mindwave

2. Click on the devices icon on the desktop, open the partition on the stick that holds the base system.

What is the content? How big are the files?

* type mount to see where the partition is mounted, example at: /media/removable

* type: ls -l /mnt/removable

to see the content.

Since I'm booting this on my laptop DEVICES sees my 2 Linux partitions and 2 NTFS partitions of my HD's

It ALSO shows the 1.2GB removavle device

mount from a terminal = /dev/sda1 on /media/disk type vfat (rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime, whelper=hal,flush.uid=500,utf8,shortname=lower)

I tried using Ksnapshot to shoot a screenshot to show you whats on the device per your output request, but that wont open correctly. However other than not showing the rw attributes I am able to plug it into my winbox and shoot THIS screenshot that is here as an attachment:

1. Boot the Live CD without plugged stick, plug it in, wait two seconds, run:

 

su
fdisk -l /dev/sda

 

And post the output here.

I'm going to take these 1 at a time just in case.

heres the output from the above command:

Disk /dev/sda: 8589MB 8589934592bytes

64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 8192 cylinders

Units= cylinders of 2048 * 512 = 1048576 bytes

 

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System

/dev/sda 1 1117 1143792 b w95 FAT32

Realize that the ONLY partition on here right now is the 1.4GB one created to hold the system, I left the rest unpartitioned to leave out any confusion.

But excellent point about it NOT being a 1st stage boot error, I do in fact GET the splash screen and initial text openeing and it does begin processing the OS

OOPS I just read my message and realized the yellow is almost impossible to read and very annoying. sorry, but the error message came up in colors?

here it is again in black:

commands were:

ERROR unable to mount loop file system

losetup /dev/loop0 /initrd/cdrom/livecd.sqfs

mount -r -t squashfs /dev /loop0 /initrdloopfs

I am learning a LOT working with MCNL, and thats always fun. I have working editions so thats always good. However I seem to be perpetually riding the little yellow short bus when it comes to using a new USB stick.

Background.

I have 4 different USB Sticks all working fine (now) with MCNL.

HOwever I JUST bought/received a new 8GB stick from Alcor, that is giving me fits.

Here is what I have tried:

1) booting from a clean toronto disk and going to MCC to create a 800MB fat32 partition. That works fine, use MCNL to create USB, that workks fine'

boot from said flash and get a BOOT ERROR! Thats ok, I've had this before WE know how to fix this (or so I thought)

2) reboot, kill the existing partition, recreate 800mb partition, reboot, open CLI, SU, type dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=1M count=2 everythig SEEMS to work. Go to MCNL, create USB, everything goes smooth. Reboot, then receive the following error (this is a first)

ERROR unable to mount loop file system

commands were:

losetup /dev/loop0 /initrd/cdrom/livecd.sqfs

mount -r -t squashfs /dev /loop0 /initrdloopfs

Dropping you to a linux shell

Then it drops me to a very limited Linux shell.

3) So I kill the partition, try opening a teminal SU, fdisk -l /dev/sda it APPEARS to go well, I recreate the partition, reboot

Start the mcnl menu and reeive the same error as in number 2.

In windows or linux, copying files to and from the stick all seem to work fine, it's getting MCNL to boot thats causing me issues.

But of course any and all information and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

J

Ah yes, I remember those days too. My first site, hosted on angelfire, was made in notepad!

WOW

is angelfire still around?

i remember that, never had a site there....

when all else fails there is always www.linuxant.com

i know a lot of folks using linux HATE paying for stuff, but I found these guys a few years ago and have never looked back.

for ME their installation routine is the easiest, most reliable one out there, and for ME the throughput has always seemed faster than native support OR ndiswrapper, but thats just me.

the thing i REALLY like is that I use it on my laptop, which goes through no LESS than 5 different distros' and Linuxant ties your license to your MAC address, so as long as i continue to use the internal card, its all good@

thanks for the replies and yes i do understand that hand coding is still the best.

and notepad was my best friend for years.

the last surgery i had to remove a plate from my arm has made it so bad as to almost be pointless for me!

thanks guys.

j

Ok,

The last app in my move from won to Linux is a good gui based web page builder.

I maintain 6 different sites and over the years I have used notepad, frontpage, word, coffee cup, hot dog, cold fusion and many many more.

my typing abilities and todays software capabilities make (to me) th idea of hand coding html a really bad idea.

currently i use frontpage and coffecup, but am pretty open minded.

what i LIKE is something that has 1/2 dozen or so, templates, from which to draw ideas, steal code, and the ability to edit existing pages by downloading the .html and working from there.

please anyne who is using such an app i REALLY am looking o make the switch

and honestly i've not spent much time with NVU and that ma be what I'm missing.

any and all ideas are welcome.

Thanks

J

[moved from Software by spinynorman]

I won't argue about the "quiet" part, but the average life of a usb key is *way* smaller than a harddisk- for various reasons.

but is there an 'different' preps that have to be made between a USB key (HARD RAM) and a USB Micro Drive (Spinning Media)?

again i dont know why there WOULD be, it just seems that at one time there was.

j

Hey, your MCNL pain here with what MAY turn out to be a valid question of interest!

