[SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

tmoney · 2016-06-02 06:41:11

Hi, I have been a #! user for several years and switched bl because I think it's an excellent successor. I wanted to reinstall so I downloaded the 64bit iso from the website and wrote it to my external hdd using dd command (With sdb, not sdb1). When I was trying to reinstall I got stuck at detecting and mounting the cdrom, nothing I do from there works. I tried using the cp command to make my bootable usb, instead of dd, but that didn't help. Can someone help me out here? Thanks

Last edited by damo (2017-05-08 12:36:20)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2016-06-02 07:24:08

tmoney wrote:

I tried using the cp command to make my bootable usb, instead of dd

Please post the *exact* commands that you used.

Did you flush the buffers after transferring the image?

I use this method:

sudo -i
cat bl.iso > /dev/sdX
sync
exit

Replace X with the letter assigned to the USB stick (plug in the drive and run `dmesg|tail` & `lsblk` to find this), *do not* use a partition number.

Finally, did you verify the downloaded ISO image with the provided checksum?

tmoney · 2016-06-02 21:12:16

The commands I tried were,

dd if=bl-Hydrogen-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M; sync

and also

cp -R bl-Hydrogen-amd64.iso /dev/sdb

neither of which worked for me. I do not know how to flush the buffers so I cannot say for sure but I did use the sync command afterwards. I will try your method now.

hhh · 2016-06-02 21:37:49

tmoney wrote:

dd if=bl-Hydrogen-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M; sync

This should have worked if you ran it with sudo and if you first navigated to the directory the ISO is in via terminal. Or, from that directory, run...

sudo cp bl-Hydrogen-amd64.iso /dev/sdb;sync

Head_on_a_Stick · 2016-06-03 07:22:29

^ I have always had my doubts about that ;sync bit at the end

sync(1) will flush the buffers but in the provided code snippet:

dd if=bl-Hydrogen-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M; sync

dd(1) is run with root permissions but sync(1) is not; if sync(1) is not run with root privileges, will it still flush the buffers to the USB stick?

I would always recommend:
[nonsense redacted]
This does the same thing but the "sync" operation is issued with elevated privileges.

EDIT: See https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic … 968#p28968

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2016-06-03 20:01:16)

xaos52 · 2016-06-03 10:00:57

@HoaS,
conv=sync has an entirely different meaning than the sync command.

Compare 'man dd' conv=sync
to
'man sync'

Use the 'sync' command to flush all buffers to disk. When the command returns, it is safe to remove the USB device.
And it does not require root privileges.

coyotl · 2016-06-03 11:22:56

I used Rufus from Windows to make the usb stick, same error.

This is the first time a distro has failed with Rufus.

I don't use dd as it has destroyed 2 usb sticks for me and if it does not ruin them it can be a hassle to reformat again.

Guess I'll burn a CD or DVD.. have external dvdplayer, or just drop BL

coyotl · 2016-06-03 11:25:10

if Expert install was available from the live grub menu, would that make it possible to choose media?
rather a long time since I used the Debian installer.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2016-06-03 19:27:36

xaos52 wrote:

@HoaS,
conv=sync has an entirely different meaning than the sync command.

Oh my goodness, you are quite correct :8 Thanks!

Don't know why I thought that, sorry for the misinformation folks!

coyotl · 2016-06-03 23:34:48

Success.. that is I tried the USB installer Etcher which also runs in Linux.
Now the installer mounts the 'CD' and continues the installation.

tmoney · 2016-06-10 05:55:31

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

tmoney wrote:
I tried using the cp command to make my bootable usb, instead of dd
Please post the *exact* commands that you used.
Did you flush the buffers after transferring the image?
I use this method:
sudo -i
cat bl.iso > /dev/sdX
sync
exit
Replace X with the letter assigned to the USB stick (plug in the drive and run `dmesg|tail` & `lsblk` to find this), *do not* use a partition number.
Finally, did you verify the downloaded ISO image with the provided checksum?

