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Thread: Howto: Install Ubuntu without a CD

  1. #221
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    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: "Cannot find GRLDR in all devices" error using UNetbootin

    Quote Originally Posted by Grimly Fiendish View Post
    Ok, after baby-sitting the installation for hours and all appeared to be going well...

    Until, at the end, got this error saying didn't know where to install GRUB - No options semed to be acceptable or workable so selected 'finish installation'.

    Laptop now bricked - 'Cannot find OS' or something and no way (as yet, anyway) of booting into machine.

    I'm not complaining (I knew the risks) but, Jeez, this whole *ix stuff has a long way to go (someday, I'm sure it will get there).

    I speak as a developer of long standing (MS/SQL Server/Oracle) so I'm not technically inept but this has been a dispiriting experience.

    Anyway, anyone got any ideas as to how I might be able to resusicate apparently dead laptop (bearing in mind CD is kaput)?

    Thanks
    Whoa, that doesn't sound good, seems like the GRUB configuration is screwed up (I suspect it has something to do with the awkward partition layout confusing GRUB), anyhow just re-install GRUB using the Super Grub Disk; see http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org/?section=download for downloads; use either the floppy version or the USB flash drive version (you'll need access to another computer to write the image to a floppy or flash drive), then just change the boot order to boot from floppy/USB drive, then use the "repair GRUB" option on the Super Grub Disk (details at http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org...=documentation ) and it should work then
    Last edited by tuxcantfly; November 13th, 2007 at 05:59 AM.

  2. #222
    Join Date
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    Dublin, Ireland
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    11
    Distro
    Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn

    Re: "Cannot find GRLDR in all devices" error using UNetbootin

    Quote Originally Posted by tuxcantfly View Post
    Whoa, that doesn't sound good, seems like the GRUB configuration is screwed up (I suspect it has something to do with the awkward partition layout confusing GRUB), anyhow just re-install GRUB using the Super Grub Disk; see http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org/?section=download for downloads; use either the floppy version or the USB flash drive version (you'll need access to another computer to write the image to a floppy or flash drive), then just change the boot order to boot from floppy/USB drive, then use the "repair GRUB" option on the Super Grub Disk (details at http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org...=documentation ) and it should work then
    Thanks (again!) for all your help, Tux...

    I'll give the above a shot when I get home.

    Here's hoping...

  3. #223
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    I bricked a box, too... here's how I unbricked

    Box is a P-4 HP e-PC that will not boot from CR-ROM and it doesn't have a floppy drive. Basically, a P4 laptop in a tiny desktop case. I tried all the stuff with loaders, smb this, and all that. Nope. Tried the USB boot that I *have* had work on some Dells we have. Nope. Ended up bricking it with "No OS" like above.

    But I banged on the enter key and it gave me a clue:
    Code:
    Client MAC ADDR: 00 04 23 14 0C 7E GUID: AC388561-F52C-11D5-AD37-44DEC94FC43E
    PXE-E53 : No boot filename received
    
    PXE-M05 : Exiting Intel PXE ROM
    Turns out, it's ethernet card supports PXE. I had zero experience before this...

    New to install ubuntu box is mentioned above. The "PXE host" from which all commands below I just coped is a Dell C521 AMD Athlon on the same simple "home network" running kubuntu gutsy amd64. Network is hanging off of one of the high speed 4 port wireless routers (with DHCP running on it!). My net is 192.168.2.x, with netmask 255.255.255.0. I formerly made the wireless router assign DHCP from 192.168.2.100 to 192.168.2.120. And I have some static IP's hanging out in the 192.168.2.40~192.168.2.59 range, so you see I set the DHCP range away from potential conflicts. Router is on 192.168.2.1

    # http://wiki.koeln.ccc.de/index.php/Ubuntu_PXE_Install
    # Awesome reference, I didn't need much of it. but it did tell me about:
    Code:
     /etc/default/tftpd-hpa: RUN_DAEMON="yes"
    #
    # The 2 refs that really got me solved:
    # http://mywheel.net/blog/index.php/ub...twork-install/
    # http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/w...he_TFTP_Server
    #
    #
    # actual commands that worked copied from my terminal with explanations behind # and output shown too:
    # -------------------------------------------------------

    $ wget http://mirror.anl.gov/pub/ubuntu-iso...rnate-i386.iso

    ~# apt-get install tftpd-hpa dhcp3-server
    Setting up dhcp3-server (3.0.5-3ubuntu4) ...
    Generating /etc/default/dhcp3-server...
    * Starting DHCP server dhcpd3 [fail]
    invoke-rc.d: initscript dhcp3-server, action "start" failed.

