grub install on usb muiltiboot

[gpost3]

hi,
I have ubuntu 10.10 running and I want to make a multiboot usb flash drive. I have iso images of ubuntu live cd, windows, acronis and memtest86 which I intend to put in the usb. My fdisk -l shows:


root@ubuntu:/home/abid# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x473eb788

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 60802 488384001 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdb: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x674f31a3

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 13053 104845534+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2 13053 55263 339050273+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb3 55263 60802 44489728 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sdc: 4000 MB, 4000317440 bytes
124 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1016 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 7688 * 512 = 3936256 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0008c7f7

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 1 1016 3905473 83 Linux
I think sdc is my usb drive.
On terminal, I did:


sudo grub-install /dev/sdcwhich returned following:


Searching for GRUB installation directory ... found: /boot/grub and got stuck there. Where am I going wrong?

[gpost3]

Did some research, it may be a better idea for me to use Grub2. Anyone please help?

[wilee-nilee]

You can do it easier with the several multiboot programs out there. Here is one that I use there is a windows version called yumi as well on this same site.
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/multiboot-create-a-multiboot-usb-from-linux/

There is a command line one as well I can't find it right now and there are sites that will tell you how to load grub2 to a thumb and use it. You can't just load the mbr there has to be the rest of the grub setup in the partition.

I think it is fairly straight forward to install grub and use it the way you ask, but personally since the multiload tools work so I well, I don't bother with a manual setup.

[gpost3]

thank you so much for your reply. I like the link you gave (will try it out) but I also managed to install grub2 on my usb was fairly easy as you pointed out. Now I am trying to modify the grub.cfg. By the way, I am running Ubuntu 10.10 as my main (and only) operating system right now.

This is what my menu entries look like, I have also taken care of UUID using blkid in ubuntu. All I need to know is how do I create the menu entries for .bin and .iso image files in grub.cfg?

Here is a portion of mine right now:

menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,msdos3)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 63d6aab9-f9ff-49ce-8290-809e697b39ef
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,msdos3)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 63d6aab9-f9ff-49ce-8290-809e697b39ef
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}As you can see, it is pointing to a MemTest program which already came with my ubuntu install. I want to point it to look for memtest .bin file inside the usb drive.

~cheers as I made some decent progress!

[wilee-nilee]

Here you go this should get you set look at post #6.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=10088785

A lot of info there but the poster is quite good at this.

[gpost3]

That is a lot of info there. I tired the pendrive tool, upon clicking validate, it just quits. Anyway I want to add the memtest entry and also ubuntu entry to my grub2 as I am quite close. I have downloaded Ubuntu Live CD (iso image) and the memtest.bin. How do I shape my menuentry in grub.cfg?

[wilee-nilee]

That is a lot of info there. I tired the pendrive tool, upon clicking validate, it just quits. Anyway I want to add the memtest entry and also ubuntu entry to my grub2 as I am quite close. I have downloaded Ubuntu Live CD (iso image) and the memtest.bin. How do I shape my menuentry in grub.cfg?

The only oddity I have found with the pendrive tool the linux use one is that the thumb needs to be formatted with gparted, which you can install in your Ubuntu install. Otherwise I get a fail to load or reload the grub to the mbr when it starts up.

I had not been sure about this part as I use gparted all the time anyway to format and such.

[C.S.Cameron]

Try MultiBootUSB, it is a script that is real easy to use.
You can put dozens of distros on a single drive, (if you have room).
You must be booted from a distro that uses grub2 to use it, (such as the Live CD).