Acer TimeLine 3810TZ Can't Boot From LiveUSB

LostChild1 · #1 (**permalink**) 30-Nov-2009, 21:30

So, I'm having the following problem:

I want to install OpenSUSE 11.2 on my Acer TimeLine 3810TZ which has no DVD Drive. So I followed the Live USB guide and crat my Live USB Stick with the following command:

matt@Matt:~> sudo dd if=~/Other/openSUSE-11.2-KDE4-LiveCD-x86_64-iso/openSUSE-11.2-KDE4-LiveCD-x86_64.iso of=/dev/disk/by-id/usb-_USB_Flash_Memory_001D0F160F0CB980439C061A-0\:0 bs=4M

and it reports that it's written it A-OK.

So I go to my laptop, enter the BIOS to give priority boot to the USB (It has Three USB entries, USB-CDROM, USB-HDD, USB-FDD, so I just put them all before any HDDs, figuring it'd cycle through them) and reboot with my stick in one of the USB slots.

And then it hangs on the BIOS. It lights up my USB Stick's activity light like crazy, but it never actually leaves the BIOS screen (POST screen).

Any idea what's going on? I'm kind of stuck with Windows Vista, and we all know how bad that is

syampillai · #2 (**permalink**) 01-Dec-2009, 03:14

Did you wait for long enough? It generally takes a lot of time reading in stuff from the stick.

LostChild1 · #3 (**permalink**) 01-Dec-2009, 10:35

Okay. I'm heading into around the 45 minute mark of it sitting on the BIOS, USB activity light still going however...

I feel it useful to mention that when it wrote the 722MB to the stick, it took less than a minute.

So, is this normal? Or is something up?

syampillai · #4 (**permalink**) 01-Dec-2009, 15:33

No, it is not normal.
Also, I have a doubt that the image was not correctly copied. See if you can do it again. It should not be mounted while executing the dd command.
Also, execute sync a couple of times before you remove the stick.

Code:

sync
sync

LostChild1 · #5 (**permalink**) 01-Dec-2009, 15:43

syampillai, I have a feeling that the problem lies with the DD command itself. It results in the file system being iso9900 or something like that, instead of being a vfat.

So I've tried mounting the iso elsewhere, formatting the USB stick to vfat myself, and then copying the files over, but so far I'm not having much luck. It can't find the boot image on the USB stick. BUT! The good news is it does pass the BIOS screen

I'll try your suggestion in a minute, if my newest try doesn't work haha.

And then of course, I'll post back.

Thanks!

(Are you available on MSN or IRC to have a more fluid conversation with?)

EDIT: Okay, I tried the above again, but this time without running sudo syslinux -f /dev/sde, but when I don't do that it DOES get by the BIOS, but says "This is not a bootable floppy" but when I DO run sudo syslinux -f /dev/sde it'll get past the BIOS, but it will say that it can't find the kernel.

LostChild1 · #6 (**permalink**) 01-Dec-2009, 16:02

Okay, I tried your suggestion:

Code:

matt@Matt:~> sudo /sbin/mkfs.vfat -I -n Matt /dev/sde 
mkfs.vfat 2.11 (12 Mar 2005)                          
matt@Matt:~> sudo umount /dev/sde
umount: /dev/sde: not mounted    
matt@Matt:~> sudo dd bs=4M if=/home/matt/Other/openSUSE-11.2-KDE4-LiveCD-x86_64-iso/openSUSE-11.2-KDE4-LiveCD-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sde
172+1 records in                                                                                                                    
172+1 records out                                                                                                                   
722468864 bytes (722 MB) copied, 214.466 s, 3.4 MB/s
matt@Matt:~> sync
matt@Matt:~> sync
matt@Matt:~> sync

And then if I plug it back into my PC it shows up as a "CDROM" device, and not a USB Device (Which I guess means it's filesystem is now ISO9960 or whathaveyou.) So when I plug it into my laptop we're back at square one, with it hanging on the BIOS screen.

syampillai · #7 (**permalink**) 01-Dec-2009, 16:08

The procedure is correct but you have to complete it with the rest of the steps. Please see the following link:
Live USB stick - openSUSE
(You can have any kind of file system, including iso9660, on the stick (for that matter, on any media). It doesn't have to be vfat!)

Unfortunately, I have to leave now. It is 2am here and I am already feeling very sleepy!
I am sure you will succeed with this and if you have any issues, others are alive here anyway. All the best.

vader95 · #8 (**permalink**) 01-Dec-2009, 16:12

I know that my bios will not read a flash drive. Now my computer is older than yours, but i don't know how the bios on Acer works. I was also wondering if that acer is a netbook or a notebook?

LostChild1 · #9 (**permalink**) 01-Dec-2009, 16:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by vader95

I know that my bios will not read a flash drive. Now my computer is older than yours, but i don't know how the bios on Acer works. I was also wondering if that acer is a netbook or a notebook?

It's a notebook. It's not super powerful, so I'd actually call it somewhere between a notebook and a netbook.

But it does support booting from the USB Stick, as it's in the BIOS.

I've been following this guide:

How to Make openSUSE 11.1 LiveUSB | Spirit of Change

and I managed to boot into the OpenSUSE Menu, but when I select to install or what have you, it can't find the appropriate kernel.

So, back to tinkering. I feel like I'm getting closer.

vader95 · #10 (**permalink**) 01-Dec-2009, 16:23

i know this sounds stupid, but did you check requirements and made sure you had them.

Also, if you prefer windows, windows 7 is a good os, i think it's actually a little better than xp

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