    ~# cd /var/lib/tftpboot
    /var/lib/tftpboot# mkdir ubuntu
    /var/lib/tftpboot# cp /home/chris/xubuntu-7.10-alternate-i386.iso .
    /var/lib/tftpboot# mount -o loop /var/lib/tftpboot/xubuntu-7.10-alternate-i386.iso /var/lib/tftpboot/ubuntu
    /var/lib/tftpboot# cd /var/www
    /var/www# ln -s /var/lib/tftpboot/ubuntu/
    /var/www# ls
    apache2-default ubuntu

    /var/www# vi /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf
    # edited to make only the lines shown below uncommented...
    /etc# cat dhcp3/dhcpd.conf
    ddns-update-style none;

    default-lease-time 600;
    max-lease-time 7200;

    # from http://mywheel.net/blog/index.php/ub...twork-install/
    ping-check = 1;
    filename = "ubuntu/install/netboot/pxelinux.0";
    subnet 192.168.2.0
    netmask 255.255.255.0 {
    range 192.168.2.20 192.168.2.24;
    }



    /var/www# /etc/init.d/dhcp3-server restart
    * Stopping DHCP server dhcpd3 [fail]
    * Starting DHCP server dhcpd3 [ OK ]

    # tried starting the computer and it dhcp'd but did a PXE-E32: TFTP open timeout.

    /var/www# cd ../log
    /var/log# tail syslog
    Nov 20 21:34:13 cu1 dhcpd: For info, please visit http://www.isc.org/sw/dhcp/
    Nov 20 21:34:13 cu1 dhcpd: Internet Systems Consortium DHCP Server V3.0.5
    Nov 20 21:34:13 cu1 dhcpd: Copyright 2004-2006 Internet Systems Consortium.
    Nov 20 21:34:13 cu1 dhcpd: All rights reserved.
    Nov 20 21:34:13 cu1 dhcpd: For info, please visit http://www.isc.org/sw/dhcp/
    Nov 20 21:34:13 cu1 dhcpd: Wrote 0 leases to leases file.
    Nov 20 21:35:33 cu1 dhcpd: DHCPDISCOVER from 00:04:23:14:0c:7e via eth0
    Nov 20 21:35:34 cu1 dhcpd: DHCPOFFER on 192.168.2.24 to 00:04:23:14:0c:7e via eth0
    Nov 20 21:35:35 cu1 dhcpd: DHCPREQUEST for 192.168.2.24 (192.168.2.50) from 00:04:23:14:0c:7e via eth0
    Nov 20 21:35:35 cu1 dhcpd: DHCPACK on 192.168.2.24 to 00:04:23:14:0c:7e via eth0


    # OK- so dhcp is working ... maybe there is a conf for tftp...?

    /var/log# apt-get install tftp-hpa
    /var/log# cd /etc/
    /etc# find . -name "*tftp*"
    ./rc4.d/S20tftpd-hpa
    ./default/tftpd-hpa
    ./rc1.d/K20tftpd-hpa
    ./rc3.d/S20tftpd-hpa
    ./init.d/tftpd-hpa
    ./rc2.d/S20tftpd-hpa
    ./rc5.d/S20tftpd-hpa
    /etc# cd default/
    /etc/default# vi tftpd-hpa

    /etc# cat default/tftpd-hpa
    #... changed "no" to "yes"
    RUN_DAEMON="yes"
    OPTIONS="-l -s /var/lib/tftpboot"
    /etc#



    /etc/default# cd /var/lib/tftpboot/
    /var/lib/tftpboot# ls
    ubuntu xubuntu-7.10-alternate-i386.iso

    /etc/default# /etc/init.d/tftpd-hpa start
    Starting HPA's tftpd: in.tftpd.
    /etc/default# netstat -a | grep tftp
    udp 0 0 *:tftp *:*

    # Did reboot and it immediately started into the installer!! But then
    # it tried to configure network off of my temporary dhcp server, so I
    # had to select <Go Back> a bunch of times until I go the retry Auto Network
    # configure option...

    /etc/default# /etc/init.d/dhcp3-server stop
    * Stopping DHCP server dhcpd3 [ OK ]

    # and now the installer configured via normal dhcp server and all started
    # well.
    #
    # if you get the freeze after the task select stage of the install, go away
    # and come back in an hour. Seems that's what it might take.
    # https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...onf/+bug/62986
    #
    # Now to make it so this "server" doesn't start serving dhcp and tftp
    # at reboot by removing the init.d start up scripts. I didn't apt-get remove
    # because I assumed it wouldn't work and I'd need to do it again...

    /etc# find . -name "*S*dhcp*"
    ./rc4.d/S40dhcp3-server
    ./rc3.d/S40dhcp3-server
    ./rc2.d/S40dhcp3-server
    ./rc5.d/S40dhcp3-server


    # Find is a powerful command TEST it in a safe place as
    # a plain user before experimenting!! Notice I checked the
    # output above before executing the xargs rm below!


