[syslinux] Boot 32GB Multi-partition Flash as USB-ZIP

[Michal Soltys]

On 10-11-24 21:17, Ray Rashif wrote:
>
> I'm not too sure about the LBA stuff. How should I check this? I
> initially did the partitioning of the disk with KDE's
> partitionmanager, resulting in a FAT32 with 'LBA' set and an EXT2 with
> 'boot' set. I only did the labelling of the FAT in Windows because
> mtools' mlabel was messing up the allocation unit.
>
> Like I mentioned, recent hardware have  no problem booting off of the
> stick. I'm particularly curious because the BIOS of this old desktop
> looks like it knows the difference between a ZIP and a Flash drive.
>

In this context - if the pc is a bit older (say 2007/8 or earlier) and 
if it has an award bios - than your problem might be in FAT32. 
Generally, those bioses will often /require/ the active partition to 
/have/ FAT16 filesystem for it to be treated as anything else than 
CHS-only floppy - even if you force usb-hdd, usb-zip or if the bios has 
a bit more modern usb harddisk entry (with named device) in boot menu.

As crazy as it sounds, I did experience it myself on handful of times, 
and there was a thread on the mailing list a while ago that pointed me 
into right direction as well:

http://syslinux.zytor.com/archives/2006-September/007241.html

(read the whole thread)

Btw, if you plan to use something else than syslinux and linux - such as 
booting freedos or anything that might rely on proper chs settings - 
note that bioses tend to have absolutely fantastic imaginations about 
usb stick geometry. Award ones in particular...