SanDisk ReadyBoost USB Drive
Instead of using the hard drive or the CDROM drive, I'm running Rapidweather Remaster of Knoppix Linux from the USB Drive.
Don't try any of the following unless you are an experienced MSDOS, Linux user.
You will have to have a copy of the Rapidweather Remaster of Knoppix Linux CD to be able to set up the main "CD" /KNOPPIX folder on the USB drive.
Go here to obtain one.
The main reason for using a USB drive is so you can move the drive to another computer that you have set up to run Rapidweather Remaster of Knoppix Linux. You can take all of your financial and personal files with you when you leave the computer behind. When the computer is off, just unplug the USB drive and put it in your pocket.
I partition the drive as follows:
- The USB drive comes with several partitions, all of which will need to be removed and replaced with linux ext2 partitions. Use QTParted that comes with the Remaster. You'll have to reboot the machine several times to get all of the old patitions removed and the new ones in place. You can use QTparted to format the partitions, but I also like to do "/sbin/mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda1" when done. Also there is "/sbin/mkswap /dev/sda7"
that you can do. (You will need to be, as mentioned above, an experienced Linux user.)
- First partition will be /dev/sda1, 700 MB for the /KNOPPIX folder, this is the "CD", and is copied from the running system. Also, one can boot directly from the CD, and use the knoppix cheatcode "tohd=/dev/sda1" and the CD will be copied to the 700 MB sda1 partition on the USB drive, and then will run the linux system from there. At that point, the CD can be removed from the CDROM drive, and put back in it's case. That'll free up the CDROM drive so you can play a music cd, or place a data cd there for some other purpose.
- The next three partitions are going to be logical partitions on an extended partition, for the rest of the USB drive. First, make /dev/sda5, ext2, which will be for the "persistent home directory". On the 2GB USB drive, I made that 700 MB also. Once you have the system running using the /dev/sda1 partition with the /KNOPPIX (the cd) folder in it, you can use the menu to make the "persistent home directory" on /dev/sda5. If you have one of the 4 GB USB drives, you may make this partition much larger if you want. You'll have more than enough space with a 700 MB "persistent home directory". Right now, mine is using only 5% of the 700 MB partition.
-
Next, you may want to make another partition just for storage, on /dev/sda6. You could leave this out, since the storage on /dev/sda5 is the same, it is just set up as the "persistent home directory". Important uses for /dev/sda6 would be swap directories in sda6 for GIMP and for K3B.
- The last partition will be the "swap" partition, and you can use 150 MB or so for that.
Generally, the system will not need that much unless you have only 128 MB of RAM installed on the computer, and the processor(CPU) is less than a 300 MHZ one.
Although you are running the Rapidweather Remaster linux system from a USB Drive, you cannot boot from this drive.
You will still need to boot from the CD, in the CDROM drive, and use "knoppix cheatcodes" such as these to get the system running from the USB drive:
boot: knoppix fromhd=/dev/sda1 home=/dev/sda5 xmodule=trident screen=1024x768 vsync=70
Please note that any knoppix cheatcode must be on one line, Google's Blogger cuts this line into two lines.
Booting from the Computer's Hard Drive
(Instead of from the CDROM drive)
The alternate way of using a small MSDOS hard drive and loadlin to run the Rapidweather Remaster system from the USB drive, can be done without using a CD as described in the previous step. You may have a Windows 98, 95 or just a MSDOS hard drive installed in the computer, and you will need these files set up and installed on that hard drive. This is a base set of menu and loadlin batch files, and will need to be modified for use with a USB drive.
Update 06-20-07:
A revised set of files for use with a USB drive can be downloaded here.
You are going to have a C:\menu directory and a C:\rapid directory on your computer's hard drive, and will place the files in the downloaded "tar.gz" in those directories. The easy way to do it is to placed the "tar.gz" file in /home/knoppix (top level of the "home" directory) and use "emelFM" the file manager, and have it unpack the tar.gz "in the other panel" which you have your /dev/hda1 partition on the computer's hard drive, where your MSDOS or Windows 98 is located. See below for the example of an "autoexec.bat" that you will need to use, or at least add the "menu" part to your "autoexec.bat" so the menu will appear when MSDOS or Windows boots up.
