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Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore

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  Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore David Griffith <dave@661.org> - 2017-02-01 10:10 +0100
    Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore solitone <solitone@mail.com> - 2017-02-01 10:30 +0100
      Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore David Griffith <dave@661.org> - 2017-02-01 17:10 +0100
        Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore David Griffith <dave@661.org> - 2017-02-01 17:40 +0100
          Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore deloptes <deloptes@gmail.com> - 2017-02-01 21:40 +0100
        Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2017-02-01 22:00 +0100
          Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore David Griffith <dave@661.org> - 2017-02-02 01:40 +0100
            Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore David Griffith <dave@661.org> - 2017-02-02 02:20 +0100
            Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2017-02-02 13:00 +0100
    Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore "Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net> - 2017-02-01 10:40 +0100
    Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2017-02-02 13:40 +0100
      Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore David Griffith <dave@661.org> - 2017-02-03 06:10 +0100
        Re: Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2017-02-03 14:50 +0100

#177220 — Can't make writable USB thumbdrive installer anymore

I used to be able to make a writable USB thumbdrive installer by following 
the directions found at 
https://hyper.to/blog/link/debian-installer-on-a-usb-key/, altering the 
name of the release and device.  Now I can't get it to work.  When I boot 
the resulting thumb drive, I get this:

List of all partitions:
No filesystem could mount root, tried:
Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown - 
block (0,0)
Pid: 1, comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 3.2.0-4-amd64 #1 Debian 3.2.78-1

The system I'm using to create the thumb drive is Debian 8.  I've tried to 
make installers for 7 and 8 without success.  I used to be able to make 
viable writable install thumbdrives for Debian 7 and 8.  What happened?

-- 
David Griffith
dave@661.org

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#177221

Why don't you  follow  what explained here:
https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/ch04s03.html.en

It's a simple two command procedure:

# cp debian.iso /dev/sdX
# sync

As specified, this should work fine for most users. The other options are more 
complex, mainly for people with specialised needs.

Please notice that the image must be written to the whole-disk device and not 
a partition, e.g. /dev/sdb and not /dev/sdb1. This is also pointed out in the 
liked web page.

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#177236

On Wed, 1 Feb 2017, solitone wrote:

> Why don't you  follow  what explained here:
> https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/ch04s03.html.en
>
> It's a simple two command procedure:
>
> # cp debian.iso /dev/sdX
> # sync

I don't follow it because I want to be able to include a preseed file and 
assorted non-free firmware packages.  I also want to include assorted 
other things that I like to put on a fresh machine.

> As specified, this should work fine for most users. The other options 
> are more complex, mainly for people with specialised needs.
>
> Please notice that the image must be written to the whole-disk device 
> and not a partition, e.g. /dev/sdb and not /dev/sdb1. This is also 
> pointed out in the liked web page.

I followed those instruction and got the same results. I installed Wheezy 
on a spare machine.  There I was able to create a writable flash drive 
installer that installs Jessie.


-- 
David Griffith
dave@661.org

A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

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#177237

On Wed, 1 Feb 2017, David Griffith wrote:

> I followed those instruction and got the same results. I installed Wheezy on 
> a spare machine.  There I was able to create a writable flash drive installer 
> that installs Jessie.

Following up... The effect is exactly like what would happen if you delete 
initrd.gz from the thumb drive.

[    0.801766] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.7.5-20140531_083030-gandalf 04/01/2014
[    0.801930]  0000000000000000 ffffffff81514c11 ffffffff817054c8 ffff8800070b7ea0
[    0.802072]  ffffffff8151195e ffff880000000010 ffff8800070b7eb0 ffff8800070b7e50
[    0.802166]  ffff8800070b7ea0 ffff8800070b7eb8 0000000000000012 0000000000000001
[    0.802282] Call Trace:
[    0.802572]  [<ffffffff81514c11>] ? dump_stack+0x5d/0x78
[    0.802654]  [<ffffffff8151195e>] ? panic+0xc8/0x206
[    0.802734]  [<ffffffff819035a7>] ? mount_block_root+0x2a9/0x2b8
[    0.802788]  [<ffffffff811bae95>] ? SyS_mknod+0x185/0x210
[    0.802841]  [<ffffffff81903739>] ? prepare_namespace+0x133/0x169
[    0.802893]  [<ffffffff81903258>] ? kernel_init_freeable+0x1d7/0x1e1
[    0.802945]  [<ffffffff8190295e>] ? initcall_blacklist+0xb2/0xb2
[    0.802996]  [<ffffffff81507da0>] ? rest_init+0x80/0x80
[    0.803046]  [<ffffffff81507daa>] ? kernel_init+0xa/0xf0
[    0.803096]  [<ffffffff8151ad18>] ? ret_from_fork+0x58/0x90
[    0.803146]  [<ffffffff81507da0>] ? rest_init+0x80/0x80
[    0.803506] Kernel Offset: 0x0 from 0xffffffff81000000 (relocation range: 0xffffffff80000000-0xffffffff9fffffff)
[    0.803738] ---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)

