How to start VectorLinux from USB
 

Hello,
I installed the Vector linux files from the ISO (vmlinuz and initrd.gz) on a FAT32 USB (in fact a CF card on an USB adapter). It dont start.
Why? Which boot codes should I use?

in the USB,

MENU LABEL Run linux
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
APPEND vga=769 ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw
initrd /boot/initrd.gz

It is usually more useful to describe what did happen, than what did not. First, the preliminaries: is the host set up to boot from a USB stick? Is there a bootloader installed on the USB stick? Which one? How did it get there? (copying files to any fileystem is not enough to install a bootloader on a partition or MBR). What do you mean, exactly, by 'installed the Vector linux files from the ISO (vmlinuz and initrd.gz) on a FAT32 USB'? Leave out no details.

FAT filesystems are suboptimal for Linux, as they do not provide the file attributes usually required for Linux installations.

--- rod.

EDIT: See http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Booting_from_USB for numerous details on your objective.

bootloader: syslinux
Extract of the syslinux.cfg (slitaz, tcl .. boots)

LABEL TinyCoreLinux 3.8.3 generic
MENU LABEL TinyCoreLinux 3.8.3 generic
KERNEL /boot/tcl/bzImage
APPEND vga=normal mydata=mydata noacpi nozswap showapps tce=UUID=8172-30FF kmap=qwertz/de-latin1 printk.time=1
initrd /boot/tcl/tinycore.gz
TEXT HELP
boot params = vga=normal mydata=mydata noacpi nozswap showapps
tce=UUID=8172-30FF kmap=qwertz/de-latin1 printk.time=1
andere moegliche boot parameter..
vga=ask noapci nolapic printk.time=1 ide_core.ignore_cable=0 noapic noscsi
tz=GMT+1 quiet kmap=qwertz/de-latin1 siehe www.tinycorelinux.net
nozswap noisapnp floppy=0,irq
ide_core.ignore_cable=1 for OldBoy1..
make different config files..
or menu for different computers
ENDTEXT
#
LABEL tcl3.8 hp Laptop hp6910p de lan
MENU LABEL tcl3.6 hp Laptop hp6910p de lan
KERNEL /boot/tcl/bzImage
APPEND quiet vga=791 tz=GMT+1 noscsi noacpi loglevel=2 showapps tce=UUID=8172-30FF mydata=hp6910p lst=hp6910p.lst kmap=qwertz/de-latin1
initrd /boot/tcl/tinycore.gz
#
LABEL tcl3.8 hp laptop hp6910p de uhl wlan
MENU LABEL tcl3.6 hp laptop hp6910p de uhl wlan
KERNEL /boot/tcl/bzImage
APPEND quiet vga=791 tz=GMT+1 noscsi noacpi loglevel=2 nozswap showapps tce=UUID=8172-30FF mydata=hp6910pu lst=hp6910pu.lst kmap=qwertz/de-latin1
initrd /boot/tcl/tinycore.gz
#
LABEL knoppix 6.2
MENU LABEL knoppix 6.2 kbd_DE OldBoy1
KERNEL /boot/syslinux/linux
# APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 lang=en vt.default_utf8=0 apm=power-off vga=791 initrd=minirt.gz nomce quiet loglevel=0 tz=localtime
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 lang=en nowheelmouse dma noswap noeject xmodule=mga desktop=fluxbox vt.default_utf8=0 apm=power-off vga=0x311 nomce quiet loglevel=0 tz=Europe/Berlin
initrd /boot/syslinux/minirt.gz
#
LABEL knoppix 6.4.3
MENU LABEL knoppix 6.4.3 kbd_DE OldBoy1
KERNEL /boot/knopp643/linux
APPEND ramdisk_size=100000 lang=en nowheelmouse dma noswap noeject xmodule=mga desktop=fluxbox vt.default_utf8=0 apm=power-off vga=0x311 nomce quiet loglevel=0 tz=Europe/Berlin
initrd /boot/knopp643/minirt.gz
#
LABEL slitaz 3.0 DE OldBoy1
MENU LABEL slitaz 3.0 DE OldBoy1
KERNEL /boot/slitaz/bzImage
APPEND rw root=/dev/null quiet kmap=de-latin1 vga=791 sound=no modprobe=mga lang=en acpi=off tz=localtime
INITRD /boot/slitaz/rootfs.gz
#
LABEL PartedMagic
MENU LABEL PartedMagic kbd_US
KERNEL /boot/pmagic/bzImage
APPEND directory=boot edd=off load_ramdisk=1 prompt_ramdisk=0 rw loglevel=9 max_loop=256
INITRD /boot/pmagic/initramfs
#
label warry puppy linux 5.1.3
menu label warry puppy linux 5.1.3
kernel /boot/wapu513/vmlinuz
append pmedia=ideflash psubdir=boot/wapu513 lang=en pkeys=de
# pmedia=usbflash
initrd /boot/wapu513/initrd.gz
#
label lucid puppy linux 5.2.8
menu label lucid puppy linux 5.2.8
kernel /boot/lupu528/vmlinuz
append pmedia=ideflash psubdir=boot/lupu528 lang=en pkeys=de
# pmedia=usbflash
initrd /boot/lupu528/initrd.gz
#
label legacyOS2 (puppylinux+,old pc)
menu label legacy os2 = puppylinux+, old pc
kernel /boot/legacyos2/vmlinuz
append pmedia=ideflash root=boot/legacyos2 lang=en pkeys=de
initrd /boot/legacyos2/initrd.gz
TEXT HELP
original was root=/dev/ram0 loglevel=3 PMEDIA=idecd

