Cannot load installer from USB drive [Solved]

[OpelBlitz]

I have the exact problem as mrtnfs did in this recent thread: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=27534

I don't have a working DVD/CD drive on my computer either, so I made a bootable USB device (8GB drive) using unetbootin. Works fine on other computers, just not mine. Boots into it, but during the initialization, I get this:

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Media not found
No bootable medium found
Looking for the cdrom
Attemptin to mount media: /dev/sda1
Attemptin to mount media: /dev/sda2
Attemptin to mount media: /dev/sda3
Attemptin to mount media: /dev/sda4
Attemptin to mount media: /dev/sda5
Attemptin to mount media: /dev/sda6
Attemptin to mount media: /dev/sda7
Attemptin to mount media: /dev/sda8
Attemptin to mount media: /dev/sdb1
Media not found
could no t find CD to boot, somthing needed
determining root device...
Could not find the root block device in.
Please specify another value or: press Enter for the same. type "shell" for a shell, or "q" to skip...
root block device() ::

As suggested in the above-mentioned thread, I ensured the drive was formatted in FAT32 and marked bootable; verified with GParted that it was and is set up properly. I ensured the download was proper, and like I said, works elsewhere.

It is because I am using a newer motherboard/SSD drive or something? Specs:

ASUS P8Z77-V Pro
Corsair Force 3 120GB SSD drive

I'm at a loss as to what else I can try.

[batvink]

if you still have the ISO somewhere on disc, you could use the "dd" command.
That allways worked for me, and as far as i know it works on all Sabayon ISO's
Only thing is, using it the wrong way, you can destroy the content of your existing HDD.,
so a little caution with the usage of this little app.

now, if you open a terminal, and as root enter "fdisk -l"
you see your drives, and partitions. eg.:
/dev/sda1
/dev/sda2
/dev/sdb1
/dev/sdb2
If you plugin the USB-stick, and repeat the "fdisk -l" command again,
you should see your USB-stick too. eg.:
/dev/sdc1
don't mount the stick....
now you now the right device to write to.
Navigate to the path where you stored the ISO-file:
example: cd /mnt/server/ISO-FILES/gentoo-based/Sabayon/
"ls" should list the content of the folder:

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cd /mnt/server/ISO-FILES/gentoo-based/Sabayon/                                                                     
bwg-inc Sabayon # ls                                                                                                                     
Sabayon_Linux_DAILY_amd64_ForensicsXfce.iso  Sabayon_Linux_CoreCDX_DAILY_amd64.iso

In this example, the stick was addressed to "/dev/sdc1" , in your case it's probably different.,
so don't just blind copy this over......
however, "sdc1" is a partition on the stick, but we're writing to the MBR of the stick, so we're using "/dev/sdc"
Now, use the command as follows:

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dd if=Sabayon_Linux_CoreCDX_DAILY_amd64.iso of=/dev/sdc

Have a little patience, it can take a while.
When it's done, you have your normal command prompt back, and you can safely unplug the stick.
You're ready to use the stick..

[OpelBlitz]

It may sound silly, but I've actually been a Gentoo user (on and off) since 2002. So basically, use the dd command to dump the ISO on the drive instead of using unetbootin.

The said system was running Windows 7, so I nuked it in the process of getting this started. Which is fine, I had everything I needed backed up elsewhere. I happened to have a CD (not DVD) drive and a burned copy of GParted that I booted -- thankfully that has a web browser, so I just mounted one of my HDDs, downloaded the Sabayon iso to it, and dd is currently doing its thing. I'll report back with my results once this finishes.

Thanks for the tip!

[OpelBlitz]

Bad news, it didn't make a difference. I need to go out and get a DVD drive and a blank disc and see if that makes a difference, apparently.

So that I understand what's going on here -- it seems that although the computer has no problem booting off my USB drive, once Linux starts loading, it doesn't know how to read the USB drive for the media? That's what I'm seeing the problem is. Or, it's looking for a disc and doesn't know to look at the USB drive it booted from? I guess it's immaterial at the moment, just curious what the root cause of this is. I'll update this thread once I get the DVD gear.

[batvink]

set bios to start from removeble drive (usb) ?

[OpelBlitz]

I had no problem getting started from USB - just after I select anything from the "boot menu" that comes up from the USB drive, I'd get that error.

Well, that solved my problem. It found media at /dev/sr0 which is my CD drive and it's on its way now. So it seems my problem was that it wasn't looking in the right place for the media, which would be /dev/sde on my system. Oh well, beyond my concern now! Marking as solved, although I don't fully know what the root cause of my problem was.