Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
On Sun 24 Nov 2019 at 09:20:58 +0100, Pascal Hambourg wrote: > So iso-scan seems to ignore the iso-scan/filename value provided in the > command line. If I understood the script correctly, it does not read this > parameter, it only writes the selected image pathname into it. I have straightened my thinking out now. Thanks. -- Brian.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
Le 23/11/2019 à 20:13, Brian a écrit :
On Sat 23 Nov 2019 at 11:00:58 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote:
This
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=841135
would explain why it works for you, as well as in other cases.
It seems to only work at maximum level 1 directories;
I already told you exactly this in my previous post :
"The quick scan only searches in top-level directories."
Thank you for the link. I had not seen this report before. One bit of it
is the statement:
> From what I understand now, iso-scan is not meant to use
> any iso filename supplied to it via grub command line, but
> it rather prefers to scan the USB stick for usable images
This is what I understood from a quick look at the script.
> itself, and then present the user with a menu.
Only with lower priority. With default priority, it automatically
selects the first "usable" image found.
My understanding is that iso-scan/filename= simply says which ISO is to
be searched for.
How did you understand this ? It matches neither the script nor the
experiences.
I put two Debian ISOs in /boot/iso and had a similar grub.cfg to yours:
iso_path=/boot/iso/debian-10.2.0-amd64-xfce-CD-1.iso
export iso_path
search --set=root --file "$iso_path"
loopback loop "$iso_path"
menuentry "Test" {
linux /boot/vmlinuz iso-scan/filename=$iso_path priority=low
initrd /boot/initrd.gz
}
I get a list of sixteen partitions and devices and choose the one that I
know holds the ISOs (/dev/sdg1).
This is the effect of priority=low.
This comes up with (as it did for you):
> The quick scan for installer ISO images, which looks only
> in common places
But a full disk search immediately scans /dev/sdg1 and presents a choice
between the two ISOs.
Again the effect of priority=low.
So iso-scan seems to ignore the iso-scan/filename value provided in the
command line. If I understood the script correctly, it does not read
this parameter, it only writes the selected image pathname into it.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
On Sat 23 Nov 2019 at 11:00:58 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote:
> El 2019-11-22 16:41, Brian escribió:
> > Try this for the kernel boot options:
> >
> > "iso-scan/filename=$iso_path priority=low"
> >
> > In other words, replace two of the options with iso-scan/filename=. It
> > works for me when the ISO, vmlinuz and initrd.gz are all in /boot.
>
> This
> https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=841135
> would explain why it works for you, as well as in other cases.
>
> It seems to only work at maximum level 1 directories; further, as in my
> case, no longer works.
> Pity...
Thank you for the link. I had not seen this report before. One bit of it
is the statement:
> From what I understand now, iso-scan is not meant to use
> any iso filename supplied to it via grub command line, but
> it rather prefers to scan the USB stick for usable images
> itself, and then present the user with a menu.
My understanding is that iso-scan/filename= simply says which ISO is to
be searched for. But, additionally, iso-scan needs to be told where to
search by being informed of the device or partition to use or by getting
it to look at every device/partition on the system or by extra kernel
command line options.
I put two Debian ISOs in /boot/iso and had a similar grub.cfg to yours:
iso_path=/boot/iso/debian-10.2.0-amd64-xfce-CD-1.iso
export iso_path
search --set=root --file "$iso_path"
loopback loop "$iso_path"
menuentry "Test" {
linux /boot/vmlinuz iso-scan/filename=$iso_path priority=low
initrd /boot/initrd.gz
}
I get a list of sixteen partitions and devices and choose the one that I
know holds the ISOs (/dev/sdg1). This comes up with (as it did for you):
> The quick scan for installer ISO images, which looks only
> in common places
But a full disk search immediately scans /dev/sdg1 and presents a choice
between the two ISOs.
If our experience differs, I cannot explain why.
--
Brian.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
El 2019-11-22 16:41, Brian escribió: Try this for the kernel boot options: "iso-scan/filename=$iso_path priority=low" In other words, replace two of the options with iso-scan/filename=. It works for me when the ISO, vmlinuz and initrd.gz are all in /boot. This https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=841135 would explain why it works for you, as well as in other cases. It seems to only work at maximum level 1 directories; further, as in my case, no longer works. Pity...