ENDTEXT
#
#
LABEL PapugLinux 11,1 Copy2RAM Gentoo
MENU LABEL Run PapugLinux 11,1 Copy2Ram Gentoo
KERNEL /boot/papug111/vmlinuz
APPEND vga=normal media=usb ramdisk_size=9999 root=/dev/ram0 rw noauto copy2ram
initrd /boot/papug111/initrd.xz
TEXT HELP
Use this option to start fresh
system, no changes are neither
read nor written anywhere
first copy all data to RAM then boot
original were vga=0x318 ramdisk_size=9999 root=/dev/ram0 rw noauto copy2ram
but dont boot on OldBoy1
ENDTEXT
#
LABEL Vectorlinux 6.0
MENU LABEL Vectorlinux 6.0
KERNEL /boot/vectorlin6/vmlinuz
APPEND vga=791 auto2 splash=silent initrd=/boot/vectorlin6/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw
#
TEXT HELP
bootcode auto2 is for autoprobe video
bootcode vesa for vesa video (instead of auto2)
bootcode vga=normal and vesa and splash=silent away
boot code without auto2 for probe video
boot code auto for alternative probe video
boot code cli for command line
error OldBoy1: searching for livecd.sgn then hangup...
ask in forum vectorlinux usb creation
ENDTEXT
#

I installed vmlinuz + initrd.gz + (newly after writing this thread) the directory VL6.0-Light by extracting them out the iso with the help of isomaster.
it boots; then searching for livecd.sgn then hangup...
So, I will have to test again and post there the result.

Okay, so the bootloader loads the kernel and the initrd, then kernel starts an init process, but then things go off the rails. The solution would seem to be in understanding the expectations of the initrd with respect to filesystem and existing hardware. Given that it is looking for 'livecd.sgn', it seems reasonable that it has some hardwired expectation for the type of drive hardware on which to look for it's parts. Does it's init system allow for a single-user boot mode? Perhaps booting into such a mode would allow you to probe its init scripts to see where things fail.
You can also unroll the initrd to follow the trail of init scripts.

--- rod.

I've been able to use Unetbootin to boot either the Vectorlinux install iso, or the live version. I've got a tutorial here about just how I go about doing that.
http://www.opensourcebistro.com/blog1/?p=647

thanks.
can you post here the vector command in syslinux.cfg for start? (in order to see the boot codes)

Here is what I have...