[syslinux] unable to install Debian using syslinux 4.05

[Thomas Schmitt]

Hi,

On Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 02:55:29PM +0300, Martin T wrote:
> > That is the reason I made a "debian-6.0.5-amd64-CD-1.iso_content"
> > directory to the UFB root in my working PC containing all the files in
> > debian-6.0.5-amd64-CD-1.iso image.

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 22:06:56 +0200, Geert Stappers <stappers at stappers.nl> wrote:
> Visit http://www.debian.org/ and 'click "Getting Debian"'
> Discover at http://www.debian.org/distrib/  that a netinst iso and
> only a netinst iso can be booted from USB. ( regular iso's don't )

I just downloaded the first few MB of
  http://debian.mirror.root.lu/debian-cd/6.0.5/amd64/iso-cd/debian-6.0.5-amd64-CD-1.iso

It obviously bears an isohybrid MBR with partition offset 64 * 512.
ISO image producer was xorriso-1.2.2.
So it should boot from USB stick after flatly copying the image onto it.
See:

  http://www.debian.org/CD/faq/#write-usb

There are several older howtos, which should work too. Above faq entry is
the most modern. It applies to ISO images for "i386" and "amd64", at least.


Copying the image will destroy any existing partitioning of the USB stick.
You will probably need to apply superuser powers.
Better make a test-read from stick and watch it blinking to be sure
you got the right address. E.g. for /dev/sdb :

  dd if=/dev/sdb bs=1M count=100 of=/dev/null

before you do the advised copy run
  dd if=debian-6.0.5-amd64-CD-1.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M ; sync


If this does not boot, then either debian-cd mailing list or this list here
would have to find out what goes wrong and tell me (as author of xorriso)
whether i am involved and how i could fix my wrongdoings.
The isohybrid MBR in question is based on a mbr/isohdp[fp]x*.bin from
SYSLINUX and patched by xorriso during image production.
(Ask debian-cd about details of their ISOLINUX installation.)


Have a nice day :)

Thomas