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
On Fri 22 Nov 2019 at 13:31:54 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote: > El 2019-11-22 08:04, Brian escribió: > > > > My first point is that you are having the installer mount and search > > every partition to find an ISO. This is time consuming. > > > > The second point is that an ISO on another partition might be found > > and used. What happens if it is a jessie ISO? > > > > Why not label the partition on the USB drive and use the boot option > > > > shared/enter_device=/dev/disk/by-label/ > > > > I would also put the ISO in / or /iso. > > > > Thanks Brian and Pascal. > > Regarding putting ISO in / , both of you are right: iso-scan's quick scan > seems to work only in / , plus perhaps other few "common" locations. I just > tried it. > > When using full/thorough search among partitions, once finished installer > actually lists all found Debian ISOs and which disk/partition they're > located in, so one can choose. > > I tried the "shared/enter_device" boot option for the ISO located in custom > /boot/iso directory, but it seems this doesn't work alone; instead needing > to be used in conjunction with boot option "shared/ask_device=manual". With > this the quick scan failure message stills there, but now when selecting > "yes" to the thorough scan it only scans the specified device, so now it's > faster. Sorry; I forgot about "shared/ask_device=manual". > To get rid of the thorough scan question Pascal's advise of boot option > "iso-scan/ask_second_pass=true" is in place. > > So overall string of kernel boot options would be like > "iso-scan/ask_second_pass=true shared/ask_device=manual > shared/enter_device=/dev/disk/by-label/" > ouch, a bit long of boot options, but with this installer at least goes a > bit smoother... > > But still the question about boot opton "iso-scan/filename"... why isn't it > actually working? > What does it mean that this may be an output instead of an input? Try this for the kernel boot options: "iso-scan/filename=$iso_path priority=low" In other words, replace two of the options with iso-scan/filename=. It works for me when the ISO, vmlinuz and initrd.gz are all in /boot. -- Brian.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
El 2019-11-22 08:04, Brian escribió: My first point is that you are having the installer mount and search every partition to find an ISO. This is time consuming. The second point is that an ISO on another partition might be found and used. What happens if it is a jessie ISO? Why not label the partition on the USB drive and use the boot option shared/enter_device=/dev/disk/by-label/ I would also put the ISO in / or /iso. Thanks Brian and Pascal. Regarding putting ISO in / , both of you are right: iso-scan's quick scan seems to work only in / , plus perhaps other few "common" locations. I just tried it. When using full/thorough search among partitions, once finished installer actually lists all found Debian ISOs and which disk/partition they're located in, so one can choose. I tried the "shared/enter_device" boot option for the ISO located in custom /boot/iso directory, but it seems this doesn't work alone; instead needing to be used in conjunction with boot option "shared/ask_device=manual". With this the quick scan failure message stills there, but now when selecting "yes" to the thorough scan it only scans the specified device, so now it's faster. To get rid of the thorough scan question Pascal's advise of boot option "iso-scan/ask_second_pass=true" is in place. So overall string of kernel boot options would be like "iso-scan/ask_second_pass=true shared/ask_device=manual shared/enter_device=/dev/disk/by-label/" ouch, a bit long of boot options, but with this installer at least goes a bit smoother... But still the question about boot opton "iso-scan/filename"... why isn't it actually working? What does it mean that this may be an output instead of an input?
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
On Thu 21 Nov 2019 at 12:08:05 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote:
> I think I sorted out part of my problem.
> For those who I made them lost, a summary of what I'm trying to do.
>
> I'm trying to boot Debian 10 via Grub's loopback device, in order to make a
> multiboot USB with several Linux distros by copying just the ISOs.
>
> I already read Debian installer CD has an initrd with no iso-scan package,
> so won't work out of the box and must use hd-media initrd and vmlinuz to
> make it work.