Nothing will happen if the autoexec.bat file does not have the menu lines shown right here as a sample:
REM Start the Main Menu:
cd c:\menu
menu.bat
REM That ought to do it.
On any Windows or MSDOS computer, the C:\autoexec.bat file should have those lines as the last lines for the menu to appear. You will also need the C:\rapid and C:\menu directories installed on your hard drive.
Please be advised that most of this is for advanced users. This includes partitioning the USB drive, and modifying the various batch files, and modifying the C:\autoexec.bat file.
Here is a sample "usb.bat" file that is similar to the one included in the menu_files_usb.tar.gz file you can download per the link above. It will go in the C:\rapid directory.
---------------------------------------------------------
@ECHO OFF
REM This is the C:\rapid\usb.bat file.
REM Sample DOS batch file to boot Linux.
REM modified by Rapidweather 06-11-07
REM Must be used with a small hard drive with MSDOS installed,
REM and the C:\rapid and C:\menu directories.
REM This file is designed to run the system from a usb memory module:
REM Using a 2 GB usb memory module.
REM The Knoppix CDROM is in /dev/sda1, 700 MB, required minimum.
REM The following areas may be increased on usb memory modules over 2 GB. (i.e. 4 GB)
REM The Persistent Home Directory is /dev/sda5, 700 MB
REM There is an Extra ext2 partition at /dev/sda6 for use by GIMP and K3B and others. 400 MB
REM There is a swap partition at /dev/sda7, 150 MB
REM First, ensure any unwritten disk buffers are flushed:
smartdrv /C
REM Start the LOADLIN process:
REM This is c:\rapid\usb.bat
REM adjust the following for your installation
REM your rapidweather remaster system boots from sda1
REM Lets see if the system "knows" where to find /knoppix.
REM you do have a /knoppix there, don't you?
cd c:\rapid
REM Installed card is the Trident 32 MB card:
loadlin vmlinuz initrd=miniroot.gz BOOT_IMAGE=knoppix xmodule=trident vsync=70 screen=1024x768 fromhd=/dev/sda1 home=/dev/sda5
REM the above loadlin line must be on one line, not two as shown!
REM that ought to do it.
REM only edit this file with msdos "edit", or notepad in Windows.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is a sample "menu.bat" file, similar to the one included
in the menu_files_usb.tar.gz file that you may download, link is above.
This is a basic "menu.bat" file, the one in the tar.gz has more features.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
@ECHO OFF
REM For use with the HP Pavilion 8250
REM This is the c:\menu\menu.bat file.
REM Date: 06-16-07
rem OK to add menu.bat to the autoexec.bat file.
rem Brings up this menu at startup.
REM Sometimes there is no color when using this file on this machine.
cls
REM must put the .com on setscrn.com to work.
setscrn.com
echo.
echo HP Pavilion 8250 Machine
echo.
echo Main Menu
echo.
echo Press a Key:
echo;
echo L = RR - IceWM - HD - PHD
echo.
echo U = RR - IceWM - USB - PHD
echo.
echo F = RR - Fluxbox - No PHD
echo.
echo K = RR - KDE - No PHD
echo.
echo T = RR - TWM - No PHD
echo.
echo E = MS-DOS Editor
echo.
echo S = Scandisk
echo.
echo P = MS-DOS Prompt
echo.
echo;
CHOICE /C:LUFKTESP /N /T:P,90 Your Choice?
