Topic: Install from USB Stick?

[idp_qbn]

Is there a way to install SME 7.4 from a USB memory stick?

Cheers
Ian

[David Harper]

Someone else may be able to advise you regarding this, but FWIW you can buy an external IDE or SATA USB 2.0 box that can accept 3.5" CD/DVD drives for less than $40.

e.g.
http://www.ddcomputer.com.au/prod-ACCOTHHDD01F-proddes_Noontec_3.5inch_IDE_External_Enclosure_USB2.0.html
http://www.ddcomputer.com.au/prod-GS3352-proddes_Noontec_GigaSave_3.5inch_SATA_to_USB2.0_Enclosure.html (EDIT: Not sure that these models actually support CDROMS; IIRC I have Ritmos.

They are great because then you can also put customer hard drives in to said box and attach it to a working PC for data recovery purposes - very convenient.

[dgs]

I put most of my boxes together without a CD, I usually plug a spare CD drive in loose for initial installation and remove it as soon as SME is loaded, because it will never be required again other than after a catastrophic failure.
That is the easy way with a traditional PC, however I've been messing with some Mini ITX form factor PCs which do not lend themselves easily to plugging in a CD.

I've found a utility called unetbootin http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ which allows building of bootable USB disks sticks from CD ISOs.

Thus far I've been able to create a USB stick image that boots the SME installer but is unable to load the files from the USB stick to complete the install.
The installer is looking for an image file and I am sure those who know a little (or a whole lot) more than me about the installer should be able to produce a solution.
If anyone has some pointers I've glad to work a little more on making a USB boot of the SME installer possible.
 

[idp_qbn]

I was not clear in my original question:
I want to install a 4-disk RAID5. My proposed server has the standard 2 IDE connectors ie 4 channels. The SME install kit is from a CD, which will use one of those channels, leaving only 3 for HDD.
My question should have been: how do I get a 4 disk RAID5?

I was hoping there is a way of installing from a USB stick  - not a USB CD, which I don't have. I guess there must be a way of installing from the network but that is a little beyond my Linux skills at the moment.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Cheers
Ian

[CharlieBrady]

Is there a way to install SME 7.4 from a USB memory stick?

Not as far as I know.

[dgs]

I have managed to get SME to install from a USB stick.  I am sure there is a much more elegant way to achieve it but this worked.

Of course you will have to run the gamut of USB boot issues as not every motherboard will support booting that way.

Here's what I have done.

You will need a USB stick of at least 2GB capacity. and a Windows or Linux PC for USB stick preparation.

1. Download SME ISO and also download the UNetbootin utility. http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
2. Format your USB stick
3. Run the UNetbootin utility and select the disk image option and point it to the SME ISO image. set the type as USB drive and set the appropriate USB drive as your target.
4. Once the USB image creation is complete then also copy the SME ISO image to the USB stick
5. Configure the Bios for USB boot on your target machine for SME install
6. Boot from the USB stick and follow the prompts like for a CD install of SME
7. At some point the loader will ask for the location of a CD image, select hard disk install and point the installer back to your USB stick.

Worked for me.

I'm sure the installer could be revised and this process could be streamlined rather than having the ISO and all the files on the USB stick. But hey it works.

[idp_qbn]

Thanks for that!
I will be trying that out when I can physically get to the PC in question.
Sounds good.
I will let you know how it goes.
Cheers
Ian

[cactus]

I have managed to get SME to install from a USB stick.  I am sure there is a much more elegant way to achieve it but this worked.

Of course you will have to run the gamut of USB boot issues as not every motherboard will support booting that way.

Here's what I have done.

Perhaps worth to put it in the wiki?

[dgs]

Perhaps worth to put it in the wiki?

I could write up what I have done with a little more detail if you consider it worthwhile. Although I am sure others with more knowledge of what is going on could probably improve on my meagre efforts. 

[cactus]

I could write up what I have done with a little more detail if you consider it worthwhile. Although I am sure others with more knowledge of what is going on could probably improve on my meagre efforts.

Yes, that might be the case and that's why the wiki comes in handy.

[smeerbartje]

I only have a 1gb USB stick; is it also possible to install SME 7.4 from a 1 gb stick?

[David Harper]

The CD image is only 600Mb or so, so 1Gb should be fine.

[smeerbartje]

The CD image is only 600Mb or so, so 1Gb should be fine.

Yeah, I thought so to, but the step-by-step guide from dgs tells me to copy the files to the stick by using the tool and then ALSO copy the ISO file to the stick. Can anyone confirm this?

[dgs]

Yeah, I thought so to, but the step-by-step guide from dgs tells me to copy the files to the stick by using the tool and then ALSO copy the ISO file to the stick. Can anyone confirm this?

You WILL need a 2GB stick (or around 2GB across two sticks) to follow the steps I outlined above.

UNetbootin builds a USB stick version of the CD ISO, but I was unable to point the installer to all of the files on the stick. It appears when unable to find a CD the installer looks for a ISO file at other sources.
By also loading the ISO to USB stick I was able to point the installer to that.

If you have another Memory stick, and assuming your target machine has more than one USB slot then then could copy the ISO to a second stick. This also works.

My method is crude and very inefficient with USB storage and I am sure it can be improved upon. I will try to get a bit more detail written down and transfer to the wiki as requested.

[smeerbartje]

You WILL need a 2GB stick (or around 2GB across two sticks) to follow the steps I outlined above.

UNetbootin builds a USB stick version of the CD ISO, but I was unable to point the installer to all of the files on the stick. It appears when unable to find a CD the installer looks for a ISO file at other sources.
By also loading the ISO to USB stick I was able to point the installer to that.

If you have another Memory stick, and assuming your target machine has more than one USB slot then then could copy the ISO to a second stick. This also works.

My method is crude and very inefficient with USB storage and I am sure it can be improved upon. I will try to get a bit more detail written down and transfer to the wiki as requested.

Great, thanks!