I was in Circuit City the other day buying another 2GB drive (hey $19.99 ya cant beat it) I noticed an 8GB USB key that I hadnt seen before .

and at $80 its not a bad price:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Kingston-8G...roductDetail.do

but if its STORAGE size you can get a LOT more lor that same $80.

I KNOW that MCNL will work just fine and dandy on a WD passport USB powered HD:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Western-Dig...roductDetail.do

so i imagine that it will install in a LOT of other USB storage devices.

BUT in the case next to the key i saw this:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung-Ple...roductDetail.do

It's an 8GB "microdrive" apparently it has a physical spinning HD inside (7200RPM's) but is smaller than your keychain.

Now I cant figure out why you want to spend $30 more and buy that over the USB key, but they have been around longer than 8GB keys, so again, not sure of it's advantages. But i DO know that SOME OS's were having issues with them a few months back because it was a HD but not in the "normal" method.

Of course in the same case was a 250GB USB HD, for the same price, BUT it needed an external powersource.

Thoughts, opinions?

J

Aweseom, once again your a life saver.

sad part is i JUST printed this out yesterday for my notes....

getting old is tough.

thanjs

all is well

j

ok, I KNOW i have been through this in the past. senility and old age however prevent me from remembering the fix.

modified toronto remastered it and from the CD works fine.

but i just bought a new Sandisk 2GB Cruiser (with new U3 technology,whatver that is)

wiped the usb, killed the mbr and attempted to install it to the USB.

I partitioned the key w/ 1 partition FAT32 (no option for Fat16)

tried with no 2nd partition and tried to create the 2nd part a 1.3gb EXT3

when i try and boot from the Key i get:

"OPERATING SYSTEM LOADING ERROR"

like i said i know there is a fix, i know its simple, i just cant remember.

BTW, when i did the 1st partition creation through MCC it defaults to "\" and I backspace that out.

any and all assistance is appreciated.

thanks

j

if all else fails try:

http://www.linuxant.com/company/

yes i know you need $20 for a permenant install, but its REALLY well worth it.

I've been using their LAN solution for a few years and LOVE it.

even in distrobutions where I cant get some type of linx support, their driver seems to work better and get me a stringer/faster signal that a normal connection.

the best part is, that of you use multiple distros on the same piece of hardware, you only have to pay for the driver once, its tied to the MAC address of the lan card.

I havent used dial up in years on linux, but they told me the same is true ofr the dial up modems, they authenticate against something else, but it is simething on that modem.

j

I'm getting ready to do a similar thing, and I always perform an "upgrade" installation. It generally makes the experience painless.

This may sound like a silly question.

but did you d a reinstall after you installed the new mmb and cpu?

i'm not familar with your new or old ones (AMD man myself) but i DO know that when i went from a 3GHZ single cpu system to a 3.6GHZ duo core, my XANDROS install worked, but not well.

I even tried X4's "fix" but it wasnt until I did a complete FFR that i was aboe to get really GOOD performence.

and what I found additioonally was that my new MB has significantly less cache than my old one (my fault when i bought it but THAT makes the boot time FOREVER, but once things are up, it rund better than ever.

j

[i promise i promise.

I thought that you specifically chose to use a different name here as opposed to mandrivaclub.nl so as to keep the 2 straight for some reason.

but again, you have me as a fan.

j

Anna, I have used several different versions of mcnl, but last night for the 1st time i did a remaster with Toronto.

EXCELLENTLY DONE.

that is an awesome bit of writing.

its smooth and slick, and most of all, works without thhinking about it!

the only suggestion I would make (have to have at least one dont I?)

and that would be to allow the user to enter an alternate name for the remaster.

I know I know its a minor thing, and I can (and always did) use the CLI and name my own, so i know it can be done, but your GUI scripting is so well done.....

I remaster a LOT and tell the diffeences by the time/date and thats what i use in the titles to my ISO's

but like I said, its a little thing, so i'll quit crying know and keep clapping.

bravo!

As far as I know, this is not an isolated incident regarding Mandriva and their (lack of) customer service. These companies never seem to get the message. It wasn't that long ago when they were in financial trouble, I like many I know heeded the call to assist in whatever way possible, but their poor service drove me away from forking over anymore money. Is it too much to ask for a little attention when as a paying customer I have issues to resolve?? I hope you are successful in getting your issue resolved!

heres what I did, mine was actually a case of a flash dying the day i got it.

look at your recepit email, the one they sent you after you placed your order. in the header text will be the email address of the salesperson who got credited with your order.

be polite, but email that person relentlessly, dont forget your order number etc.

it took 3 emails but I FINA::Y got a response, however I will say it was a fellow user here that helped me.

so if youre interested U2U me and I'll try and help you the same......

sorry to sound like a broken record, and i KNOW some folks hate the pay feature, BUT I would strongly suggest you check out:

http://www.linuxant.com/company/

download the trial if it works, part with the $ for it.

The best part (for me) is that its tied to your MAC address.

