[syslinux] Re: Trying to figure out why my Cruzer Micro 512"MB" won't boot.

[Nazo]

On 4/27/06, Josh Lehan <jlehan at scyld.com> wrote:
> Nazo wrote:
> > Hi.  I'm ressurecting an old thread just to inform anyone who may be
> > interested that I have finally gotten my SanDisk Cruzer Micro to boot.
> >  I'm not sure if it was more luck than anything else or what.
> > Firstly, I was using syslinux-3.20-pre6 (pre7 wouldn't run on the live
> > disc I was using) and the mkdiskimage which came with it.  I just used
> > the standard command "./mkdiskimage -4 /dev/sda 0 64 32" to make the
> > image, then used "./unix/syslinux-nomtools /dev/sda4" to install.
> > Every now and then it doesn't boot unless I take the drive out and put
> > it back in just after the system has rebooted, but, now it does work.
>
> Good job.  I have a 1GB Cruzer Micro, that I eventually got to boot as
> best as possible using SYSLINUX.  My goal was to fit a bootable Knoppix
> CD image on it, with room to spare, so 1GB was the perfect size (a sale,
> at the time, made it affordable).
>
> I don't have a BIOS that requires USB-ZIP in order to boot, so can't
> test this.  On computers I have access to, the BIOS is so new that it
> accepts everything (USB-HDD included), or it is so old that it doesn't
> recognize USB boot devices at all.
>
> People have reported success with the HP USB key formatter.  I analyzed
> what it did, on this thread:
>
> http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23558
>
> Lots of links posted there, over time.  In short, successful USB booting
> is still a black art, very hit-or-miss, kind of like how CD-ROM booting
> in the mid-1990's was.
>
> Josh
>

Yeah, I actually knew of the HP tool.  In fact, it was probably the
first thing I tried the moment syslinux failed to work.  The fact is,
sometimes even syslinux still won't work, but, now most of the time it
will.  My only conclusion is that somehow these cruzer micros have
been made somehow more finnicky than usual so that somehow there's an
extra (seemingly random) variable involved that shouldn't be.

Actually, I had a real purpose for replying, not just to say that.  I
actually would like to ask for anyone who might know if they can tell
me if a flashdrive emulating USB-ZIP can be booted under USB-HDD mode.
 It seemed to me like it must surely be possible considering that
their weird partitioning system does so resemble that of an HD, just
an HD where some nut decided to start with the last primary partition
instead of the first...  Since I'm forced to use USB-ZIP, I'd
particularly like to know if my flash drive is going to fail to boot
on any system configured for USB-HDD.  This could potentially be a
problem, especially in light of the fact that USB drive booting is so
hit and miss that it's rare indeed to find a system where the user has
actually configured it for USB booting, making them change it for one
boot seems troublesome.  Not to mention the systems with passwords on
them (not that many of those are going to support USB booting.)  Am I
going to have to give up my joy in thinking that I can finally discard
the old flashdrive due to having to carry one for USB-HDD and one for
USB-ZIP?