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secdroid
08-16-2013, 09:44 PM
I read the two wiki articles on HD install. The older seems to be somewhat dated, while the newer does not have much detail. So, I improvised. Clearly, I am still doing something wrong. Pointers would be appreciated.

I found that the /tohd=/dev/sda1 cheat code did not populate the C:/KNOPPIX directory on a USB live boot.

I then manually copied the linux (4.3 MB) and minirt.gz (930.8 KB) files to the C:/KNOPPIX directory, along with the background.jpg, knoppix-cheatcodes.txt, both logo files, and index_en.html.

Next, I booted Crunchbang (Debian Wheezy) and prepared a 40_custom file in /etc/grub.d. Contents --

menuentry "Knoppix 7.2" {
set root=(hd0,1)
linux /KNOPPIX/linux no3d nostartsound tz=America/New_York
initrd /KNOPPIX/minirt.gz
}
I then did "update-grub" and rebooted. I selected the Knoppix line in the grub menu and got lots of boot message lines followed by --

Searching for Knoppix 7.2
Waiting (USB)...
Could not mount disk to /mnt-system. Starting debugging shell.

Note that I used "/KNOPPIX" rather than "(KNOPPIX" on the minirt.gz line, which differs from the wiki. I believe that the wiki is wrong -- http://knoppix.net/wiki/Category:Hard_drive_Installation

menuentry "Knoppix" {
set root=(hd0,1)
linux /KNOPPIX/linux (.. other boot-parameter ..)
initrd (KNOPPIX/minirt.gz
}

secdroid
08-17-2013, 03:29 PM
The reason that the tohd cheatcode did not populate the directory was that I forgot that hda1 was invalid on the target machine and that sda1 was required. Regardless, I could not sort out how to get Grub2 to start a Poorman's install.

However, Grub2 can boot directly from an .iso file. So, I set up an /Iso/Knoppix directory in the root of my Windows XP C: drive -- NTFS formatted. I copied the Knoppix CD .iso file to the /Iso/Knoppix directory.

I then used my Crunchbang Debian Wheezy to configure Grub2. I updated the /etc/grub.d/40_custom file --

#!/bin/sh
exec tail -n +3 $0
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
#
#
menuentry "Knoppix 7.2 CD ISO" {
set iso_path="/Iso/Knoppix/KNOPPIX_V7.2.0CD-2013-06-16-EN.iso"
loopback loop (hd0,msdos1)$iso_path
echo "Loading linux"
linux (loop)/boot/isolinux/linux bootfrom=/dev/sda1$iso_path no3d nostartsound lang=us tz=America/New_York
echo "Loading minirt"
initrd (loop)/boot/isolinux/minirt.gz
}After running the "update-grub" coomand, rebooting, selecting Knoppix in the Grub2 menu, I was in Knoppix.

Tip: There is some excellent documentation in https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2/ISOBoot

Werner P. Schulz
08-19-2013, 10:33 PM
Thank you for the two postings and the pointing to my errors within this HowTo
http://knoppix.net/wiki/Category:Hard_drive_Installation

I've worked over "Poor man's install" and inserted "ISO install to HD"