>
> So I downloaded, renamed, and placed them in same directory as Debian
> installer ISO, in the USB partition. Then created grub.cfg config in USB:
>
> iso_path=/boot/iso/debian-10.2.0-amd64-xfce-CD-1.iso
> export iso_path
> search --set=root --file "$iso_path"
> loopback loop "$iso_path"
> menuentry "Graphical install" {
>bootoptions="iso-scan/filename=$iso_path desktop=xfce vga=788 --- quiet"
>linux /boot/iso/DebianVmlinuz $bootoptions
>initrd /boot/iso/debianGtkInitrd.gz
> }
>
> Then tested booting from USB, and the graphical installer does start, but
> after selecting language, locale and keyboard, I got this message:
> "The quick scan for installer ISO images, which looks only in common places,
> did not find an installer ISO image. It's possible that a more thorough
> search will find the ISO image, but it may take a long time. Do you wish to
> do a full scan?"
>
> Now, my recent problem was that even by answering yes, it didn't find the
> installer ISO which is right there in the USB.
> How sorted? It turned people here were right: I needed to update both initrd
> and installer ISO, since version 10.2 was released just 5 days ago...
>
> Having done this I retried. Still get the above message, but now thorough
> search is able to find and use the installer ISO.
>
> Now, my last issue is: quick scan always fails, looking only in "common
> places". So perhaps the location in the USB sdb3/boot/isos is not considered
> a "common place" and thus only full search can find it here. Can this
> behavior be changed?
> Maybe somehow telling quick scan to search in custom directories in
> grub.cfg?
My first point is that you are having the installer mount and search
every partition to find an ISO. This is time consuming.
The second point is that an ISO on another partition might be found
and used. What happens if it is a jessie ISO?
Why not label the partition on the USB drive and use the boot option
shared/enter_device=/dev/disk/by-label/
I would also put the ISO in / or /iso.
> For this matter, why isn't iso-scan/filename actually working?
You need to sort out the above first before proceeding with this.
--
Brian.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
Le 21/11/2019 à 19:08, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx a écrit : Now, my last issue is: quick scan always fails, looking only in "common places". So perhaps the location in the USB sdb3/boot/isos is not considered a "common place" and thus only full search can find it here. The quick scan only searches in top-level directories. Can this behavior be changed? Try iso-scan/ask_second_pass=true. For this matter, why isn't iso-scan/filename actually working? It does not seem to be an input but an output.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
I think I sorted out part of my problem.
For those who I made them lost, a summary of what I'm trying to do.
I'm trying to boot Debian 10 via Grub's loopback device, in order to
make a multiboot USB with several Linux distros by copying just the
ISOs.
I already read Debian installer CD has an initrd with no iso-scan
package, so won't work out of the box and must use hd-media initrd and
vmlinuz to make it work.
So I downloaded, renamed, and placed them in same directory as Debian
installer ISO, in the USB partition. Then created grub.cfg config in
USB:
iso_path=/boot/iso/debian-10.2.0-amd64-xfce-CD-1.iso
export iso_path
search --set=root --file "$iso_path"
loopback loop "$iso_path"
menuentry "Graphical install" {
bootoptions="iso-scan/filename=$iso_path desktop=xfce vga=788 ---
quiet"
linux /boot/iso/DebianVmlinuz $bootoptions
initrd /boot/iso/debianGtkInitrd.gz
}
Then tested booting from USB, and the graphical installer does start,
but after selecting language, locale and keyboard, I got this message:
"The quick scan for installer ISO images, which looks only in common
places, did not find an installer ISO image. It's possible that a more
thorough search will find the ISO image, but it may take a long time. Do
you wish to do a full scan?"
Now, my recent problem was that even by answering yes, it didn't find
the installer ISO which is right there in the USB.
How sorted? It turned people here were right: I needed to update both
initrd and installer ISO, since version 10.2 was released just 5 days
ago...
Having done this I retried. Still get the above message, but now
thorough search is able to find and use the installer ISO.
Now, my last issue is: quick scan always fails, looking only in "common
places". So perhaps the location in the USB sdb3/boot/isos is not
considered a "common place" and thus only full search can find it here.
Can this behavior be changed?
Maybe somehow telling quick scan to search in custom directories in
grub.cfg?
For this matter, why isn't iso-scan/filename actually working?