I tried this, when I do the cat step it says /dev/sdb: permission denied. The issue is definitely something subtle, I have tried all the obvious things and am usually able to solve these problems myself but I am quite stumped here.

Horizon_Brave · 2016-06-10 06:49:23

It gives you a permission denied even when you use

sudo cat bl.iso > /dev/sdb

?

Do you have permission for this user in your /etc/sudoers file?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2016-06-10 06:55:23

tmoney wrote:

I tried this, when I do the cat step it says /dev/sdb: permission denied.

Did the `sudo -i` command work?

That `cat` command will only work if run *as root* -- running the command with `sudo` in front of it *will not work*

@HB: the elevated permissions conferred by `sudo` do not apply on the "other side" of the redirection (>)

@OP: Try this then:

sudo bash -c 'cat bl.iso > /dev/sdb;sync'

tmoney · 2016-06-10 07:29:26

I'll try it but right now I am having issues with the external drive from this dd business. Even when I delete the partition and reformat etc in gparted, it still will have the files from the bl iso. I think this is definitely contributing to the issue.

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2016-06-10 18:15:53)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2016-06-10 18:17:30

tmoney wrote:

Even when I delete the partition and reformat etc in gparted

This is not necessary, the `cat` (or `cp` or `dd`) command will overwrite any partition and filesytem information anyway.

hhh · 2016-06-10 19:30:58

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

tmoney wrote:
Even when I delete the partition and reformat etc in gparted
This is not necessary, the `cat` (or `cp` or `dd`) command will overwrite any partition and filesytem information anyway.

But if you do want to completely wipe the drive, you could run...

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdX iflag=nocache oflag=direct bs=4096

Arch Wiki source...
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Se … pe_disk#dd

If you want to use the USB as a normal storage device after wiping it, you'll need to create a new msdos partition table (for instance, via GParted)...
http://gparted.org/display-doc.php%3Fna … tion-table

... and then format it (for example, as fat32)...
http://gparted.org/display-doc.php%3Fna … -partition

For dog's sake, when zeroing the drive make sure you type the correct drive letter (without the trailing number), or you will be royally, utterly, completely screwed. NOT /dev/sda, I'm pretty sure!

tmoney · 2016-06-11 05:05:21

I decided to just drive to bestbuy and grab some DVDs. Using a DVD instead of a usb solved the problem.

coyotl · 2016-06-11 22:39:55

this is the best point n click utility I've seen:

http://www.etcher.io/

Using this instead of dd is easier and you keep the disk space on the stick, that can be useful.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2016-06-11 22:50:24

@coyotl -- have you tried that method with the BunsenLabs ISO image?

In my opinion, the easiest point n' click utility is DriveDroid (smartphone required).

coyotl · 2016-06-11 23:17:43

Yes, it worked fine. (unetbootin does not work, neither the Windows utility Rufus)

DriveDroid looks great. I don't do this that often though, pendrive is good enough. (I live in the country, use mobile net so I fetch iso images when I have wifi access)

Last edited by coyotl (2016-06-21 10:42:38)

#1 2016-06-02 06:41:11

[SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#2 2016-06-02 07:24:08

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#3 2016-06-02 21:12:16

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#4 2016-06-02 21:37:49

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#5 2016-06-03 07:22:29

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#6 2016-06-03 10:00:57

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#7 2016-06-03 11:22:56

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#8 2016-06-03 11:25:10

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#9 2016-06-03 19:27:36

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#10 2016-06-03 23:34:48

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#11 2016-06-10 05:55:31

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#12 2016-06-10 06:49:23

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#13 2016-06-10 06:55:23

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#14 2016-06-10 07:29:26

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#15 2016-06-10 18:17:30

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#16 2016-06-10 19:30:58

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#17 2016-06-11 05:05:21

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#18 2016-06-11 22:39:55

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#19 2016-06-11 22:50:24

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

#20 2016-06-11 23:17:43

Re: [SOLVED]USB install failing, detect and mount the cd-rom failed

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