Template:Copying Alpine to Flash

2011-02-08T09:21:59Z

Aerdan: remove now-irrelevant serial console instructions.

== Copy Alpine to a {{{1|Flash Medium}}} ==

# Insert the removable {{{1|flash medium (CF or USB stick)}}} into the computer.
# Determine the name your computer uses for your {{{1|flash medium}}}. The following step is one way to do this.
#* After inserting the {{{1|flash medium}}}, run the command:
#* {{Cmd|dmesg}}
#* At the end of this command you should see the name of your {{{1|flash medium}}}, likely starting with "sd". (For example: "sda").
#* The remainder of this document will assume that your {{{1|flash medium}}} is called /dev/sda

{{Warning|Be very careful about this. You do not want to mistakenly wipe your hard drive if it's on /dev/sda}}

=== Format {{{1|Flash Medium}}} ===
{{Cmd|fdisk /dev/sda}}
* '''p''' Print list of partitions
* '''d''' Delete all partitions (this may take a few steps)
* '''n''' Create a new partition
* '''p''' A primary partition
* '''1''' Partition number 1
** Use defaults for first and last cylinder (just press [Enter] twice).
* '''t''' Change partition type
* '''c''' Type: Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
* '''a''' Make the partition bootable (set boot flag)
* '''1''' Partition number 1
* '''w''' Write your changes to the device

=== Install Syslinux ===
{{Note|If the following commands fail due to 'No such file or directory', you may have to remove and reinsert the CF card, or even reboot, to get /dev/sda1 to appear}}
# Install syslinux and dosfstools. If you have booted from an Alpine CD-ROM, use these commands:
#* {{Cmd|apk add syslinux dosfstools}}
#* {{Cmd|{{{|dd if=/usr/share/syslinux/mbr.bin of=/dev/sda}}}}}
# Format the {{{1|flash medium}}} with a VFAT filesystem:
#* {{Cmd|mkdosfs -F32 /dev/sda1}}
#* {{Cmd|syslinux /dev/sda1}}
#* {{Cmd|mkdir -p /media/sda1}}
#* {{Cmd|mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /media/sda1}}
# Mount the Alpine Linux CD-ROM, and copy the files to the {{{1|flash medium}}}
#* {{Cmd|mount /media/cdrom}}
#* {{Cmd|cd /media/cdrom}}
#* {{Cmd|cp -a .alpine-release * /media/sda1/ }}

== Troubleshooting ==
When your USB device is formatted to other filesystem than fat32, you might have to specify the necessary filesystem modules in boot parameters.

To do so, mount the device, and alter the syslinux.cfg file line from
append initrd=/boot/grsec.gz alpine_dev=usbdisk:vfat modules=loop,cramfs,sd-mod,usb-storage quiet
to
append initrd=/boot/grsec.gz alpine_dev=usbdisk:vfat modules=loop,cramfs,sd-mod,usb-storage,ext3 quiet

in case of using ext3 formatted partition. Similar procedure might apply to other filesystems (if they are supported by syslinux or other bootloader of your choice and alpine kernel).

Also, specifying waitusb=X option might help with certain usb devices that take a bit longer to register. X stands for the amount of seconds kernel will wait before looking for the installation media.

Create a Bootable Device

2011-02-08T09:20:34Z

Aerdan:

= Installing Alpine on a USB Stick - Manual Process =

This process applies to Alpine Linux 1.9.0 or later. See also: [[Installing Alpine on USB Automated]]

=== Requirements ===
In order to follow this document, you will need:
* Alpine Linux CD-ROM ([[Downloads|Download]] a .iso file containing an Alpine release.)
* A USB drive (flash, external HD, card reader, etc.)

If you already have a running Linux system (Alpine Linux 2.1.x, Debian, Gentoo, RedHat, etc.), log in as root, insert the Alpine Linux CD-ROM into the running Linux computer, and skip the next section.

== Boot Alpine Linux CD-ROM ==
# Insert the Alpine Linux CD into a computer.
# Boot the computer from the Alpine Linux CD-ROM.
#* This step may require changes to the BIOS settings to select booting from CD.
# Login with the username ''root''. No password is needed.

{{Copying Alpine to Flash|USB stick}}

{{Installing_Alpine_see_also}}

Alpine Linux - User contributions [en]

Template:Copying Alpine to Flash

Create a Bootable Device