Thanks.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
On Wed 20 Nov 2019 at 16:00:05 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote: > El 2019-11-20 13:54, Brian escribió: > > Open up a netinst ISO and look in /pool. Do you see iso-scan there? > > So according to you, grub loopback with hd-media vmlinuz and initrd works > but only with netinst? I asked *my* question first. > > No installer has ever supported loopback, with or without the assistance > > of hd-media. > > This is *false*. > https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/grub-boot-iso?page=0,1 > https://www.linuxbabe.com/debian/boot-debian-9-iso-from-hard-drive-grub2 A couple of techniques for you to investigate and report on. -- Brian.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
El 2019-11-20 13:54, Brian escribió: Open up a netinst ISO and look in /pool. Do you see iso-scan there? So according to you, grub loopback with hd-media vmlinuz and initrd works but only with netinst? No installer has ever supported loopback, with or without the assistance of hd-media. This is *false*. https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/grub-boot-iso?page=0,1 https://www.linuxbabe.com/debian/boot-debian-9-iso-from-hard-drive-grub2 @didier: That trick of using ISO's kernel with hd-media initrd I already tried.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
On Wed 20 Nov 2019 at 13:36:20 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote: > El 2019-11-20 12:48, Brian escribió: > > On Wed 20 Nov 2019 at 11:42:34 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote: > > > > > So in the end no one being able to help booting Debian 10 with grub > > > loopback? > > > > Using GRUB loopback isn't supported by the installer. The installer > > images have initrds which do not contain iso-scan. > > > > > My grub.cfg and symptoms are back in first post of this thread. > > > Cannot understand why Debian kernel/initrd are unable to find the > > > ISO, even > > > with hd-media... > > > > The hd-media have no trouble finding debian-10.2.0-i386-netinst.iso > > for me. The wiki contains the advice: > > > > > ... Ensure the image, vmlinuz and initrd.gz are the most > > > up-to-date possible. > > > I already know and understand that CD installer's initrd doesn't have > iso-scan. Everybody else understands this too. That is why no one is able to help with booting Debian 10 with GRUB's loopback. > Which is why, as put in first post of this thread, I tried using hd-media > vmlinuz and initrd, though with same CD installer ISO rather than the > netinst. > > Last thing I read about the netinst is, just like live CD, they didn't > suffer from the lack of iso-scan, so they could be used for grub loopback > out of the box. Which is why I didn't try netinst yet. Correct me if wrong. Open up a netinst ISO and look in /pool. Do you see iso-scan there? > I got both hd-media vmlinuz and initrd just this week, from the link in > first post, from the current "stable" tree. So they should be indeed > updated. The image you have? That's up-to-date? > I already know one way around for installation would be booting Live CD and > installing from within it. But feels slightly "unorthodox", and it's not the > same as directly using the installer. Specially because I often use the > "expert" install option. > Also I often do offline installations (internet connection is not available > beforehand), so netinst would not be useful for those cases. > > So, if someone could help with this CD installer and hd-media issue, I'd be > very thankful. > Or if the fact was that Buster installer no longer supports loopback at all > even with hd-media, just confirm it. No installer has ever supported loopback, with or without the assistance of hd-media. -- Brian.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
Le mercredi 20 novembre 2019 18:50:04 UTC+1, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx a écrit : > So in the end no one being able to help booting Debian 10 with grub > loopback? > My grub.cfg and symptoms are back in first post of this thread. > Cannot understand why Debian kernel/initrd are unable to find the ISO, > even with hd-media... I am not familiar with the Grub syntax so maybe I am wrong, but I think you should follow the syntax exposed in the wiki more closely: - your pre-declaratives (iso_path, search, loopback) could be better placed between the menuentry brackets, because these items are entry specific and this could be a problem with several entries (from what I gather your goal is to have one USB key as a tool to install several OSes?)? - you seem to boot the hd-media kernel with the hd-media initrd while the trick in the wiki seems to boot the iso image kernel with the hd-media initrd I have never tested this kind of things so perhaps my observations are totally irrelevant...
