Adding 13.2 iso images from USB HDD during installation ?

Hi all !

I’m currently trying to install openSUSE 13.2 64bit on an Acer Aspire E15 E5-571 (delivered as non OS).

Besides

download.opensuse.org/distribution/13.2/iso/openSUSE-13.2-DVD-x86_64.iso

I already downloaded iso images

download.opensuse.org/distribution/13.2/iso/openSUSE-13.2-Addon-Lang-x86_64.iso
download.opensuse.org/distribution/13.2/iso/openSUSE-13.2-Addon-NonOss-BiArch-i586-x86_64.iso

to a 2TB external USB HDD.

Now during the installation of openSUSE 13.2 I would like to add the last 2 iso images as external sources, in order to reduce network traffic.

But whenever I try to browse for the path on the external USB HDD the installer seems to search through the whole 2TB of the external HDD - after I once waited for about half an hour I just pulled the USB plug.

It is not obvious to me under which path I should look the iso-files for while running the openSUSE 13.2 installer !

/media wasn’t a good idea.

Anybody any idea?

Merry Christmas and a good new year to anyone here
Mike

Well downloads usually go to your ~/Download directory But it all depends on how you set it up.

Hi!

No no, on the external USB HDD the iso images are in the folder

/var/run/media/alltag/Medi2TB1_NTFS/00_Linux/00_openSUSE132_iso_images/

where ‘Medi2TB1_NTFS’ is the label of the drive.

Thanks
Mike

At least this is the path when I mount the external USB HDD under a running openSUSE 13.1 on another PC, but /var/run/media/… gives me nothing while running the openSUSE 13.2 installer.

Then the path would be /00_Linux/00_openSUSE132_iso_images/ I guess

BUT…That is a NTFS drive not sure that is supported by the installer as a source. It may expect packages to be on a Linux FS.

Still scratching my head on what you want to accomplish

I don’t know how to do that during the install.

Normally, if installing with the DVD image, there isn’t any network traffic. The network traffic comes when you first run online updates or Yast Software Management. That pulls in additional software that was not on the DVD.

So the trick would be to complete the basic install offline (from the DVD). Then use Yast Software Repositories to add the local iso images as additional repos. If you click “Add” in Yast Software Repositories, there’s a specific option to add a local iso image.

Then, only after adding the iso image, would you do your first online updates and install additional software.

Note that I have never tried this. If they were to provide an iso image with texlive, I would probably try that.

Hi !

Since a few years, whenever I install a new version of openSUSE on formatted partitions, I do it like that: I include the online update repositories as additional sources right from the start - i.e. while the installer is running.

The effect of this is that only the most recent pieces of software are installed, and that, in consequence, a subsequent check for updates finds no updates pending.

I found this to be most convenient!

The point with the already downloaded iso images on the external 2TB USB HDD thus is: parts of the software in these images may have experienced some updates, but usually by far not all of that software.

In the laptop I install on there only is one DVD drive - at least there is one!

Now I would like to be able to install the software that hasn’t been updated in the meantime from the already downloaded iso images on the USB HDD. Because that would save network traffic.

OK, it is not essential.

Maybe I’ll just install without that, download everything again, and look whether the touchpad of the laptop would work afterwards - which currently is another problem while running the installer, which may well prove to be more serious.

Anyway.

Best wishes !!
Mike

On 2014-12-25 18:06, ratzi wrote:

> No no, on the external USB HDD the iso images are in the folder
>
> /var/run/media/alltag/Medi2TB1_NTFS/00_Linux/00_openSUSE132_iso_images/
>
> where ‘Medi2TB1_NTFS’ is the label of the drive.

I think that the installer is expecting to find a DVD, not an iso image
file. If you “burn” it to a stick, maybe it will find it.

Or, “expand” the contents of those addons to a directory, and give that
path to the installer at the point it asks for add-on media. I’m
guessing that it might work.

Or, you can use the full DVD image for installation, which I think
includes the content of the add-on media. I understood that they are
needed with the lives, not the full installer.


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)

Hi Carlos !!

Yes, that might be another possibility, to expand (or extract) the contents of the iso image to a true folder on the external USB HDD.

But on the other hand, the installer, on its 2nd or 3rd page offers (as a checkbox) the option to install add-on products from separate media.

I used that possibility with success in the past, but then it was an external CD-ROM device with the respective CD in it
(means e.g. a burned image of download.opensuse.org/distribution/13.2/iso/openSUSE-13.2-Addon-NonOss-BiArch-i586-x86_64.iso).

I thought that using the downloaded iso image instead may even help to save (burned) CD disks as such.

Best wishes!
Mike

On 2014-12-25 23:36, ratzi wrote:

> Hi Carlos !!
>
> Yes, that might be another possibility, to expand (or extract) the
> contents of the iso image to a true folder on the external USB HDD.
>
> But on the other hand, the installer, on its 2nd or 3rd page offers (as
> a checkbox) the option to install add-on products from separate media.

Yes, and sometimes you can point to the iso file and it works; but not
always.

> I used that possibility with success in the past, but then it was an
> external CD-ROM device with the respective CD in it
> (means e.g. a burned image of
> download.opensuse.org/distribution/13.2/iso/openSUSE-13.2-Addon-NonOss-BiArch-i586-x86_64.iso).
>
> I thought that using the downloaded iso image instead may even help to
> save (burned) CD disks as such.

You know that you can “burn” them to usb sticks? Same as you do for the
installation image, same procedure.


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)

Hi again !!

Yes, one day I may indeed need to burn the image of the installer DVD to an USB stick.

The procedure to do so did, however, seem to have changed over the years.
So I’m glad that I still can use a real DVD for installation - and it just works :slight_smile:

But for the other iso images (like Non-OSS or Language-AddOns) - it should very well be possible to mount them from an external USB HDD during install.

Anyway, the installation of openSUSE 13.2 on that laptop runs smoothly now! :wink:

Best wishes
Mike

On 2014-12-26 01:26, ratzi wrote:

> But for the other iso images (like Non-OSS or Language-AddOns) - it
> should very well be possible to mount them from an external USB HDD
> during install.

Just “burn” them:


cp Language-AddOns.iso /dev/sdX

assuming that the stick is connected, and not mounted, on “/dev/sdX”. If you make a mistake on the destination, you destroy that other destination.

There are other methods and more details on the wiki:

SDB:Live USB stick
SDB:Create a Live USB stick using Windows
[/URL

You need one stick for each image. A 500 MB unit suffices for the add ons.


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)
](“https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Create_a_Live_USB_stick_using_Mac_OS_x”)

OK, that looks simple! I may try that.

But on the other hand, another issue remains, doesn’t it:

[QUOTE=robin_listas;2685192]There are other methods and more details on the wiki:

SDB:Live USB stick
SDB:Create a Live USB stick using Windows
SDB:Create a Live USB stick using Mac OS x

That is a thing I always disliked: using an 8GB or even 16GB USB stick for a 0.3GB (or 300MB) iso image?

That’s the reason why I was looking for other ways to do it :slight_smile:

Best wishes!
Mike

… of course, after installing, you could reformat those sticks and use them more efficiently for something else.:wink:

You could loop-mount the iso


# mount isofile-name.iso /mnt

and then recursively copy the repo from the loop-mounted iso to a partition on your USB.

I’m not sure it is worth all of this effort.

On 2014-12-26 05:36, nrickert wrote:

> and then recursively copy the repo from the loop-mounted iso to a
> partition on your USB.

Or “open” the iso file with ‘mc’ (midnight commander). Works as plain user.

> I’m not sure it is worth all of this effort.

I have my doubts, too.


Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)