Verifying DMI Pool Data (USB)

Message

yeseanul · #1 Post by **yeseanul** » Thu 03 Aug 2006, 20:31

Hello,

I've downloaded Puppy (puppy-2.02-seamonkey.iso) and start playing with it. I didn't install, but I'm running it from the *.iso file that currently loads into a virtual machine.
I tried to install Puppy on a USB Flash Drive, and succeeded (with the Puppy wizard). But, when it boots from the USB Drive, I only get

yeseanul · #2 Post by **yeseanul** » Mon 07 Aug 2006, 11:05

I'm sure that this is a minor thing, but I just can't get over it.

Please reply some information feedback or references.

Thanks

Jesse · #3 Post by **Jesse** » Mon 07 Aug 2006, 11:54

Hi,

The usb install does tricky things to the usb drive, its not the regular "accessing files on a filesystem" when it sets the boot parameters, so maybe your virtual machine does not allow the correct actions? have you tried another virtual machine? have you tried really running it from a burnt iso?
Are you booting the usb device for real or via the virtual machine?
Well, yes it could also be a bug in the script... most obvious one there is that you are choosing something other than vfat for the filesystem, if so please try again with vfat, and the option that is not superfloppy, as these have worked for a long time and less likely to be faulty.

Jesse

yeseanul · #4 Post by **yeseanul** » Mon 07 Aug 2006, 15:10

Hello,

Thank you for the reply.
I have tried several virtual machines, but the result didn't vary. From a burnt .iso i didn't run Puppy yet, but I will do this asap.
As for the USB device, I'm booting it for real (not on a VM).
Each time I tried it, I used vfat and not superfloppy (as a matter of fact, I once used superfloppy just to see if it worked, but also didn't). Anyways, I'm running the install script and just accepting the defaults, and also (after seeing that it won't boot) putting (from Win "c:\syslinux\win32\syslinux.exe i:

Sit Heel Speak · #5 Post by **Sit Heel Speak** » Mon 07 Aug 2006, 17:38

See if the thread "Booting Puppy 2.02 from USB via PCMCIA USB2 adapter card" at

http://www.murga.org/~puppy/viewtopic.php?p=61704

helps.

On my IBM T21 laptop, I can boot any version of Puppy residing on a USB stick, from either the USB 1 port on the back of the machine (but it's too slow, so I don't) or through a USB 2 PCMCIA adapter card (which is fast, so I do). My T21 is too old to have the option of booting from USB in BIOS, so I use either pakt's WakePup, WakePup2, or WakePup2-v2 boot floppy (see the thread cited above), or else I use grub.exe started from within Windows 98SE's autoexec.bat, which is of course resident on the C:\ subdir, and grub.exe (resident also on the hard disk, in C:\boot\grub for most people, although I have multiple copies of grub in various subdirs e.g. C:\p201flash, C:\p108disk etc.) then commences to kickstart vmlinuz (Puppy Linux) which is resident on the USB stick.

Is the above, what you are trying to accomplish?

*Somewhere,* there is a nice, to-the-point, very concise "How to use Grub" webpage. I know I've seen it. It is here, either on this server or else on www.puppyos.com or one of the links it immediately leads to. But this gem of useful know-how has gotten buried in the overall avalanche of helpfulness and I can't now find it. If anybody knows where it is, please point yeseanul to it.

yeseanul · #6 Post by **yeseanul** » Tue 08 Aug 2006, 09:43

Thank you for the reply Sit Heel Speak.

See if the thread "Booting Puppy 2.02 from USB via PCMCIA USB2 adapter card" at
http://www.murga.org/~puppy/viewtopic.php?p=61704

I've read the thread a few days ago when I first started to read documentations about booting Puppy from USB.

Is the above, what you are trying to accomplish?

Not really. I am trying to boot Puppy form the USB stick (alone, without a floppy), using a PC that allows me to boot from any device attached to a USB port. So my machine does try to boot from my Puppy USB stick, but all I get is

Sit Heel Speak · #7 Post by **Sit Heel Speak** » Tue 08 Aug 2006, 15:14

yeseanul wrote:I am trying to boot Puppy from the USB stick (alone, without a floppy), using a PC that allows me to boot from any device attached to a USB port...Like I said, I've tried two versions of Puppy (2.01r2 and 2.02) and also the last version of syslinux (3.08 ). Also, I've copied the Win98 boot files...I haven't tried Grub because I want my Puppy USB stick to be bootable on any given machine...