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
El 2019-11-20 12:48, Brian escribió: On Wed 20 Nov 2019 at 11:42:34 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote: So in the end no one being able to help booting Debian 10 with grub loopback? Using GRUB loopback isn't supported by the installer. The installer images have initrds which do not contain iso-scan. My grub.cfg and symptoms are back in first post of this thread. Cannot understand why Debian kernel/initrd are unable to find the ISO, even with hd-media... The hd-media have no trouble finding debian-10.2.0-i386-netinst.iso for me. The wiki contains the advice: > ... Ensure the image, vmlinuz and initrd.gz are the most > up-to-date possible. I already know and understand that CD installer's initrd doesn't have iso-scan. Which is why, as put in first post of this thread, I tried using hd-media vmlinuz and initrd, though with same CD installer ISO rather than the netinst. Last thing I read about the netinst is, just like live CD, they didn't suffer from the lack of iso-scan, so they could be used for grub loopback out of the box. Which is why I didn't try netinst yet. Correct me if wrong. I got both hd-media vmlinuz and initrd just this week, from the link in first post, from the current "stable" tree. So they should be indeed updated. I already know one way around for installation would be booting Live CD and installing from within it. But feels slightly "unorthodox", and it's not the same as directly using the installer. Specially because I often use the "expert" install option. Also I often do offline installations (internet connection is not available beforehand), so netinst would not be useful for those cases. So, if someone could help with this CD installer and hd-media issue, I'd be very thankful. Or if the fact was that Buster installer no longer supports loopback at all even with hd-media, just confirm it. Thanks.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
On Wed 20 Nov 2019 at 11:42:34 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote: > So in the end no one being able to help booting Debian 10 with grub > loopback? Using GRUB loopback isn't supported by the installer. The installer images have initrds which do not contain iso-scan. > My grub.cfg and symptoms are back in first post of this thread. > Cannot understand why Debian kernel/initrd are unable to find the ISO, even > with hd-media... The hd-media have no trouble finding debian-10.2.0-i386-netinst.iso for me. The wiki contains the advice: > ... Ensure the image, vmlinuz and initrd.gz are the most > up-to-date possible. -- Brian.
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
El 2019-11-20 11:20, Cindy Sue Causey escribió: On 11/20/19, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote: On 2019-11-19 13:58, Brian wrote: On Tue 19 Nov 2019 at 10:20:16 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote: I'm trying to boot Buster installer from a USB by using Grub's loopback device. I already installed grub in the USB and put Buster ISO in its data partition. I read this https://wiki.debian.org/Installation+Archive+USBStick#Using_GRUB.27s_Loopback_Facility so I downloaded both hd-media kernel and initrd from here The wiki page also warns: > There is no guarantee that mixing an hd-media initrd with > an ISO's kernel will produce a desirable outcome in all > circumstances. In other words, if the hack works for you - all well and good. If not, you get to piece it together yourself. Why is a loopback boot so important to you? If you re-read my post you realize that I first tried the "rightful" way of using both kernel and initrd from hd-media, and didn't work. Important because that would make it easier to make a multiboot USB with several Linux distributions by just copying ISO files instead of dd-ing multiple USBs or using 3rd party programs which modify the ISOs. Sorry, I really didn't know Debian community actually disliked this general idea (by little to no supporting and turning blind eye). Though I fail to see a good reason for it... Free operating systems, their methodologies, and their supportive documentation evolve based on the majority... based on the relevant community's collective usage case needs over time. Just because something doesn't appear to exist doesn't mean VOLUNTEER Developers don't give a dang. It instead means that users needing a more specifically individualized setup simply had not yet noticed that missing [perk] and thus... Had not yet stepped up to VOLUNTEER to develop the potentially required software package, methodology, and/or any supportive documentation necessary. If this is something that already exists in another free operating system, hey, cool beans, not to mention... well, there you go: A ready-to-go foundation for a new package with morally responsible, if not also likely requisite, head nods given to the original creators, of course. OF course.. :) With respect to "disliking" something involving various operating systems, there's almost a tone that might imply the community might feel something like... oh, I don't know... being "threatened", maybe, by the presence of other operating systems. Based on observing Debian-User posts for some ten years or so now, nope, not here. Here at Debian-User, there's occasional chatter about multiple operating systems coexisting via virtual machines, multiple interactive hard drive partitions, and such. Beyond those options presenting scenarios for learning how to make ALL things Linux sing, it can also be about the more primordial desire for, attraction to Variety, the spice of #Life, yada-yada. :) Cindy :) So in the end no one being able to help booting Debian 10 with grub loopback? My grub.cfg and symptoms are back in first post of this thread. Cannot understand why Debian kernel/initrd are unable to find the ISO, even with hd-media...