I use 5 different OS's on my laptop and ALL of them get to benefit from their driver.

Like you I tried MANY different LAN cards and MANY different methods for installing drivers under ndiswrapper, none of them worked - to my satisfaction.

I DO admit that I have one of them that did load properly BUT my signal is stringer and faster using the linuxant path.

just MY 2 cts

J

I THINK that we are all talkimg about a very similar thing, just taking different approcahes to it.

I think MCNL is a great system and is a great place to start a HD based install its fast stripped down and allows you to "remaster it" after every change making it easy to do a COMPLETE reinstall, apps,setting, everything, a SNAP.

BUT it seems, so far, that each version is a distro unto itself and ca not be upgraded. Which is ok, because the OFFICAL version that you pay $80 fordoesnt have an upgrade path either!

If I could have returned my flash just because i found MCNL, I wold have and sent YOU the $80.

I've learned more from MCNL and its varients in 6 months, than i ever learned from MDV.

I THINK what the general consensus is, is that if you installed Cherborg to your HD and got yourself all nice and comfy, there isnt anyway to install that HD version to DELFT, and maintain everything.

but if that changes....

now tell us more about draklive.......

I am a bit confused by this thread...

To keep your personal settings you should use a separate partition for your home dir. I don't know how it can be done on a USB key but it can be done AFAIK. Though your root partition will be wiped if you install\upgrade from a live cd. So your personal settings will be saved your package selection will not with this method.

Mandriva now sells 4G USB keys and IMHO they can be upgraded.

see now the OFFICAL word from MDV is that the 4GB key can NOT be upgraded "at this time" supposedly they will make an annouoncement when it can

I'm going to use it also for the same reasons that you mention.

I installed it to disk and upgraded to 2007.1 via urpmi.

 

But the mklive script didn't work anymore.

Is it possible to fetch the script from the new version and make it work on the upgraded install?

SMILER, mind giving me a step by step of HOW you were able to do the upgrade?

as i stated, I've tried that before and it failed miserably.

so i must be doing something wrong.

thanks

j

well as the author of the system i'll take your word for it.

now on to MY own experiments!

thanks for everything this really is an awesoome release

Do you mean updating/upgrading the Live system? Running live?

i mean , i have a copy of cherborg installed on a 2gb usb ket and its setup perfectly the way i need it, favorites, mail accounts newgroups etc.

now comes delft.

can i 'easily' update my usb key w/o losing everything i have setup?

ive tried easy urpmi as well as a 1/2 a dozen other suggestions and they all havent worked.

mdv's offical policy is that the 2gb keys THEY sell cant be updated, not enough room.

since mcnl is so streamlined i figure that shouldnt be an issue, but nothing ive treied has worked.

i'm just looking for someone who has beensuccessful, to share their ideas.

Ok,

If you have seen any of my previous posts you know that I use MCNL as my core system for a few reasons. 1) its FAST and streamlined 2) the REMASTERING allows me to create an "Auto Restore CD" for recovery from catestrphic failures 3) I think its a great idea.

I also know a lot of folks disagree with me.

But thats ok, I plod on.

As a plodder, I am trying to write some documentation for a 'class' that I will be teaching.

One thing i would LOVE to include, is a step by step process for updating MCNL from one version to the next.

Now a lot of folks may not feel that the differences between C and D enough to worry about, I think if MCNL is going to be a living distro their will DEFINATELY be a reason for EVERYONE to upgrade in the future.

That being said I have tried MANY, MANY different options of updating my MCNL Cherborg (sp?) to Delft.

I have downloaded the PP DVD, and tried to use that as a resource, that doesnt work, I've tried using DELFT CD as a resource , that doesnt work (but THAT i think i understand). I've tried EASY-URPMI and that LOOKED like it might be working, but i filled up my partition before it completed.

I would LOVE to see anyone who has successfully done an update, without losing your personal user data and installed applications. And if they have the time/patience a step by step.

I REALLY do beloeve in this distro and think that as a small portable solution it has MANY MANY uses and is IDEAL for the class I'm going to teach.

I just KNOW that the upgrade question will arise (as it should) and I'd like to nail that down.

I absolutely have no problems testing,trying and re trying anyones ideas who has a solid idea of what might work.

so please if you have done it, or want to do it, or will do it, please let me know.

thanks

J

Isn't that the same question as your other thread?

So you had a live version of 2007, and installed it. Now you want to upgrade to 2007.1? Just look at any of the upgrading threads in this section. You can either, 1) do everything using urpmi, by using the 2007.1 sources, or 2) get a 2007.1 cd or dvd and use that. It also depends a little bit on whether your 2007.1 cd is another live "One" version, or an install disk.

WOW, thats amazing I have been SO bogged down in testing I had forgotten i even opened the other thread.

actually in another forum it was suggested that i :

Just add the 2007.1 CD as a software source and then run

Code:

urpmi --auto-select --no-verify-rpm

urpmi kernel

but THAT ended up with access errors, however NOW I'm thinking that maybe THAT resulted because I was using a LIVE CD as the source and instead i need to use a traditional INSTALL cd.

make sense?

thanks

j