    /etc# find . -name "*S*dhcp*" -print0 | xargs -0 rm
    /etc# find . -name "*S*dhcp*"

    # double check what is left...

    /etc# find . -name "*dhcp*"
    ./dhcp3
    ./dhcp3/dhcpd.conf
    ./default/dhcp3-server
    ./rc1.d/K40dhcp3-server
    ./init.d/dhcp3-server
    ./acpi/suspend.d/65-dhcpd-stop.sh
    ./acpi/resume.d/69-dhcpd-start.sh


    # missed one... let's remove it now.

    /etc# rm acpi/resume.d/69-dhcpd-start.sh
    /etc#

    # repeat for tftp, as I do not need that service...

    /etc# find . -name "*tftp*"
    ./rc4.d/S20tftpd-hpa
    ./default/tftpd-hpa
    ./rc1.d/K20tftpd-hpa
    ./rc3.d/S20tftpd-hpa
    ./init.d/tftpd-hpa
    ./rc2.d/S20tftpd-hpa
    ./rc5.d/S20tftpd-hpa

    /etc# find . -name "*S*tftp*" -print0 | xargs -0 rm
    /etc# find . -name "*S*tftp*"

    # verify:

    /etc# find . -name "*tftp*"
    ./default/tftpd-hpa
    ./rc1.d/K20tftpd-hpa
    ./init.d/tftpd-hpa
    /etc#

    # Now that it worked and my little box is finally booting and installing:
    # Find the ISO mounted and unmount it

    /etc# mount
    . (other mounts omitted)
    .
    /var/lib/tftpboot/xubuntu-7.10-alternate-i386.iso on /var/lib/tftpboot/ubuntu type iso9660 (rw,loop=/dev/loop0)

    /etc# umount /var/lib/tftpboot/ubuntu

    # so now if I need to do this again, I just start up dhcpd and tftpd and then mount the ISO
    # again.

    Last edited by cacycleworks; November 21st, 2007 at 08:18 AM. Reason: typo, expound more at top.

  4. #224
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    Re: Howto: Install Ubuntu without a CD

    oh, yeah, the e-pc was running windows 2000, which seemed particularly resistant to my efforts of installing a boot loader. I tried grub4dos and some other one, too, that claimed to be able to boot to HD then load CD. It couldn't install over grub. All that muckering about took twice as long as the PXE install did tonight. Of course, it didn't help having to boot to win2k all those times!!


  5. #225
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    Re: I bricked a box, too... here's how I unbricked

    Quote Originally Posted by cacycleworks View Post
    # Now to make it so this "server" doesn't start serving dhcp and tftp
    # at reboot by removing the init.d start up scripts. I didn't apt-get remove
    # because I assumed it wouldn't work and I'd need to do it again...

    /etc# find . -name "*S*dhcp*"
    ./rc4.d/S40dhcp3-server
    ./rc3.d/S40dhcp3-server
    ./rc2.d/S40dhcp3-server
    ./rc5.d/S40dhcp3-server


    # Find is a powerful command TEST it in a safe place as
    # a plain user before experimenting!! Notice I checked the
    # output above before executing the xargs rm below!


    /etc# find . -name "*S*dhcp*" -print0 | xargs -0 rm
    /etc# find . -name "*S*dhcp*"

    # double check what is left...

    /etc# find . -name "*dhcp*"
    ./dhcp3
    ./dhcp3/dhcpd.conf
    ./default/dhcp3-server
    ./rc1.d/K40dhcp3-server
    ./init.d/dhcp3-server
    ./acpi/suspend.d/65-dhcpd-stop.sh
    ./acpi/resume.d/69-dhcpd-start.sh


    # missed one... let's remove it now.

    /etc# rm acpi/resume.d/69-dhcpd-start.sh
    /etc#

    # repeat for tftp, as I do not need that service...

    /etc# find . -name "*tftp*"
    ./rc4.d/S20tftpd-hpa
    ./default/tftpd-hpa
    ./rc1.d/K20tftpd-hpa
    ./rc3.d/S20tftpd-hpa
    ./init.d/tftpd-hpa
    ./rc2.d/S20tftpd-hpa
    ./rc5.d/S20tftpd-hpa

    /etc# find . -name "*S*tftp*" -print0 | xargs -0 rm
    /etc# find . -name "*S*tftp*"

    # verify:

    /etc# find . -name "*tftp*"
    ./default/tftpd-hpa
    ./rc1.d/K20tftpd-hpa
    ./init.d/tftpd-hpa
    /etc#

    Nice guide indeed! A life saver.
    Let me just tell you there's an easier way to remove init scripts.
    All you need is to get into /etc/init.d/ and see what is the exact name of the service you want to disable at boot.
    Then you use update-rc.d program (it adds or remove init scripts to the different run levels)
    For example, to remove the dhcp server you need something like this:
    Code:
    update-rc.d dhcp3-server remove
    Simple, isn't it?
    Read the update-rc.d help for more options on how to use
    Cheers,
    Ziv

  6. #226
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    Re: I bricked a box, too... here's how I unbricked

    Quote Originally Posted by zivley View Post
    Nice guide indeed! A life saver.