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
On 11/20/19, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote: > On 2019-11-19 13:58, Brian wrote: > On Tue 19 Nov 2019 at 10:20:16 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote: > >>> I'm trying to boot Buster installer from a USB by using Grub's >>> loopback >>> device. >>> I already installed grub in the USB and put Buster ISO in its >>> data partition. >>> >>> I read this >>> >>> https://wiki.debian.org/Installation+Archive+USBStick#Using_GRUB.27s_Loopback_Facility >>> so I downloaded both hd-media kernel and initrd from here >>> >>> >> The wiki page also warns: >> >>> There is no guarantee that mixing an hd-media initrd with >>> an ISO's kernel will produce a desirable outcome in all >>> circumstances. >> >> In other words, if the hack works for you - all well and good. If >> not, >> you get to piece it together yourself. >> >> Why is a loopback boot so important to you? > > > If you re-read my post you realize that I first tried the "rightful" way > of using both kernel and initrd from hd-media, and didn't work. > > Important because that would make it easier to make a multiboot USB with > several Linux distributions by just copying ISO files instead of dd-ing > multiple USBs or using 3rd party programs which modify the ISOs. > > Sorry, I really didn't know Debian community actually disliked this > general idea (by little to no supporting and turning blind eye). Though > I fail to see a good reason for it... Free operating systems, their methodologies, and their supportive documentation evolve based on the majority... based on the relevant community's collective usage case needs over time. Just because something doesn't appear to exist doesn't mean VOLUNTEER Developers don't give a dang. It instead means that users needing a more specifically individualized setup simply had not yet noticed that missing [perk] and thus... Had not yet stepped up to VOLUNTEER to develop the potentially required software package, methodology, and/or any supportive documentation necessary. If this is something that already exists in another free operating system, hey, cool beans, not to mention... well, there you go: A ready-to-go foundation for a new package with morally responsible, if not also likely requisite, head nods given to the original creators, of course. OF course.. :) With respect to "disliking" something involving various operating systems, there's almost a tone that might imply the community might feel something like... oh, I don't know... being "threatened", maybe, by the presence of other operating systems. Based on observing Debian-User posts for some ten years or so now, nope, not here. Here at Debian-User, there's occasional chatter about multiple operating systems coexisting via virtual machines, multiple interactive hard drive partitions, and such. Beyond those options presenting scenarios for learning how to make ALL things Linux sing, it can also be about the more primordial desire for, attraction to Variety, the spice of #Life, yada-yada. :) Cindy :) -- Cindy-Sue Causey Talking Rock, Pickens County, Georgia, USA * runs with... a healthy, helpfully diverse stack of OS CDs and DVDs *
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
On 2019-11-19 13:58, Brian wrote:
On Tue 19 Nov 2019 at 10:20:16 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote:
I'm trying to boot Buster installer from a USB by using Grub's
loopback
device.
I already installed grub in the USB and put Buster ISO in its
data
partition.
I read this
https://wiki.debian.org/Installation+Archive+USBStick#Using_GRUB.27s_Loopback_Facility
so I downloaded both hd-media kernel and initrd from here
http://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/installer-amd64/current/images/hd-media/
and put them in same directory as ISO, renaming them as
"DebianVmlinuz" and
"debianGtkInitrd" respectively.
This is my grub.cfg config:
iso_path=/boot/iso/debian-10.1.0-amd64-xfce-CD-1.iso
export iso_path
search --set=root --file "$iso_path"
loopback loop "$iso_path"
menuentry "Graphical install" {
bootoptions="findiso=$iso_path desktop=xfce vga=788 ---
quiet"
linux /boot/iso/DebianVmlinuz $bootoptions
initrd /boot/iso/debianGtkInitrd.gz
}
So booting from the USB works; the installer starts. But after
selecting
languages it searches for the installer ISO, but always fails to
find it. I
get "Debian was unable to find an ISO installer image". Even if
I tell it to
browse the specific partition where ISO is it just fails with
same error.