-- 
David Griffith
dave@661.org

A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

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#177248

David Griffith wrote:

> QEMU Standard PC
Why QEMU?

Just follow the instructions to copy the iso to the usb drive and then
modify the usb drive to suite your needs. Use UUID in the grub and fstab to
be able to boot from the usb without manual intervention in grub on boot.

regards

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#177254

On Wed 01 Feb 2017 at 16:06:59 +0000, David Griffith wrote:

> On Wed, 1 Feb 2017, solitone wrote:
> 
> >Why don't you  follow  what explained here:
> >https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/ch04s03.html.en
> >
> >It's a simple two command procedure:
> >
> ># cp debian.iso /dev/sdX
> ># sync
> 
> I don't follow it because I want to be able to include a preseed file and
> assorted non-free firmware packages.  I also want to include assorted other
> things that I like to put on a fresh machine.

The USB stick will have spare space for files on another partition. Your
objection is spurious and a non-starter.

> >As specified, this should work fine for most users. The other options are
> >more complex, mainly for people with specialised needs.
> >
> >Please notice that the image must be written to the whole-disk device and
> >not a partition, e.g. /dev/sdb and not /dev/sdb1. This is also pointed out
> >in the liked web page.
> 
> I followed those instruction and got the same results. I installed Wheezy on
> a spare machine.  There I was able to create a writable flash drive
> installer that installs Jessie.

You used 'cp debian.iso /dev/sdX' and it didn't work? Is that what you
mean by "same results"?

-- 
Brian.

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#177268

On Wed, 1 Feb 2017, Brian wrote:

> On Wed 01 Feb 2017 at 16:06:59 +0000, David Griffith wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 1 Feb 2017, solitone wrote:
[snip]

>>> As specified, this should work fine for most users. The other options are
>>> more complex, mainly for people with specialised needs.
>>>
>>> Please notice that the image must be written to the whole-disk device and
>>> not a partition, e.g. /dev/sdb and not /dev/sdb1. This is also pointed out
>>> in the liked web page.
>>
>> I followed those instruction and got the same results. I installed Wheezy on
>> a spare machine.  There I was able to create a writable flash drive
>> installer that installs Jessie.
>
> You used 'cp debian.iso /dev/sdX' and it didn't work? Is that what you
> mean by "same results"?

This is the exact procedure I used to create a one-partition thumb drive, 
which is writable, to install an arbitrary release of Debian as determined 
by which ISO was copied to the partition (sudo as necessary).  When 
followed on a Wheezy machine, the result is a thumb drive that works as I 
previously described.  When performed on a Jessie machine, the result is a 
thumb drive that fails to boot.

1) Ensure these packages are installed: syslinux dosfstools mbr

2) fdisk /dev/sdb
    (delete all partitons)
    (create one primary partition)
    (change partition type to 0x0b (W95 FAT32)
    (set bootable flag)
    (write changes and quit)

3) install-mbr /dev/sdb

4) mkdosfs /dev/sdb1

5) mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt

6) cd /mnt

7) wget http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/jessie/main/installer-amd64/current/images/hd-media/initrd.gz

8) wget http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/jessie/main/installer-amd64/current/images/hd-media/vmlinuz

9) cd

10) echo "default vmlinuz" > /mnt/syslinux.cfg

11) echo "append initrd=initrd.gz" >> /mnt/syslinux.cfg

12) cp ~/iso-images/debian/debian-8.7.1-amd64-CD-1.iso /mnt

13) umount /mnt

14) syslinux /dev/sdb1

15) mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt

16) ls
 	debian-8.7.1-amd64-CD-1.iso
 	initrd.gz
 	ldlinux.c32
 	ldlinux.sys
 	syslinux.cfg
 	vmlinuz

