[ale] syslinux problem making bootable usb

[Ken Cochran]

Gparted I have atm is 0.24.0-2 from last October; ah, there's newer...
I used something older originally, worked fine then too
(around Jan 2015).
Ya, yumi does look rather distro-specific, makes sense really.
All usb ports on both computers are tested bootable.
Gparted has always worked, chntpw has yet to; I think what's
going on is some kinda 7ism/BS...  (as usual...)

-kc

> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts <ale at ale.org>
> From: DJ-Pfulio <djpfulio at jdpfu.com>
> Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2016 09:59:44 -0500
> Subject: Re: [ale] syslinux problem making bootable usb
>
> If your gparted distro is more than a year old, replace
> it. Things changed a few years ago and you really want the
> newer releases. Easiest just to get the new one.
>
> When all else fails, try dd.  You can install mkusb-nox if
> you want hand-holding.
>
> yumi should always work if you pick the distro from the list
> they support.  Otherwise, it is all a crap-shoot. Each distro
> names some of the boot files a little differently. This is
> why Yumi has per-distro settings.
>
> Not all USB ports support booting. Try different ports on the same box.
>
> On 01/21/2016 09:07 AM, Ken Cochran wrote:
> > Ok, here's the scenario so far:
> >
> > Friend wants me to reset (probably clear/delete) password on his
> > Win7 box.
> >
> > Got both USB & ISO from http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/
> > USB worked jus fine some months ago, was someone's XP box IIRC.
> >
> > Have had on hand gparted for some time, as I use it from time to
> > time.  Never had a problem with it.
> >
> > Have on hand 2 cheap 2gb USB thumbdrives, one from Microcenter (they
> > tell me it's Kingston I think) & one from a tradeshow SWAG bowl.
> >
> > Ok, before I try it out in the wild, let's try it on a couple of
> > my own systems:  HP 7200SFF and Lenovo T420, both Microcenter
> > refurbs and both having been repartitioned with USB-booted
> > gparted when acquired about a year ago & both been running fine.
> >
> > Gparted works on either (cheap) USB device and on both computers.
> > Chntpw does not work with either USB device or on either computer.
> > Have tried chntpw via syslinux, YUMI & some thing called "rufus."
> > Just for fun tried gparted with YUMI & that didn't work either but
> > gparted works fine with its own setup, which uses syslinux I think.
> >
> > I could use some Good & Proper way to handle the Top Item - what
> > I'm doing so far just Isn't Cutting It...  {sigh}  -kc
> >
> >> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts <ale at ale.org>
> >> From: DJ-Pfulio <djpfulio at jdpfu.com>
> >> Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2016 06:21:49 -0500
> >> Subject: Re: [ale] syslinux problem making bootable usb
> >>
> >> Don't use USB3 devices or plugs.
> >> Folks say to avoid SanDisk flash drives too.
> >>
> >> There is no way to know for certain if a specific USB storage
> >> device will work with a specific USB port, until you try
> >> it and it fails.  Really old USB storage (1st-gen) doesn't
> >> work. About 5 yrs ago, I had good luck with almost any USB
> >> storage - pre-USB3.
> >>
> >> So - try different USB flash storage.  I use cheap no-name
> >> flash storage with the best luck. I've heard that Kingston
> >> and a-data work best. I dunno. Currently using an "HP" branded
> >> flash drive successfully to re-wipe ChromeOS over and over and
> >> over after about 20 attempts to get Linux installed **and**
> >> booting on a new Chromebook.
> >>
> >> Yumi is a very nice tool. Start by using one the already
> >> understood ISO options and build from there.  Oh - UEFI screws
> >> things up too, sometimes. Make certain legacy boot is enabled
> >> for USB storage.
> >>
> >> OTOH, dd is pretty stupid and easy if you just need a bootable
> >> ISO on flash storage.
> >>
> >> Unetbootin has never worked for me, but after the few 10
> >> failures, I stopped trying to use it.
> >>
> >> On 01/20/2016 11:42 PM, Ken Cochran wrote:
> >>> Yumi looks pretty good but so far I can't get it to make
> >>> a bootable USB, even of gparted, which has always worked.
> >>> {sigh}  -kc
> >>>
> >>>> From: DjPfulio <DjPfulio at jdpfu.com>
> >>>> Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2016 17:32:37 -0500
> >>>> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts <ale at ale.org>
> >>>> Subject: Re: [ale] syslinux problem making bootable usb
> >>>>
> >>>> For the last few years I've been using dd. Works with any bootable ISO Li=
> >>>> nux distribution. No multiboot allowed. Just a single ISO.
> >>>> Syslinux and other boot tools don't always work on newer computers. If yo=
> >>>> u must have some sort of a tool to do this, MKUSB has a GUI and there is =
> >>>> a CLI version with next to zero dependencies.
> >>>> If you want to use Windows for this, Yumi is the tool that has always wor=
> >>>> ked for me. It supports multiboot setups.
> >>>>
> >>>> 99% of the time, I just use dd.
> >>>>
> >>>> On 20 January 2016 17:14:44 GMT-05:00, Ken Cochran <kwc at shell.theworld.co=
> >>>> m> wrote:
> >>>>> Hey y'all is there some kinda -fu I'm missing in making a usb
> >>>>> flash drive bootable?  I'm trying to make a chntpw & it's not
> >>>>> working.  I can make & run gparted on the same media just fine.
> >>>>> Any nice alternatives to chntpw for "outside" resetting that
> >>>>> type of password?  As always, faq, doc & pointers to FMs to
> >>>>> RT are quite welcome. :)  -kc