[LIVE] HOW-TO build a XBMC Live USB without burning a CD on Windows
#1
Thumbs Up 
There are two ways to create a bootable XBMC Live USB disk using Windows:

1. Use Unetbootin

Start unetbootin, select disk image and choose the file XBMCLive.ISO.

2. Use grub4dos

By using grub4dos you will keep the original look&feel of the Live CD, as well as have all the features of grub.

a. Install grub4dos on the flash disk; I have found a nice tutorial for that; the relevant part is section #1.
b. Copy all the files from the CD to the flash disk.

- Creating the permanent storage file

Unless you create a "permanent storage file" all the changes applied at runtime will be lost.

The neat utility TopoResize can be used to create the "permanent storage file".
Grab the tool and create an ext3-formatted file called "live-rw" (no quotes), and place it in the root of the flash disk.

Under linux you would perform a similar task by means of:

Code:
sudo mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt
dd if=/dev/zero of=/mnt/live-rw bs=1M count=600
mkfs.ext3 -F /mnt/live-rw

(replacing 600 with your preferred size in MB).
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#2
Many thanks for the info how to do it with
Unetbootin.

Is it possible then also after making the USB stick with
Unetbootin
to upgrade the USB stick
with any enhancements that are currently posted
or with the ALSA sound mixer improvements ?
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#3
once you create the permanent storage file you can apply whatever changes/upgrades to the base system
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#4
Lightbulb 
Would be cool if we could modify "GeeXboX Win32 Installer" and the "GeeXboX ISO Generator" installer software tools to work with XBMC Live, I believe that they are open source and licensed under the GPL:

http://geexbox.org/en/downloads.html

Quote:GeeXboX Win32 Installer
http://geexbox.org/en/doc.html

This package is for Windows (32-bits) only. It is a regular Win32 application that allows you to easily install/uninstall a GeeXboX ISO on your current hard-disk (or any USB key) without need to partition (or format) it again. It makes use of internal Windows bootloader to allow you choosing between different OSes to boot from.

Quote:GeeXboX ISO Generator
http://geexbox.org/en/generator.html

With this package, it is easy to modify GeeXboX in a few seconds without having to build the sources. The generator produces ISO image of the GeeXboX, ready to be burned on disc, that you may have customized to fit your needs. The software is multi-platforms, working currently under both GNU/Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows 9x/NT/2k/XP systems. It is able to produce ISO images for both x86_32, x86_64 and PowerPC targets.

Thanks to the GeeXboX ISO generator, it is possible to build a bootable image of the GeeXboX that will fit your needs, just from the binaries, without need to compile the whole distribution from sources. This lets you build the GeeXboX after slight changes in the configuration files, for example, with no need to build the full sources. The GeeXboX ISO FLTK generator works under both Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux distributions and Apple MacOS X. It can be used to generated both x86 and PPC versions of GeeXboX.

GeeXboX's customization is interesting in many ways, such as :
* Include a movie : You just have to put your movie or sound files and the playlist into the iso directory of the generator and regenerate the image. The GeeXboX will then boot off the CD and will automatically play the provided list/file.
* Add non-free extra codecs.
* Add non-free firmwares for your drivers.
* Add extra fonts for Asian users.
* Add extra themes.
* Configure the network settings.
* Configure audio related options.
* Configure video related options.
* Configure the remote control and receiver to be used.
* Configure a LCD display.
* Change theme, fonts and charset encoding.
* Choose the services to be started with GeeXboX (like UPnP and SHOUTcast).
* Modify MPlayer's startup options : You just have to edit the contents fo the file iso/GEEXBOX/etc/mplayer/mplayer.conf and to generate the new ISO.