The wiki page also warns:
> There is no guarantee that mixing an hd-media initrd with
> an ISO's kernel will produce a desirable outcome in all
> circumstances.
In other words, if the hack works for you - all well and good. If
not,
you get to piece it together yourself.
Why is a loopback boot so important to you?
If you re-read my post you realize that I first tried the "rightful" way
of using both kernel and initrd from hd-media, and didn't work.
Important because that would make it easier to make a multiboot USB with
several Linux distributions by just copying ISO files instead of dd-ing
multiple USBs or using 3rd party programs which modify the ISOs.
Sorry, I really didn't know Debian community actually disliked this
general idea (by little to no supporting and turning blind eye). Though
I fail to see a good reason for it...
Re: Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
On Tue 19 Nov 2019 at 10:20:16 -0600, pru...@finsakxim.com.mx wrote:
> I'm trying to boot Buster installer from a USB by using Grub's loopback
> device.
> I already installed grub in the USB and put Buster ISO in its data
> partition.
>
> I read this
> https://wiki.debian.org/Installation+Archive+USBStick#Using_GRUB.27s_Loopback_Facility
> so I downloaded both hd-media kernel and initrd from here
> http://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/installer-amd64/current/images/hd-media/
> and put them in same directory as ISO, renaming them as "DebianVmlinuz" and
> "debianGtkInitrd" respectively.
>
> This is my grub.cfg config:
>
> iso_path=/boot/iso/debian-10.1.0-amd64-xfce-CD-1.iso
> export iso_path
> search --set=root --file "$iso_path"
> loopback loop "$iso_path"
> menuentry "Graphical install" {
>bootoptions="findiso=$iso_path desktop=xfce vga=788 --- quiet"
>linux /boot/iso/DebianVmlinuz $bootoptions
>initrd /boot/iso/debianGtkInitrd.gz
> }
>
> So booting from the USB works; the installer starts. But after selecting
> languages it searches for the installer ISO, but always fails to find it. I
> get "Debian was unable to find an ISO installer image". Even if I tell it to
> browse the specific partition where ISO is it just fails with same error.
The wiki page also warns:
> There is no guarantee that mixing an hd-media initrd with
> an ISO's kernel will produce a desirable outcome in all
> circumstances.
In other words, if the hack works for you - all well and good. If not,
you get to piece it together yourself.
Why is a loopback boot so important to you?
--
Brian.
Booting Debian 10 installer ISO from USB
I'm trying to boot Buster installer from a USB by using Grub's loopback
device.
I already installed grub in the USB and put Buster ISO in its data
partition.
I read this
https://wiki.debian.org/Installation+Archive+USBStick#Using_GRUB.27s_Loopback_Facility
so I downloaded both hd-media kernel and initrd from here
http://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/installer-amd64/current/images/hd-media/
and put them in same directory as ISO, renaming them as "DebianVmlinuz"
and "debianGtkInitrd" respectively.
This is my grub.cfg config:
iso_path=/boot/iso/debian-10.1.0-amd64-xfce-CD-1.iso
export iso_path
search --set=root --file "$iso_path"
loopback loop "$iso_path"
menuentry "Graphical install" {
bootoptions="findiso=$iso_path desktop=xfce vga=788 --- quiet"
linux /boot/iso/DebianVmlinuz $bootoptions
initrd /boot/iso/debianGtkInitrd.gz
}
So booting from the USB works; the installer starts. But after selecting
languages it searches for the installer ISO, but always fails to find
it. I get "Debian was unable to find an ISO installer image". Even if I
tell it to browse the specific partition where ISO is it just fails with
same error.
I also tried loading hd-media initrd in conjunction with Buster ISO's
vmlinuz kernel, by specifying the loop device instead. Installer starts
as well but everything else the same: same error.
Can someone help please with this issue?
Thanks beforehand.