17) umount /mnt

At this point, I can remove the thumb drive and boot it on another
machine.  I can also test it on QEMU.  For instance:
 	sudo qemu-system-x86_64 -hdb /dev/sdb -display curses

If the procedure was done on a Wheezy machine, the result is a bunch of 
text flying by and a normal install process beginning.  If done on a 
Jessie machine, the result is one of these two kernel panic dumps:

Panic 1:
[    0.801766] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS1.7.5-20140531_083030-gandalf 04/01/2014
[    0.801930]  0000000000000000 ffffffff81514c11 ffffffff817054c8 ffff8800070b7ea0
[    0.802072]  ffffffff8151195e ffff880000000010 ffff8800070b7eb0 ffff8800070b7e50
[    0.802166]  ffff8800070b7ea0 ffff8800070b7eb8 0000000000000012 0000000000000001
[    0.802282] Call Trace:
[    0.802572]  [<ffffffff81514c11>] ? dump_stack+0x5d/0x78
[    0.802654]  [<ffffffff8151195e>] ? panic+0xc8/0x206
[    0.802734]  [<ffffffff819035a7>] ? mount_block_root+0x2a9/0x2b8
[    0.802788]  [<ffffffff811bae95>] ? SyS_mknod+0x185/0x210
[    0.802841]  [<ffffffff81903739>] ? prepare_namespace+0x133/0x169
[    0.802893]  [<ffffffff81903258>] ? kernel_init_freeable+0x1d7/0x1e1
[    0.802945]  [<ffffffff8190295e>] ? initcall_blacklist+0xb2/0xb2
[    0.802996]  [<ffffffff81507da0>] ? rest_init+0x80/0x80
[    0.803046]  [<ffffffff81507daa>] ? kernel_init+0xa/0xf0
[    0.803096]  [<ffffffff8151ad18>] ? ret_from_fork+0x58/0x90
[    0.803146]  [<ffffffff81507da0>] ? rest_init+0x80/0x80
[    0.803506] Kernel Offset: 0x0 from 0xffffffff81000000 (relocation range:0xffffffff80000000-0xffffffff9fffffff)
[    0.803738] ---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mountroot fs

Panic 2:
[    0.836087] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 0000000000000000 DR7: 0000000000000000
[    0.836087] Stack:
[    0.836087]  ffff880000000010 ffff8800070b7eb0 ffff8800070b7e50 ffff8800070b7ea0
[    0.836087]  ffff8800070b7eb8 0000000000000012 0000000000000001 000000000000000a
[    0.836087]  000000000000fffe ffff880000088000 0000000000008001 ffffffff81704fb5
[    0.836087] Call Trace:
[    0.836087]  [<ffffffff819035a7>] ? mount_block_root+0x2a9/0x2b8
[    0.836087]  [<ffffffff811bae95>] ? SyS_mknod+0x185/0x210
[    0.836087]  [<ffffffff81903739>] ? prepare_namespace+0x133/0x169
[    0.836087]  [<ffffffff81903258>] ? kernel_init_freeable+0x1d7/0x1e1
[    0.836087]  [<ffffffff8190295e>] ? initcall_blacklist+0xb2/0xb2
[    0.836087]  [<ffffffff81507da0>] ? rest_init+0x80/0x80
[    0.836087]  [<ffffffff81507daa>] ? kernel_init+0xa/0xf0
[    0.836087]  [<ffffffff8151ad18>] ? ret_from_fork+0x58/0x90
[    0.836087]  [<ffffffff81507da0>] ? rest_init+0x80/0x80
[    0.836087] Code: c3 64 eb b1 83 3d 48 4d 55 00 00 74 05 e8 81 d0 b7 ff 48 c7 c6 c0 67 a6 81 48 c7 c7 f8 68 71 81 31 c0 e8 66 06 00 00 fb 66 66 90 <66> 66 90 45 31 e4 e8 9d ce be ff 4d 39 ec 7c 18 41 83 f6 01 44
[    0.836087] RIP  [<ffffffff81511a58>] panic+0x1c2/0x206
[    0.836087]  RSP <ffff8800070b7e38>
[    0.836087] ---[ end trace b6399ee6bd96477c ]---


So, in conclusion, the procedure works when done on a Wheezy machine, 
but not on a Jessie machine.  Why?  How can the problem be fixed?

