Iain Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 I've tried to install BT4 on a USB memory stick but it won't boot, so I need to troubleshoot. I followed the detailed video tutorial at http://www.offensive-security.com/videos/b...sb-install.html and everything seemed to go fine. I used a brand new 4GB USB memory stick. Despite following the instructions exactly, I don't know if it's a problem with grub or my laptop. Questions: 1. As far as I know, I do not need any specific make or model of USB memory stick. Correct? 2. My laptop is about 5 years old and will boot from a USB floppy. Needless to say, that it first in the boot order on BIOS. I was under the impression that, as it will boot from the USB floppy, it *should* boot from a USB memory stick. Correct? There are no BIOS updates on the manufacturer's site. 3. I'm fairly new to Linux and my knowledge of grub is negligible. Does anyone have any tips about examining the grub configuration to see if that's the reason why it's not working? I've followed the instructions twice to create the bootable USB stick with identical results. Thanks for your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H@L0_F00 Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 What actually happens when you try to boot? Have you tried it on another computer? You could test it in my VM that allows booting from USB. You can also take screen shots and record video with VMware which might aid in troubleshooting your problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted October 19, 2009 Author Share Posted October 19, 2009 I have an older computer in which I've tried it and it also fails. I've never been able to get it to boot from a USB floppy so it doesn't support USB booting. When I try to boot my laptop from the USB memory stick, the light (on the USB memory stick) flashes briefly and it boots from the hard drive. The boot order is: Floppy CDROM Hard Drive Network I'll see if I can access a friend's computer in the hope that it will be able to boot from USB so I can test it in there. At the moment, I'm veering in favour of the problem being with the laptop but I just wondered if there were any easy tips to check the grub boot loader just to check if I've made any mistakes. I could post the contents of the menu.lst file, if that might help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H@L0_F00 Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 The menu.lst pretty much is the Grub configuration. It sounds like it is the computer though that's hindering you from booting from USB in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted October 19, 2009 Author Share Posted October 19, 2009 Yes, I'm concluding that's the problem. I've tried creating the BT4 bootable USB using Unetbootin and that fails too. I'll twist some of my pals' arms to see if I can try it on a more up to date laptop or PC. In my OP, I asked if I need a specific USB memory stick to convert to bootable. I recall the Switchblade which *needed* a U3. Am I correct to think that any USB memory stick can be used for my purpose? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H@L0_F00 Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Correct, virtually any flash media (USB, SD card, etc.) should be bootable if the system supports it. The Switchblade and other similar projects exploit the U3 feature of some flash drives that allows part of the media to show up as a CD, which means if autorun is enabled, the system is vulnerable. What you could try is PLoP. I've had some success with it, but every system is different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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