laptop won start from USB stick

[fotoflex]

A full install takes about 4.5GB but then you do not have any space for updates.
If you can install grub to the flash drive, you can directly boot ISO without extracting them with grub2's loop mount. I use that on my Flash drives as then I can have more than one repair ISO and install ISO one one flash drive. Bit more complex as unetbootin or pendrive generally just work.

In the meantime I discovered I can download to any space with 'save link as' .
That I found out on the BBC website, where I download my podcasts from.
It discribes how to do just that.
So, Xubuntu is now downloading to a HDD with enough space.
To solve the boot-problem, I need to install Grub, to the USB Stick?

[black veils]

if you have used the startup disk creator, it will be all ready to use, its a matter of getting your computer to recognise it on boot via F12 one-time device selection.

[fotoflex]

if you have used the startup disk creator, it will be all ready to use, its a matter of getting your computer to recognise it on boot via F12 one-time device selection.

But, I used the sdc to make the stick from the live disc and it wouldn't boot up.
What is the difference with this? The. iso file?

[oldfred]

You only need to install grub to the USB flash drive if directly booting the ISO, not the normal extracted ISO the unetbootin and other installer create.

But if you have grub and more than one hard drive you can install from one drive to another. This is the same as installing grub to flash drive as flash drive is seen as another hard drive with most systems. The issue is making sure the path to the ISO file is seen by grub correctly as Ubuntu has not mounted any partitions, so the location is where it actually is on drive before Ubuntu mounts it.

This will boot an ISO from a hard drive.
ISO Booting with Grub 2 from Hard drive - drs305
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2/ISOBoot
Examples - you may copy & edit for your path & ISO version
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Gr...OBoot/Examples
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1549847
Boot ISO from harddrive. To install it would have to be different partition
[SOLVED] Using grub 2 to boot an iso off hard drive old examples
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1535864
may need this for some
insmod iso9660
sudo umount -lrf /isodevice

I find installing from one hard drive to another to be very fast. And once you set up the grub & /iso folder, it is easy to change to a new version. I use it primarily for testing new ISO or test installs. But my new install from a hard drive to my newish SSD already partitioned took less than 10 minutes to install. Still more time to configure but a very fast install.

[black veils]

thats genius, although struggling to get my mind around it. so its do this or order a live cd. could they put grub on the internal hdd, telling it to boot the .iso on external 1TB hdd ? assuming the internal is somewhat dead.. which has not been clarified.

[fotoflex]

thats genius, although struggling to get my mind around it. so its do this or order a live cd. could they put grub on the internal hdd, telling it to boot the .iso on external 1TB hdd ? assuming the internal is somewhat dead.. which has not been clarified.

The internal Hard Drive is gone, fried like your brain yesterday!
But then irrevocably so.
There must be enough left inside to tell me that the computer cannot 'find this device', on starting up.
A new live cd would not solve my problem, I guess, for the laptop runs perfectly well on the cd I have I have now.
It's just that I can't get it to boot from the stick.
There is probably something else needed to do that.
Grub,I guess.
Do I understand correctly that I can also boot from the Hard Disc I downloaded to .iso to?
Must of my windows programs ran from my external disc, so I be happy to try that.
It's just that in the description they gave you could use the stick on any computer and run it as your own.
AND would keep all settings and updates.
According to the link in oldfred's post, as far as I can see, I would be running the 'try Ubuntu' and subsequently lose all settings every time I reboot.
It would free up my cd player, though, so I could burn something again.

(Either of you ever played 100 Doors? It's a bit like that, isn't it? ;-P )

Thanks again.

[oldfred]

With the live flash drive version you can turn on persistence. That allows some data to be saved if flash drive is large enough. But it has limits, you cannot update installer and partition to save into cannot be very large.

Pros & cons of persistent install over direct install to flashdrives - C.S.Cameron
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1655412

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD/Persistence
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LiveUsbPendrivePersistent


With grub2 persistent C.S.Cameron 12.04
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2042965

Full install - C.S.Cameron post #2
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2116798
Full install of 12.04 to 64GB USB device C.S.Cameron post #3
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2092077



Large persistent - C.S.Cameron post 6 & 7
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2041679

[fotoflex]

The stick contains several files, among them BOOT -> GRUB -> LOOPBACK.cfg
So Grub is indeed already on there.
Thanks for the links, but it is all a bit too technical for me, I' m afraid.
I'll try and put 12.04 on the stick and hope for the better.

[fotoflex]

Deamon.png

Sadly, another one scuppered!
The SDC can' t format the stick.
What is Deamon?
Maybe if I remove all files from it and try again?

Thanks.

[Markup 001]

Hi,

I set the boot to FDD, but then I also get the message; 'Error, no such device'.
When I again open from the CD, I can see the stick contains everything it's supposed to.
Fotoflex

To go back to your original issue. Have you thought that your boot menu in your BIOS has probably got sub menus. I was helped sinilarly last week because I did not know this and could not locate the boot from USB option in my BIOS.

Try highlighting the FDD menu option and then hit enter rather than select and see if that gives you more options - such as USB - you can then toggle this up to 1st boot device and save the setting. I have a little eee pc and was not aware that the menus were stepped in this way until a forum user here pointed it out to me and sorted my booting issue.

It may help you, I hope so and good luck.