[syslinux] USB boot problems on Gigabyte GA-M55Plus-S3G

[Ronald F. Guilmette]

In message <BLU0-SMTP145A44932CB6CC2DB4621568BB30 at phx.gbl>, 
Ady <ady-sf at hotmail.com> wrote:

>> Is there something specific I should try?  /boot/syslinux ?
>> 
> 
>>From the syslinux boot prompt in UBCD you could try:
>/boot/syslinux/config.c32 /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg /boot/syslinux/
>
>(Yes, it is the same basic absolute path, three times, all in one 
>single continue command prompt with one space character in between; 
>once for config.c32, once for syslinux.cfg and once without any 
>additional file.)

OK, thank you for being so precise in explaining what i should try.
I did not just try that, and the result was the following:

	Could not find kernel image: /boot/syslinux/config.c32
	boot:

(Sorry that I do not have better news in this case.)

>I don't know why syslinux.cfg would be correctly found in the same 
>USB drive when plugged in to other systems but not in this one.

Well, ya know, that makes two of us.

>Recent (testing) Clonezilla versions include changes related to 
>booting problems, so there are valid reasons to try the very latest 
>version available. At the time I am writing this email, Clonezilla 
>Live 2.2.1-22 is the latest available (at this moment, under 
>(clonezilla_live_testing). This Clonezilla Live version uses Syslinux 
>6.03-pre1.

OK, I have found this page:

   http://clonezilla.org/downloads/download.php?branch=testing

and I see that this says "Clonezilla live version: 2.2.1-22".  But now
what?  I want to do exactly the test(s) that you want me to do, so
please do elaborate.  My machines are all modern and 64-bit capable,
including the one containing the problematic Gigabyte motherboard, so
I'm assuming that I should be selecting the "amd64" option on the
above page, yes?

But then should I get the .iso file or the .zip file?  (Normally, I
would just fetch the .iso file, but elsewhere you advised that I do
a "manual" install... whatever the heck that means... and I want to
be sure that I am following your instructions to the letter, so
should I get the .iso or the .zip?

And more to the point, once I have it, which of the four different
install methods list on this page:

   http://clonezilla.org/liveusb.php

would you like me to use?

(Hummm... reading ahead, I guss that you want me to fetch the .zip file,
and then use the clonezilla install method titled "MS Windows Method B:
Manual".  Is that all correct?)

>> >The "ldlinux.c32" 
>> >file should be also part of the Syslinux 6.03-pre1 installation. If 
>> >you see a (hidden) file named "ldlinux.sys"...
>> 
>> See?  I'm sorry.   I don't follow you.  Where should I be looking for
>> this file you are talking about, exactly?
> 
>Probably under '/syslinux/' and/or under '/isolinux/' in the 
>Clonezilla Live USB.

On my _current_ Clonezilla USB stick, there does indeed exist a file
called "ldlinux.sys".  It is present in tthe top-level directory.

What is the significance of the presence of that file?  Is the presence
pf this file causing the problem?  Should I simply remove it and try
again?

>Please avoid using any dd' method at this time.

OK.  Please feel free to elaborate on the reasons for this advice.  (I may
not understand all, or even very much of what you have to say, but it
might possibly be enlightening.)

>Also avoid any 
>"multiboot"-related tool or "USB-drive-writing-tool". Currently, most 
>of these "user-friendly" methods will fail with these particular 
>tools (specially with openELEC and Clonezilla).

I see.

Well, I am quite completely sure that I created my OpenELEC stick by
executing (under windows 7) the little .exe file that they distribute
(in their distribution .zip files) and that they tell you to use in
order to actually put OpenELEC onto a USB stick.  So if there are
indeed problems, even with that little tool, then yes, that might
perhaps go some way toward explaining the failure I saw when trying
to boot OpenELEC off a USB stick.  Keep in mind hoever that, as I
have been saying, the exact same USB sticks _do_ work perfectly
well on other systems I have here, in particular an older Intel Core 2
based laptop and an AMD E-450 based HTPC.  Those don't have any problems
with any of this stuff.  (I _could_ also try booting these sticks on
my main server system, which contains a not-quite-young-anymore ASRock
motherboard, and will, i the extra data point will be at all helpful.)

>> >As a remainder, all files under the /syslinux directory of your 
>> >Clonezilla USB drive should match the same version of Syslinux that 
>> >you installed as bootloader.
>> 
>> My hope and belief is that the maintainer/distributor of Clonezilla has
>> alread seen to it that this is the case.  Do we have any reason to suspect
>> otherwise?
>
>Yes. That's why I am suggesting to test the very latest Clonezilla 
>(wherever the "very latest" version would be located, under stable or 
>under testing).

OK.  Noted.  Thank you for explaining.

>> >I would suggest downloading the latest Clonezilla Live release 
>> >available and using the "manual" method to install it in your USB 
>> >drive. Other methods are probably going to fail (by mixing different 
>> >versions of Syslinux).
>> 
>> I suppose that I can give that a try, but it seems like we are sort of
>> just shooting in the dark here.
> 
>No "shooting in the dark". Please, at this time use the manual method 
>only, with the very latest Clonezilla Live. Not dd', not Unetbootin, 
>not Tuxbox, not LiLi. Please "clean up" the USB drive and then use 
>only the *manual* method at this time. See 
>http://clonezilla.org/liveusb.php .

By "clean up" may I safely assume that if I dd a few megabytes worth of
/dev/zero to the USB sticks, that will be sufficient for our purposes
here?

>Please let us know how it goes. Feedback is needed and appreciated.

Happy to help if I can.  I will attempt an install of Clonezilla
(testing) 2.2.1-22 via "manual" method, see what happens when I boot
the resulting stick on my Gigabyte system, and then I'll post results
here.

Should be shortly.

However I personally am still not hopeful, for the simple reason that,
as I menioned earlier, I normally have a perfectly good 64GB SSD in
the system in question (Gigabyte GA-M55Plus-S3G) and it is loaded up
with Windows 7 and normally mounted into a simple/trivial sATA hot-swap
bay.  That works just fine.  However when I remove that exact same SSD,
drop it into an external USB 3.0 2.5" drive case and _then_ try to boot
from it, that also chokes.  So it seems pretty clear to me that Gigabyte
has snafued something, perhaps so seriously so that even the best
SYSLINUX may not be able to overcome the (botched) BIOS firmaware.

But we'll see.


Regards,
rfg