[syslinux] "isolinux.bin missing or corrupt" when booting USB flash drive in old PC
Ady Ady
ady-sf at hotmail.com
Sat Mar 18 01:18:39 PDT 2017
> syslinux at zytor.com:
>
> I have two older computers with Intel D865GBFLK motherboards (~2003)
> and Pentium 4 HT CPU's. They both have the latest available BIOS
> installed. I would like to put Debian on them.
>
>
> I have downloaded:
>
>
> http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/i386/iso-cd/debian-8.7.1-i386-xfce-CD-1.iso
>
>
> When I put debian-8.7.1-i386-xfce-CD-1.iso on a CD-R, it boots correctly.
>
>
> When I put debian-8.7.1-i386-xfce-CD-1.iso on a USB flash drive and boot
> it, I see the following on the console:
>
> isolinux.bin missing or corrupt
>
>
> The same USB flash drive boots correctly in newer computers.
>
>
> Memtest86+ 5.01 on a USB flash drive boots correctly in the older
> computers:
>
> http://www.memtest.org/download/5.01/memtest86+-5.01.iso.gz
>
>
> My conclusion is that debian-8.7.1-i386-xfce-CD-1.iso, when put on a USB
> flash drive, is not compatible with the BIOS in the older computers.
>
>
> I have filed a Debian bug report, and have been advised to post here:
>
> https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=857597
>
>
> Please advise.
>
>
> TIA,
>
> David
Some of the things you should / could (re)test / (re)try:
_ Verify the md5sum of the ISO image.
_ Is this particular USB device _still_ capable of booting newer
computers? What happens if you would try _again_ to boot a newer
computer? If the error message is seen now (while it was booting OK
before such newer systems), then it might be a sign that the USB device
is now failing.
_ Before executing dd in order to write the ISO image to the USB deice,
verify that you UNmount the filesystem volumes located in the USB
device.
_ In the dd command, verify that you are _not_ using a partition as
destination device but rather the whole device. For example, if the USB
device is identified as '/dev/sdc' in your OS, then the dd command
should _not_ include 'of=/dev/sdc1' but rather 'of=/dev/sdc'.
_After executing the dd command, wait enough time before extracting the
USB device. After the dd command has finished, sometimes using a 'sync'
command is suggested before extracting the USB device.
_ In the problematic computer(s), are there several USB ports? Have you
tried using another USB port when booting with this device (USB ports
in the front can frequently be a suspect, but not only those)? Is the
USB device connected directly to the USB port? Or instead, is there
some USB hub or similar device in between?
_ Which type of USB device is this? Are you using a USB flash drive, a
HDD connected by USB, or some kind of (SD) card connected by USB?
_ With the USB device connected to (one of) the problematic
computer(s), power up the system and get into the BIOS setup. In the
BIOS setup screen(s), change the boot order in such way that the USB
device is recognized as first boot device. Other devices such as CD-ROM
and your local HDD should be listed after the USB device in the boot
order (as second/third boot devices). Then save the BIOS settings and
try booting with the USB device.
_ If the BIOS setup includes some "fast (POST) boot" or "quick (POST)
boot" (or similar) option, disable it.
_ If the above changes in the BIOS setup are not enough for a
successful boot with your USB device, then boot back into the BIOS
setup screen(s) and change the way your USB is being detected at boot
time. Sometimes a USB device in a specific computer cannot boot when it
is detected as "USB-AUTO", but it can succeed when it is specifically
selected as "USB-HDD", or as "USB-FLOPPY", or as "USB-ZIP'. This is
usually selected when pressing a specific key during boot time and
selecting a specific device type as boot device - the specific key
(F1/F2/F12/DEL/ESC or some combination of keys) depends on your
particular computer.
_ Some older computers might not be able to detect "big" USB devices
correctly. Using a USB flash drive of 1GB might succeed while a bigger
one might fail. There are too many reasons for this behavior and thus,
too many possible workarounds / solutions; trying a smaller USB device
is just one of many.
There are alternative ways to boot from USB devices, and they depend on
how the ISO image was transferred onto the USB device. If you find that
your current boot device cannot boot these old systems, then the "dd
method" might not be a good choice for these old computers, but an
alternative method might work.
Considering that the other USB device (the one with memtest) is booting
correctly, you might want to describe here how exactly you transferred
memtest to this other USB device, and what is different from it in
comparison to the one that is having problems.
Regards,
Ady.
PS: I hope the OP is subscribed to the Syslinux Mailing List.
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