So, the problem resolves to, either

1. You need to find a bootloader (examples: io.sys, syslinux, lilo, tiny, grub, linload...) that works on your USB stick, any machine. However, since io.sys doesn't work, this probably isn't the issue...

or

2. You need to identify what it is you've missed, concerning your BIOS and/or chipset, which prevents you from booting any OS from your USB stick.

A concise explanation of "Verifying DMI pool data" is at

http://www.duxcw.com/faq/computer/dmi.html

In particular, item #3 leaps to the eye:

3. Enable "Reset Configuration Data" (may be "Force Update ESCD" in some CMOS Setups) in the motherboard CMOS Setup PNP/PCI configuration. (Rebooting will automatically disable it after it has done its thing.)

See if changing that from no to yes is the key.

If that isn't it, then you are going to have to quit hoping we are psychic, and tell us what is the make and model of your machine and/or motherboard

.

yeseanul · #8 Post by **yeseanul** » Tue 08 Aug 2006, 20:11

You need to find a bootloader (examples: io.sys, syslinux, lilo, tiny, grub, linload...) that works on your USB stick, any machine. However, since io.sys doesn't work, this probably isn't the issue...

Probably not.

You need to identify what it is you've missed, concerning your BIOS and/or chipset, which prevents you from booting any OS from your USB stick.

Maybe so.

Enable "Reset Configuration Data" (may be "Force Update ESCD" in some CMOS Setups) in the motherboard CMOS Setup PNP/PCI configuration. (Rebooting will automatically disable it after it has done its thing.)

I couldn't find either

Sit Heel Speak · #9 Post by **Sit Heel Speak** » Tue 08 Aug 2006, 21:12

Well, "Reset Configuration Data" should be on that PNP/PCI BIOS screen. You might email Gigabyte tech support and ask.

If that doesn't fix it, then perhaps your USB stick is deliberately crafted by the manufacturer, to not be bootable. Study the thread

http://www.murga.org/~puppy/viewtopic.php?t=6228

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Jesse · #10 Post by **Jesse** » Tue 08 Aug 2006, 22:49

Hi yeseanul,

I have a vague recollection that I had problems like this a while back before I actually got usb boot working.
I have an ASUS motherboard, so I can't tell you the exact thing to make yours work, but may be able to offer advice.
In my BIOS screen I was very puzzled in that there was no option to boot from USB, but the manual claimed that it was possible so I persevered. Many reboots later I discover that usb disks are put into the same section as IDE drives and SATA drives, with a seperate section for cdrom, floppy, network, "removable".
I tried many times with "removable", but I never saw it work like that, and I think this setting made it pause on the Verifying DMI Pool.

To make it actually work, I had to plug in the usb drive before power on, then in bios, set boot order to hard-disk first, then in the list of hard drives, I had to move the identified name of the usb drive to the top of the list.
If I remove the drive for a reboot then it is automatically removed from the list, so beware this!

The way to make it work seemed really counter intuitive to me, so I suggest to you that you explore as many aspects of your BIOS screens as you can, and see what settings are available for you to set, and if you come across setting options like what I have described, to try a similar combination. If that doesn't work, persistence and many different BIOS settings may.

Jesse

yeseanul · #11 Post by **yeseanul** » Wed 09 Aug 2006, 18:31

@ Sit Heel Speak
Thank you very much for your help. I will study the thread you've mentioned and see if it, in any way, leads to me solving the problem.

@ Jesse
Thank you for the reply.
I don't think that my BIOS is where the problem starts, because the boot selector seems very clear (img.1 & img.2). I have 4 USB device types (USB-FDD, USB-ZIP, USB-CDROM, USB-HDD), and I've tried each of them.

But, looking at img.3 and img.4, I must say that the options highlighted are the only ones that I've used (the exception is in img.4 where I've also used the option

Sit Heel Speak · #12 Post by **Sit Heel Speak** » Wed 09 Aug 2006, 19:13

yeseanul wrote:@ Sit Heel Speak
Thank you very much for your help. I will study the thread you've mentioned and see if it, in any way, leads to me solving the problem.

@ Jesse
Thank you for the reply.

Jesse may have found the answer, see

http://www.murga.org/~puppy/viewtopic.php?t=9928

Your machine certainly is an extreme case by which Jesse's idea (see also:

http://www.murga.org/~puppy/viewtopic.php?p=62097#62096

) can be tested.

Jesse · #13 Post by **Jesse** » Wed 09 Aug 2006, 21:16

Hi yeseanul,

I think there is a problem with your usb disk or with PUI.
img5 shows no filesystem detected for your device.