-- 
David Griffith
dave@661.org

A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

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#177270

On Thu, 2 Feb 2017, David Griffith wrote:

> 14) syslinux /dev/sdb1

The version of syslinux in the Wheezy repos is 4.05.  The one in Jessie 
repos is 6.03.  I built the earlier version on the Jessie machine to cover 
the possibility that syslinux itself is causing the problem.  That 
hypothesis appears to be true.  I'll do some poking around to see just 
when this breakage happened and file a report.


-- 
David Griffith
dave@661.org

A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#177285

On Thu 02 Feb 2017 at 00:31:38 +0000, David Griffith wrote:

> >You used 'cp debian.iso /dev/sdX' and it didn't work? Is that what you
> >mean by "same results"?
> 
> This is the exact procedure I used to create a one-partition thumb drive,
> which is writable, to install an arbitrary release of Debian as determined
> by which ISO was copied to the partition (sudo as necessary).  When followed
> on a Wheezy machine, the result is a thumb drive that works as I previously
> described.  When performed on a Jessie machine, the result is a thumb drive
> that fails to boot.

This is quite a neat method; I use it myself to put a Jessie archive on
a USB stick. My variations are inline. I cannot see what syslinux gives
me over GRUB.

> 1) Ensure these packages are installed: syslinux dosfstools mbr

syslinux and mbr not used.
 
> 2) fdisk /dev/sdb
>    (delete all partitons)
>    (create one primary partition)
>    (change partition type to 0x0b (W95 FAT32)
>    (set bootable flag)

Didn't bother. It still works.

>    (write changes and quit)
> 
> 3) install-mbr /dev/sdb

Omitted.

> 4) mkdosfs /dev/sdb1
> 
> 5) mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt

Then:
grub-install --boot-directory=/mnt/boot /dev/sdb
Write a grub.cfg to put in /boot/grub.
 
> 6) cd /mnt

Not needed.

> 7) wget http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/jessie/main/installer-amd64/current/images/hd-media/initrd.gz

Copy initrd.gz to /mnt/boot.
 
> 8) wget http://http.us.debian.org/debian/dists/jessie/main/installer-amd64/current/images/hd-media/vmlinuz

Copy vmlinuz to /mnt/boot.
 
> 9) cd

Omitted.
 
> 10) echo "default vmlinuz" > /mnt/syslinux.cfg

Omitted.

> 11) echo "append initrd=initrd.gz" >> /mnt/syslinux.cfg

Omitted.
 
> 12) cp ~/iso-images/debian/debian-8.7.1-amd64-CD-1.iso /mnt

A netinst ISO was sufficient for what I was doing.

> 13) umount /mnt

Don't unmount.

> 14) syslinux /dev/sdb1

Omitted.

> 15) mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt

Omitted.
 
> 16) ls
> 	debian-8.7.1-amd64-CD-1.iso
> 	initrd.gz
> 	ldlinux.c32
> 	ldlinux.sys
> 	syslinux.cfg
> 	vmlinuz

A different output because the directory setup is different. vmlinuz and
initrd.gz are in /boot, for example.

> 17) umount /mnt
> 
> At this point, I can remove the thumb drive and boot it on another
> machine.  I can also test it on QEMU.  For instance:
> 	sudo qemu-system-x86_64 -hdb /dev/sdb -display curses
> 
> If the procedure was done on a Wheezy machine, the result is a bunch of text
> flying by and a normal install process beginning.  If done on a Jessie
> machine, the result is one of these two kernel panic dumps:

[...Snip logs...]

> So, in conclusion, the procedure works when done on a Wheezy machine, but
> not on a Jessie machine.  Why?  How can the problem be fixed?

Use GRUB?

-- 
Brian.

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#177222

Hi,

as solitone stated, the most simple way is to make use of the isohybrid
preparations of the ISO image.


> https://hyper.to/blog/link/debian-installer-on-a-usb-key/

(I wonder how this setup knows that it should use the ISO as source of
higher operating system levels.)


> No filesystem could mount root, tried:
> Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown - block (0,0)
> I used to be able to make
> viable writable install thumbdrives for Debian 7 and 8.  What happened?

Are you sure that your USB stick is still ok ?
Can you mount the FAT filesystem in a running Linux system ?


