[Freedombox-discuss] How to create the proper boot partition on a USB or SD card?

[Nick Hardiman]

There are a few ways round this. I think this way is the simplest because you don't have to tackle connectivity, bootloader upgrade, file system creation or other sysadmin tasks. 

* I use Nick's latest FreedomBox image (https://www.betweennowhere.net/tracker/freedombox-unstable.tar.bz2) to create a pre-loaded SD card.
* I test it on a dreamplug with factory-supplied settings. If the tests pass, 
* I mail that SD card to you (If I use a micro-SD card with a full size adapter, you can use either the dreamplug's external SD slot or open it up to get at the internal slot).
* we tackle any glitches with your new system

Would that help you? Or would you rather get stuck into the system administration?



Nick Hardiman
nick at internetmachines.co.uk
@intmachines



On 30 Jan 2013, at 19:11, Jack Wilborn <jkwilborn at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Nick, thanks for the response....  I don't know if I can exactly
> answer that question.  The problem I have is I've had a dreamplug (DP)
> for about 3 weeks and can only boot and run the manufacture installed
> software.  I wish to get to work with the Freedom Box stuff and see
> what I can do.  I would like to install the new bootloader so I can
> use the current images.
> 
> I can get on the Internet, but it's flaky and only with a Windows PC.
> My Linux box doesn't see my WiFi card and I only have an iPhone 4 with
> a USB or WiFi and neither work on my Linux box.
> 
> What I would like to do is be able to make the SD and the USB into the
> proper configuration or FS for the Linux to read the images off.
> First I guess I'll have to replace the bootloader, I'm pretty
> technical, and I like to understand what I'm doing before the action
> so I don't brick the device.
> 
> SO I need to be able to make the installation of both the bootloader
> and the images to be read off the USB stick.  I can read and write the
> USB stick with my Linux box if need be.  But I can't access the SD
> card from anything but a laptop that only has windows on it.
> 
> Does what I'm asking for make sense?
> 
> I hope you have an answer..
> 
> Thanks for your time...
> 
> Jack
> On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 10:32 AM, Nick Hardiman
> <nick at internetmachines.co.uk> wrote:
>> Hi Jack,
>> 
>> Do you want
>> * a pre-installed SD card, that boots Debian and works without upgrading the Dreamplug bootloader?
>> 
>> Or do you want
>> * a method of upgrading the bootloader that does not involve the Internet, and
>> * an SD card with all the FreedomBox development environment on it?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Many thanks,
>> Nick
>> Nick Hardiman
>> nick at internetmachines.co.uk
>> @intmachines
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 30 Jan 2013, at 14:47, Jack Wilborn <jkwilborn at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> Hello, I am new with the DreamPlug (which I have and am running in
>>> it's original state) and am not a Linux wizard.  I posed a couple of
>>> these questions to Nick D.   On his suggestion I am posting them here
>>> for assistance from users that have a working DP.
>>> 
>>> The basic problem here is that I don't have a good Internet connection
>>> and NO Internet to my Linux box.  I have a dual boot Windows 8/Debian
>>> Linux on a quad core 386 (i5-3450) with 32G of memory and a Atheros
>>> WiFi card that is not detected by Debian, and works under Windows.  So
>>> some of the parts of creating an image is not applicable to my venue
>>> and others as I've found out.
>>> 
>>> I have a couple of questions, first can you create the proper FS on a
>>> USB memory stick to install the current with the original bootloader?
>>> I understand this is probably a negative, so can I create the proper
>>> FS on the USB stick or SD (when I get the proper hardware) via the
>>> Dreamplug original software?  If all else fails, then does someone
>>> know the proper steps to create the bootloader on a USB stick to
>>> update the bootloader without turning my DP into a brick.
>>> 
>>> The following is the original note to Nick...
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> Nick, one of the problems I have now is that they want me to format
>>>> the SD card to a fat partition (with mkdosfs) and then to build a
>>>> partition with ext3 (I would change it to ext2 based on your
>>>> suggestion), but I have no way to interface with the SD on my Linux
>>>> box.
>>>> 
>>>> Can this be done under dos?  At least the initial format. Or better
>>>> yet, how about using the DP to format this properly, is the software
>>>> on the DP usable to build this file system? I do have it up, blinking
>>>> and talking via it's Linux.  I can find the SD card or the USB card
>>>> OK.
>>> 
>>> Any assistance would be of great value to me.  Also any information
>>> will be gathered for other in the same boat.
>>> 
>>> Thanks
>>> Jack
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Freedombox-discuss mailing list
>>> Freedombox-discuss at lists.alioth.debian.org
>>> http://lists.alioth.debian.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/freedombox-discuss
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
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