    Then you use update-rc.d program (it adds or remove init scripts to the different run levels)
    For example, to remove the dhcp server you need something like this:
    Code:
    update-rc.d dhcp3-server remove
    Cheers,
    Ziv
    Thanks!! That is so added to my "useful_cli.txt" file! (and to my copy of the how-to)

  7. #227
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    19

    Re: Howto: Install Ubuntu without a CD

    i have an old Toshiba Portege laptop with W98 on it. no option to boot from cd or usb in bios.

    I have tried using unetbootin as described.

    Problem is that i do not even get the boot up screen and the pc boots straight into w98. What can i do?

  8. #228
    Join Date
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    Distro
    Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn

    Re: "Cannot find GRLDR in all devices" error using UNetbootin

    Quote Originally Posted by tuxcantfly View Post
    Whoa, that doesn't sound good, seems like the GRUB configuration is screwed up (I suspect it has something to do with the awkward partition layout confusing GRUB), anyhow just re-install GRUB using the Super Grub Disk; see http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org/?section=download for downloads; use either the floppy version or the USB flash drive version (you'll need access to another computer to write the image to a floppy or flash drive), then just change the boot order to boot from floppy/USB drive, then use the "repair GRUB" option on the Super Grub Disk (details at http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org...=documentation ) and it should work then
    Ok, here's what eventually worked for me...

    Bear in mind that my starting position was a laptop with unreliable CD drive, working floppy drive and a network connection.

    I downloaded the Debian install floppies images from here... http://ftp.nl.debian.org/debian/dist...images/floppy/

    I downloaded boot.img, root.img, net-drivers-1.img and net-drivers-2.img and wrote these images to floppy using rawwritewin.exe (easily available online).

    The floppy based installation recognised my (rather esoteric PCMCIA) network card and I was easily able to complete a network/internet based full Debian installation.

    I then downloaded and installed the relevant UNetbootin package (Xubuntu under Debian) and rebooted.

    UNetbootin worked perfectly!

    I was able to perform the network/internet install of Xununtu - Mission accomplished!

    One caveat, if you're in Ireland don't use the Irish mirror use a UK mirror for the install.

    Great work by tuxcantfly...

  9. #229
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    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Howto: Install Ubuntu without a CD

    I've added UNetbootin builds for the newly-released CentOS 5.1

    Downloads are available at the usual spot at http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...roup_id=198821

    If installing CentOS, select "FTP" as the installation source, and for the server, specify:

    Code:
    mirrors.kernel.org
    and for the folder, if using the standard (32-bit) version, specify:

    Code:
    centos/5.1/os/i386
    or if using the 64-bit version, specify:

    Code:
    centos/5.1/os/x86_64
    There is also a screenshot-based guide at http://bashcurescancer.com/rhel-50-c...-gui-mode.html

    In case you haven't heard of CentOS, it's basically a free, rebranded version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Though it isn't quite cutting-edge, CentOS 5.1 is fully compatible with RHEL 5 Update 1, and it's also extremely stable.

  10. #230
    Join Date
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    Smile Re: Howto: Install Ubuntu without a CD

    Thanks for adding CentOS 5.1 in!!!! Ubuntu based Linux may be known well here, CentOS rules the SMB and Corporate sectors I work in because it IS Red Hat MINUS the logos. Same exact RPMS, built from same RPMS, etc - just logos changed. It is very nice also. I basically use it because it IS what pays the bills - Microsoft and Red Hat contract work I do pays the bills

    Tuxcantfly - excellent work and options you have provided the community with your useful tool. Any possibility is having a freedos version or even DOS (for machines with no OS) - I know "noone" may be using DOS/FreeDOS anymore, but what if someone does not want to install Debian (due to the longer more elaboarate install process) just so they can install UNETBOOTIN. With DOS based install - it just format /s on the C: drive. And then just copy a DOS/FreeDOS version of UNETBOOTIN over the C: drive and execute, reboot, and voila (so much faster than Debian install)...to your chosen Liunux distro ready for installation...just an idea. Better yet, an option to install/execute from a Linux based LiveCD - that would be even better. Thanks again!

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