@Didier

Yes I agree. I was just mentioning I reset it to a formatted working stick so to speak, before trying again.

Thank you for your info in any case. It is not wasted. Sorry for my utterly stupid mistake.