Have a nice day :)

Thomas

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#177287

On 02/01/2017 02:50 AM, David Griffith wrote:
>
> I used to be able to make a writable USB thumbdrive installer > by following the directions found at
> https://hyper.to/blog/link/debian-installer-on-a-usb-key/,
> altering the name of the release and device.  Now I can't get > it to work.
 > [*SNIP* details]

I've snipped the details as I suspect the various readers have 
subconsciously used those details to say your goals/motivations 
are _identical_ to theirs.

Following this thread I _read into_ your posts some {mutually 
contradictory} things I've tried to do with various levels of 
success.

Once it's prepared, for what do you use it?
What problem did using a USB stick for the above purpose solve?
With what versions of Debian were you successful?

I worded those questions to keep out as many of my preconceptions 
out as possible.
HTH

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#177329

On Thu, 2 Feb 2017, Richard Owlett wrote:

> On 02/01/2017 02:50 AM, David Griffith wrote:
>> 
>> I used to be able to make a writable USB thumbdrive installer > by 
>> following the directions found at
>> https://hyper.to/blog/link/debian-installer-on-a-usb-key/,
>> altering the name of the release and device.  Now I can't get > it to work.
>> [*SNIP* details]
>
> I've snipped the details as I suspect the various readers have subconsciously 
> used those details to say your goals/motivations are _identical_ to theirs.
>
> Following this thread I _read into_ your posts some {mutually contradictory} 
> things I've tried to do with various levels of success.
>
> Once it's prepared, for what do you use it?
> What problem did using a USB stick for the above purpose solve?
> With what versions of Debian were you successful?
>
> I worded those questions to keep out as many of my preconceptions out as 
> possible.

My intent is to have a USB installer flash drive to which I can add a 
preseed.cfg file, non-free firmware packages, and other stuff I like to 
add to a fresh machine.

It turned out that the problem was a change in syslinux's behavior that 
was documented for Stretch's install instructions[1], but not for 
Jessie[2].  It boiled down to the grammar of the syslinux.cfg file.  For 
instance, this is the old way:

   default vmlinuz
   append initrd=initrd.gz

This is the new way:

   default vmlinuz initrd=initrd.gz

See also:
https://bugs.debian.org/803267
https://bugs.debian.org/853918
https://bugs.debian.org/853965

Footnotes:
[1] https://www.debian.org/releases/stretch/amd64/ch04s03.html.en
[2] https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/ch04s03.html.en


-- 
David Griffith
dave@661.org

A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#177338

On 02/02/2017 11:07 PM, David Griffith wrote:
> On Thu, 2 Feb 2017, Richard Owlett wrote:
>
>> On 02/01/2017 02:50 AM, David Griffith wrote:
>>>
>>> I used to be able to make a writable USB thumbdrive installer
>>> > by following the directions found at
>>> https://hyper.to/blog/link/debian-installer-on-a-usb-key/,
>>> altering the name of the release and device.  Now I can't get
>>> > it to work.
>>> [*SNIP* details]
>>
>> I've snipped the details as I suspect the various readers have
>> subconsciously used those details to say your goals/motivations
>> are _identical_ to theirs.
>>
>> Following this thread I _read into_ your posts some {mutually
>> contradictory} things I've tried to do with various levels of
>> success.
>>
>> Once it's prepared, for what do you use it?
>> What problem did using a USB stick for the above purpose solve?
>> With what versions of Debian were you successful?
>>
>> I worded those questions to keep out as many of my
>> preconceptions out as possible.
>
> My intent is to have a USB installer flash drive to which I can
> add a preseed.cfg file, non-free firmware packages, and other
> stuff I like to add to a fresh machine.
>
> It turned out that the problem was a change in syslinux's
> behavior that was documented for Stretch's install
> instructions[1], but not for Jessie[2].  It boiled down to the
> grammar of the syslinux.cfg file.  For instance, this is the old
> way:
>
>   default vmlinuz
>   append initrd=initrd.gz
>
> This is the new way:
>
>   default vmlinuz initrd=initrd.gz
>
> See also:
> https://bugs.debian.org/803267
> https://bugs.debian.org/853918
> https://bugs.debian.org/853965
>
> Footnotes:
> [1] https://www.debian.org/releases/stretch/amd64/ch04s03.html.en
> [2] https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/ch04s03.html.en
>
>

My underlying question was apparently moot as your problem is 
resolved.

I do something similar but with a collection of application 
oriented preseed files on one drive and a collection of flash 
drives with DVD1 of releases of current interest.

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