The attached patch rearranges some of the FAQ's content and presents three new sections. The intention is to give at least equal prominence to booting from a USB device. It also addresses bug #655532.
--- index.wml 2012-08-13 12:07:52.000000000 +0100 +++ index-intro.wml 2012-08-16 12:46:19.000000000 +0100 @@ -14,24 +14,84 @@ <toc-add-entry name="what-is">What is a <q>CD image</q> anyway?</toc-add-entry> -<p>A CD image is the exact representation of the data on a CD in a -normal computer file, that can e.g. be transmitted over the -Internet. CD burning programs can use the image files to make real -CDs.</p> +<p> A CD image, or ISO image, is the exact representation of the data +on a CD in a normal computer file that can, for example, be transmitted +over the Internet. + +Several of the Debian CD and Debian Live images are created using +<i>isohybrid</i> technology, which means that they may be used in two +different ways:</p> + +<ul> + <li>They may be written to USB flash drives, bootable directly from the BIOS of most PCs.</li> + <li>They may be written to CD/DVD with a burning program and used as normal for CD/DVD booting.</li> +</ul> -<p>For a correctly written CD, the <tt>.iso</tt> file must not appear -on the CD when you access it! Instead, you should see a number of -files and directories - in the case of a Debian CD, this includes a +# ============================================================ + +<toc-add-entry name="USB-or-CD">Should I put the ISO image on a USB +stick or a CD/DVD?</toc-add-entry> + +<p>Many older computers will not boot easily or at all from USB; +conversely some newer machines do not have a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. In these +cases, the choice is made for you.</p> + +<p>Given the choice and a suitable method for writing the image, we +would suggest using a USB boot. Writing to a USB stick is arguably more +reliable and quicker than the burning process and the stick can be used +for other purposes afterwards. Also, <a href="#write-usb"> using +<i>dd</i></a>, the ISO image only takes up part of the space on the USB +device so the remainder can be partitioned and formatted for a different +use. For example, a FAT partition can be used to hold any +<a href="http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch02s02.html.en";>non-free +firmware</a> files needed during the installation of Debian.</p> + +# ============================================================ + +<toc-add-entry name="usb-probs">Is there anything to watch out for when writing +to a USB flash drive?</toc-add-entry> + +<p>Writing an ISO image correctly to a USB flash drive under +<a href="#write-usb">Linux</a> is described below. The actual process +with dd should be trouble-free but you need to bear in mind the use the +drive may put to, either during the present install or at some later +time, when you may have forgotten it had had an ISO written to it.</p> + +<p>Let's say you want to install Debian to such a flash drive. There +will be nothing out of the ordinary until the bootloader install stage +is reached. If you choose GRUB it will detect the signature of the +overwritten ISO at the beginning of the drive and refuse to write to its +MBR. One solution is:</p> + +<ul> + <li>Choose to manually partition the disks and note the drive's device +name, sdX.</li> + <li>Switch to a console with <i>ALT-F2</i>.</li> + <li>Check you have the correct device by reading from it with <code>dd +if=/dev/sdX of=/dev/null</code> and watch for the LED on it flashing. + <li>Write to the drive with <code>dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdX bs=512 +count=64</code> and proceed to partition it and install the base system.</li> + <li>Should you forget to do this before partitioning, <code>dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdY +bs=512 seek=1 count=64</code> should get GRUB's co-operation afterwards.</li> +</ul> + +# ============================================================ + +<toc-add-entry name="cd-probs">Is there anything to watch out for when writing to a CD/DVD?</q></toc-add-entry> + +<p>For a correctly written CD/DVD the <tt>.iso</tt> file must not appear +on the CD/DVD when you access it! Instead, you should see a number of +files and directories - in the case of a Debian image, this includes a <q>dists</q> directory and a <q>README.html</q> file.</p> <p>The <tt>.iso</tt> format is roughly comparable to a <tt>.zip</tt> file: It contains other files and directories, and only these will -appear on the final CD. Some archive programs allow you to <q>unpack</q> -<tt>.iso</tt> files. Do not use this feature to create a CD from the -unpacked files! The resulting CD will fail to boot because the +appear on the final CD/DVD. Some archive programs allow you to <q>unpack</q> +<tt>.iso</tt> files. Do not use this feature to create a CD/DVD from the +unpacked files! The resulting CD/DVD will fail to boot because the <tt>.iso</tt> format includes special information related to booting -from the CD, which is lost when you unpack the file. See below on how -to correctly write a CD image under <a href="#record-unix">Linux</a>, +from the CD/DVD, which is lost when you unpack the file. See below on how +to correctly write an ISO image to a CD/DVD under <a href="#record-unix">Linux</a>, <a href="#record-windows">Windows</a> or <a href="#record-mac">Mac OS</a>.</p> @@ -659,8 +719,11 @@ Mode 1 or Mode 2 Form 1 Data only</i></q> and Track format <q><i>CD-Rom Mode 1</i></q>.</dd> - <dt><strong><a NAME="cdextreme">CD Extreme</a> from - <a href="http://www.storagebysony.com";>Sony</a></strong></dt> +<p><a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/xorriso/xorriso.html";>xorriso</a> + + + <dt><strong><a NAME="cdextreme" + href="http://sony.storagesupport.com/node/7068";>Sony</a></strong></dt> <dd>Choose <i>New Job...</i> from the <i>File</i> menu. Then select <i>Global-Image</i> or <i>Other Image</i>. This opens up @@ -716,15 +779,6 @@ <toc-add-entry name="write-usb">How do I write a CD image to a USB flash drive?</toc-add-entry> -<p>Several of the Debian CD and Debian Live images are created using -<i>isohybrid</i> technology, which means that they may be used in two -different ways:</p> - -<ul> - <li>They may be written to CD/DVD and used as normal for CD/DVD booting.</li> - <li>They may be written to USB flash drives, bootable directly from the BIOS of most PCs.</li> -</ul> - <p>The most common way to copy an image to a USB flash drive is to use the <q>dd</q> command on a Linux machine:</p>
