User:AnarcoBuda/Tests/Installation media

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Note: This page assumes that you are already running a GNU/Linux system.

This page discusses various methods on how to create a Parabola GNU/Linux-libre Installer LiveCD or USB drive (also referred to as "flash drive", "USB stick", "USB key", etc) for booting in BIOS and UEFI systems. The result will be either a LiveUSB (LiveCD-like) or optical disk system that can be used for installing Parabola GNU/Linux, system maintenance or for recovery purposes, and that, because of the nature of SquashFS, will discard all changes once the computer shuts down.

1 Using dd

1.1 BIOS and UEFI bootable USB

Note: This method is recommended due to its simplicity. If it does not work, switch to an alternative method below.

First, to list the block devices, execute the following command: 

# lsblk -S
NAME HCTL       TYPE VENDOR   MODEL             REV TRAN
sda  0:0:0:0    disk ATA      STXXXXXXXX-XXX   AAAA sata
sdb  5:0:0:0    disk General  USB Flash Disk   1.0  usb
sr0  1:0:0:0    rom  PLDS     DVD-RW DSXXXXX   BBBB sata

Assuming you don't have many storage devices plugged in, the USB flash drive is easily identified by the VENDOR, MODEL and TRAN columns. In order to use a USB flash drive as your install medium, you will need to write to the device and not to the partition (for example, /dev/sdc not /dev/sdc1). Write to the USB flash drive with the following command (where sdx is the device):

Warning: The following command will erase everything that is currently on the USB drive.
# dd bs=4M if=~/downloads/parabola-version.iso of=/dev/sdx && sync

See the dd man page for more information about dd.

Tip: If the UEFI version of the USB's Parabola ISO hangs or is unable to load, try repeating the dd media creation process on the same USB drive one or more times.

1.2 Optical disk

To create a disk to use as your install medium, insert a blank or re-writable disk, CD or DVD, into your disk drive. Next, you will need to mount the disk. 

# mount sr0

Provided your computer has a disk drive. Sr0 should the first or only, if you only have one disk drive, mount point of disk drives. You will need to address the correct destination for the command to work. 

# dd if=~/downloads/parabola-version.iso of=/dev/sr0 bs=2048 conv=noerror && sync

2 Other methods for BIOS systems

2.1 Using GNOME Disk Utility

Linux distributions running GNOME can easily make a live CD through nautilus and gnome-disk-utility. Simply right-click on the .iso file, and select Open With Disk Image Writer. When GNOME Disk Utility opens, specify the flash drive from the Destination drop-down menu and click Start Restoring.

3 Troubleshooting

  • If you get the "device did not show up after 30 seconds" error due to the /dev/disk/by-label/PARA_YYYYMM not mounting, try renaming your USB media to PARA_YYYYMM (e.g. PARA_201806).
  • If you get errors with the USB installation method, try using another USB device. There are case scenarios in which it solved all issues.

4 See also

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