Try running syslinux to make it bootable, e.g. if it is sda1, make sure that the drive is NOT mounted and then run this commad (change sda1 if it is not sda1)

syslinux /dev/sda1

Another option could be to try a different usb disk?

Jesse

yeseanul · #14 Post by **yeseanul** » Thu 10 Aug 2006, 17:13

Try running syslinux to make it bootable, e.g. if it is sda1, make sure that the drive is NOT mounted and then run this commad (change sda1 if it is not sda1)

syslinux /dev/sda1

Like I said in the original post, I did use syslinux, but form Windows. Now, I've tried it in Linux (syslinux /dev/sda1). The result: the same

.

I don't have any S-ATA's, and I don't think that my hardware is special, but an ordinary one.

Another option could be to try a different usb disk?

Unfortunately this is my only one, and for now I don't have where to borrow one from.

Maybe formatting the USB stick can help...? I personally don't think so, but...maybe...
Or changing the MBR (img.3 from my last reply)...

I will test this USB stick on another machine asap, but I'm pretty sure that the result won't vary.

Sit Heel Speak · #15 Post by **Sit Heel Speak** » Thu 10 Aug 2006, 17:27

The next thing I would try, is to see whether this USB stick will boot while formatted vfat with pakt's WakePup2-02 floppy (from http://www.murga.org/~puppy/viewtopic.php?p=61704 ). Perhaps the result of trying this, would supply a clue.

Separately, I do remember that someone, somewhere, a long time ago, did succeed in booting an obstinate USB stick on older hardware by formatting it as if it were a CD-ROM. I notice that your BIOS does feature the ability to boot from a USB CD-ROM. But I haven't the ability to try this. I do not see, in your manual, that your motherboard (BIOS date 2004) can boot from a USB flash key. Perhaps that ability is too new.

Sit Heel Speak · #16 Post by **Sit Heel Speak** » Thu 10 Aug 2006, 18:05

Perhaps if you email Gigabyte tech support, and ask them for a BIOS update, so that you can boot from a USB flash key...

yeseanul · #17 Post by **yeseanul** » Thu 10 Aug 2006, 19:32

The next thing I would try, is to see whether this USB stick will boot while formatted vfat with pakt's WakePup2-02 floppy (from http://www.murga.org/~puppy/viewtopic.php?p=61704 ). Perhaps the result of trying this, would supply a clue.

I did try this, but it didn't work (I mean, I wasn't able to run Puppy from the USB stick, booting with the WakePup2-02 floppy). Everything happened very quickly, so I can't really figure it out on my own what happened. But I did capture some screen shots (1-5).

I do not see, in your manual, that your motherboard (BIOS date 2004) can boot from a USB flash key. Perhaps that ability is too new....
Perhaps if you email Gigabyte tech support, and ask them for a BIOS update, so that you can boot from a USB flash key...

Yes, I know that theoretically my MB can't boot from a USB flash key, but I thought that, if it was able to boot from several USB devices (CDROM, FDD, ZIP, HDD), a stick was not going to be a problem. Was I wrong?
Anyway, I am trying to contact Gigabyte, but their Technical Service seems to be down for the moment. All I got was

Sit Heel Speak · #18 Post by **Sit Heel Speak** » Thu 10 Aug 2006, 19:53

Hmmm...WakePup2-02 is not finding the USB stick...even though it is finding the EHCI (USB 2) controller...odd. I can only speculate. Perhaps your original hunch, munged MBR, was in the right ballpark though maybe not the right seat. Have you, by any chance, tried running Windows ScanDisk on this USB stick, to see if perhaps either the FAT is munged, or else there might be a horde of lost fragments overwhelming the bootloader's ability to sort out the topmost directory?

yeseanul · #19 Post by **yeseanul** » Thu 10 Aug 2006, 20:21

Have you, by any chance, tried running Windows ScanDIsk on this USB stick, to see if perhaps either the FAT is munged, or else there might be a horde of lost fragments overwhelming the bootloader's ability to sort out the topmost directory?

Yes I did and it didn't find any errors.

Sit Heel Speak · #20 Post by **Sit Heel Speak** » Thu 10 Aug 2006, 21:26

I remember reading a post which recommended using cfdisk to "fdisk" the USB stick as FAT (FAT16, not FAT32), and then use Windows format to format it as FAT16. My own USB stick is factory-formatted to FAT16. Perhaps you might try this.

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Verifying DMI Pool Data (USB)

Verifying DMI Pool Data (USB)