For now, just start the FLTK generator binary :

* generator.exe under Windows 9x/Me/2000/XP
* linux-i386-generator under GNU/Linux
* macosx-generator under MacOS X

Alternatively if we could make something similar that works the same way? Nod
Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
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#5
l.capriotti: I receive the following error when trying to mount /dev/sda1 to /mnt

"mount: /dev/sda1 already mounted or /mnt busy"

yet /dev/sda1 is not mounted (checked by issuing the 'mount' command with no arguments), and /mnt isn't mapped to anything else either. This is all done in safe-mode, logged in as xbmc/xbmc. /mnt exists and is empty as well. Ideas?
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#6
I'm having trouble getting this to work. From the xbmc@XBMCLive prompt, I've tried the sudo call above, and it is complaining:

Code:
mount:
wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda1,
missing codepage or helper program

If I do dmseg | tail I see:

Code:
ISOFS: Unable to identify CD-ROM format.

Any suggestions?

Thx,

Ramon
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#7
my fault, the mount command was incorrect for an usb disk.
Pls try the new one
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#8
l.capriotti: small correction needs to be made to your code above. 2nd line, there's an extra slash before the 'of=' switch that causes an invalid argument error.

Secondly, I'm curious what sort of alterations would be required to have a UNetbootin-prepared USB stick autoboot, as the syslinux.cfg file is different than I remember it being previously in 8.10, and as someone pointed out in another thread, because we're using GRUB now in 9.04, the /boot/grub/menu.lst file must be edited to facilitate autobooting... except that, like I'd mentioned in another one of my threads, there exists 'boot=cd' in that file. Should we be changing this to boot=usb in menu.lst as we do in syslinux.cfg? I would imagine so, but I thought I'd ask 1st.

Aside from that, what else is required? Would be helpful if you or someone else created a thread specifically for UNetbootin installations.

Thanks! And kudos to you so far, your help is much appreciated Smile
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#9
xyphur Wrote:l.capriotti: small correction needs to be made to your code above. 2nd line, there's an extra slash before the 'of=' switch that causes an invalid argument error.
gosh, I must have written that post without my daily dose of coffee Laugh

xyphur Wrote:Secondly, I'm curious what sort of alterations would be required to have a UNetbootin-prepared USB stick autoboot,
nothing to be done here except replacing boot=cd with boot=usb in syslinux.cfg, sice unetbootin takes care of converting from grub to syslinux.
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#10
I tried the Unetbootin and my flash drive doesnt boot. I also tried the virtualbox, but that freezes and gives me errors.
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#11
Question 
Hi folks,

In previous builds of XMBC, I used syslinux in windows to manually create a bootable USB stick with XBMC Live. With the new Babylon release, the bootloader has changed to GRUB. Since I don't have a CD burner available, I'm not sure how to proceed trying to update my USB stick to Babylon release.

Thanks,
KoJi
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#12
koji Wrote:Hi folks,

In previous builds of XBMC, I used syslinux in windows to manually create a bootable USB stick with XBMC Live. With the new Babylon release, the bootloader has changed to GRUB. Since I don't have a CD burner available, I'm not sure how to proceed trying to update my USB stick to Babylon release.

Thanks,
KoJi

Hey man, try unetbootin works like a charm for me.
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#13
Dear guys

first of all ... thanks for the work you do!


But i've got a serious problem

1.) Hope you dont mind ... but i am a total linux / ubuntu newbie!

2.) I created a USB Boot Disk according to this guide

3.) when i try to install it to my HDD i get the following error message over and over again :
Code:
end_request: I/O errpr, dev fd0 , sector 0
end_request: I/O errpr, dev fd0 , sector 0
Buffer I/O error on defive fd0, logical block 0


what is this? how can i fix it?

Sad
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#14
Can a static IP address be built into the USB drive? When I try to change my Ip address it is greyed out, only a DHCP address is available.

I have searched for a solution to this, and the instructions indicate to change it at the prompt, but there are no definitive instrutions on how to do this.

Thanks all for your incredible input, I was able to load XBMC on my computer from a flash drive for the first time today, fairly exciting in my world LOL!
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#15
CASHMON3Y Wrote:I tried the Unetbootin and my flash drive doesnt boot. I also tried the virtualbox, but that freezes and gives me errors.

I appear to be having the same problem, have you had any luck in getting your USB to boot XBMC Live yet?
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