.img downloadable files are USB images to be copied onto a USB stick/key.
How to copy .img to USB stick (under Windows):
As described earlier on the forum:
- Insert a USB stick that you are willing to replace with Webconverger and note it's drive letter
- Download the latest Webconverger USB IMG image to your Windows desktop
- Download the experimental dd 0.6 beta 2 to the desktop
- Start menu -> Run -> cmd (this launches the scary black console)
cd Desktopdd if=mini.img od=x:(x representing your USB drive you are going to replace with Webconverger!)
There is a now an alternative to use a program called Flashnul described in : * Debian EEEPC guide on Flashnul * Archlinux on Flashnul
How to copy .img to USB stick (under Linux):
- fdisk -l will list your USB drive - usually /dev/sdx ("x" representing letter like sda, sdb etc.), double check with
dmesg- dd if=webconverger-image.img of=/dev/sdx
Detailed description on Debian wiki.
- Just as fast as a hard drive in many cases
- USB boot works generally only with newer computers (since 2004)
Kingston DataTravelers are recommended, though almost any generic USB stick should be fine. Feel free to use the usb image also with embedded boards and Compact Flash cards (they behave like /dev/hda usually).
Booting your USB stick
Different machines have different ways of Entering the boot menu. However it's usually the [F8] key or at least configurable in the BIOS menu.
Appending arguments to boot loader
When the bootloader (syslinux) initially loads, you'll have a few seconds to type in something at the toboot: prompt. For example to get boot with i18n French support simply add:
live locale=fr
Hacking the USB boot
Plug your Webconverger USB stick in and mount the USB stick, for e.g.:
x61:~% sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/usb
Edit the menu.cfg. Alter elements like the homepage.
x61:/mnt/usb% sudo vim syslinux/menu.cfg
Unmount and boot up your system:
x61:/mnt/usb% cd
x61:~% sudo umount /mnt/usb
Developer notes
In config/binary:
LH_BINARY_IMAGES="usb-hdd"
And grub doesn't work, so you must use the syslinux bootloader.