IF ERRORLEVEL 8 GOTO PROMPT
IF ERRORLEVEL 7 GOTO SCAND
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO EDITOR
IF ERRORLEVEL 5 GOTO TWM
IF ERRORLEVEL 4 GOTO KDE
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO FLUX
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO USB
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO LINUX
REM This choice is for IceWM-HD
:LINUX
C:
CD C:\rapid
linux.bat
REM This choice is for IceWM-USB
:USB
C:
CD C:\rapid
USB.bat
REM This choice is for Fluxbox
:FLUX
C:
CD C:\rapid
flux.bat
REM This choice is for KDE
:KDE
C:
CD C:\rapid
kde.bat
REM This choice is for TWM
:TWM
C:
CD C:\rapid
twm.bat
REM This choice is for the MSDOS Editor
:EDITOR
C:
CD C:\DOS
call edit
CD C:\
CD C:\menu
MENU
:SCAND
C:
CD C:\DOS
call scandisk
CD C:\
CD C:\menu
MENU
:PROMPT
C:
CD C:\MENU
cls
setscrn.com
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo HP Pavilion 8250 Machine
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo Press a Key:
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo Return to the Main Menu = M
echo.
echo Go to a MSDOS Prompt = P
echo.
echo.
echo;
CHOICE /C:PM /N /T:P,90 Enter your choice:
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO NEWMENU
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO END
:NEWMENU
cls
c:
cd C:\menu
menu.bat
:END
cls
setscrn
C:
CD C:\
echo.
echo HP Pavilion 8250 Machine
echo.
echo Choices:
echo.
echo 1. This is the MS-DOS Prompt.
echo.
echo 2. You may safely turn the computer off.
echo.
echo 3. To return to the Main Menu, press "m" [ENTER]
echo.
echo.
echo.
REM That's All.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember, you may be replacing some of the files in the downloaded tar.gz group of files, and
you should be using a Windows 98, 95 or MSDOS computer, not a Windows XP or Vista computer.
The C:\autoexec.bat file is the one that will cause the linux selection menu to appear when the computer is turned on and MSDOS or Windows starts to boot.
Here is the autoexec.bat file that I use on this MSDOS computer to start the menu:
------------------------------------------------
@ECHO OFF
REM C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE /X
REM @ECHO OFF
PROMPT $p$g
PATH C:\DOS
SET TEMP=C:\DOS
REM Install the mouse driver for MSDOS:
cd c:\mouse
amouse.com
REM Start the Main Menu:
cd c:\menu
menu.bat
REM That ought to do it.
------------------------------------------------
Here is another consideration if you have a hard drive "loadlin" installation of Rapidweather Remaster: You may already have a "swap" partition on the hard drive. With the new USB drive, we are formatting /dev/sda7 as "linux swap", so to use only that swap partition, you can "turn off" the hard drive swap this way:
In in root shell (on the IceWM toolbar) do:
swapoff -a
swapon -v /dev/sda7
The shell will respond that sda7 is now your swap partition.
You can do that so you can say that your entire linux system is now running entirely from the USB drive.
In fact, if you used a MSDOS hard drive or a CD, in the CDROM drive to boot up the system, those drives only run for a very short while, and then are no longer used, since the system is running directly from the USB drive. You cannot unplug the USB drive while the linux system is up and running, you may, however use another USB drive to transfer files, just mount the drive using the file manager, emelFM, found on the IceWM toolbar.
From the "introduction" to this post:
The main reason for using a USB drive is so you can move the drive to another computer that you have set up to run Rapidweather Remaster ( as described above.) You can take all of your financial and personal files with you when you leave the computer behind. When the computer is off, just unplug the USB drive and put it in your pocket.
For this method of safeguarding your personal files to be useful, just remember to store your files either within the "persistent home directory" area of your USB drive, or in the extra partition you may have created at /dev/sda6. Don't store your personal files on the hard drive at /dev/hda1, or any of the other hard drives that you may have installed on the computer.
As you will notice from the "menu" example provided above, there are two basic ways to boot the computer, one from the hard drive, where you may have set up Rapidweather Remaster, or from the USB drive.
If you just boot the Rapidweather Remaster directly from the CD, you will get a running linux system, but none of your personal files will be available unless you either boot with the knoppix cheatcode
boot: knoppix home=/dev/sda5
which would include your personal files, but continue to run the linux system from the CD, or go ahead and run from the USB drive:
boot: knoppix from hd=/dev/sda1 home=/dev/sda5
(You may need other knoppix cheatcodes to get your X-Windows, graphical interface up and running , as in the earlier example, where a Trident graphics card is used.)
Stay Tuned!
posted by Rapidweather | 2:10 PM
