Linux Format forums

Pmatt · Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:53 pm Posts: 3

I have use the DVD cover disks from Linux Format to try out various Linux distros on my desktop PC. However my netbook does not have an optical drive and Unetbootin requires an iso image to create a usb image for installation. Are the iso files on the cover disks but I am simply not looking in the right place, or is there another way of transferring an image to a usb stick?
I am reluctant to download the iso from the distribution websites as they are about 1GB which would take a long time and use up too much of my broadband allowance.

towy71 · Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 5:49 pm Post subject:

Nelz has provided instructions on the LXF154 disk to make an image and copy it to a usb stick
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ajgreeny · Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:06 pm Post subject:

Rhakios · Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:20 pm Post subject:

Is it the same as the procedure mentioned here, only with the directory and file names changed appropriately?
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nelz · Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:23 pm Post subject:

It's mentioned in that paper thing glued to the back of the DVD Shocked

You'll find the script in the root of the DVD, with the cryptic name of dvd2usb.
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nelz · Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:25 pm Post subject:

Rhakios · Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:27 pm Post subject:

Just found that. But that requires an 8GB stick for the entire DVD, is there any way of getting just the individual distros for those who don't want the rest, or don't have an 8GB stick to hand?
I expect an 8GB SD card would work as well?

Edit: posts crossing in the mists of the 'net. Rolling Eyes

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nelz · Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:11 am Post subject:

Not reliably, because some of the distros have to be modified to multi-boot from the DVD. SystemRescueCD is one that is not modified to the extent that you can't write it to an ISO image separately (and that can be easily converted to boot from USB as well).

8GB sticks cost well under a tenner nowadays, so I didn't consider availability to be a real restriction. I expect an SD card would work if your netbook will boot from one, but I haven't tried it... yet.
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Unix is user-friendly. It's just very selective about who it's friends are.

Dutch_Master · LXF regular Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:49 am Posts: 2354

My 1st generation Asus EeePC (the ubiquitous 4GB 701 model) boots from SD card, so... Rolling Eyes

Pmatt · Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:53 pm Posts: 3

nelz · Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:23 pm Post subject:

It is a lot simpler on the next DVD, but it's the whole DVD or nothing for reasons already explained. You can't use fdisk on an ISO filesystem. Copy the image with dd as explained on the disk pages, or give the device name of your USB stick as an argument to the script and let it write the data directly.

I see no good reason to expend a lot of time trying to get individual distros copied to a USB stick when 8GB devics are plentiful and you are only using it for a short time usually. It would mean creating a custom script for every distro every month, and them testing it on as many systems as possible only to find it still breaks for some people (jigdo anyone?). Getting a single script to convert the whole DVD to USB that works the same every month is more reliable.
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Unix is user-friendly. It's just very selective about who it's friends are.

ajgreeny · Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:20 pm Post subject:

Pmatt · Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:53 pm Posts: 3

nelz · Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 11:21 pm Post subject:

None of this shenanigans should be necessary with the next DVD. It will (well, should) detect any devices connected to the computer and give you a menu to choose the one you want.
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Unix is user-friendly. It's just very selective about who it's friends are.

ulysses768 · Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:22 am Posts: 1

dvd2usb didn't work at first for me. The command produced no output whatsoever. After reading through dvd2usb.sh, I saw that I needed to install dialog, which is not installed by default on Mint or Ubuntu. With dialog installed it worked perfectly.

If I might humbly suggest: perhaps the script should check /usr/bin/ for dialog and report to stdout.