How to boot webconverger from Flash IDE?

[sdv....@gmail.com]

Hello!
Is there a way to boot webconverger from Flash IDE.
I tried to dd binary.img to Flash IDE, set boot sequence to boot from
ide0 first in bios, but got error: "disk boot failure insert system
disk and press enter".
I use 512Mb Flash IDE Transcend.
Maybe somebody tried to boot webc from Flash IDE?
Maybe i should use some IDE to CF/SD adapter instead of flash IDE?
Pls, help.

[Kai Hendry]

I don't have such a device, so I have never tried. I did in the past
try a flashed compact flash via a USB hub. It did *not* work.

Just to be clear before people get wild ideas. USB boot only works in
my experience with newer computers & updated BIOSes.

See: http://webconverger.org/usb/

I have ordered an Addonics part that might be similar to yours:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Compact_Flash_boot_drive

[kozu...@gmail.com]

I run webc off a 1GB Kingston CF on a ALIX1C1 board - without
problems. I aslo ran it from CF on CF/IDE adapter on my desktop PC.

[Iax]

> I run webc off a 1GB Kingston CF on a ALIX1C1 board - without
> problems. I aslo ran it from CF on CF/IDE adapter on my desktop PC.

In my experience the usb-hdd image may work or may not work, here we
have tried on a number of pcs using many different cf cards (CF to IDE
and CF to Sata) but don't work everywere. I think some issues rises
because of the way the system bios interpret the CF geometry.

Hendry said no luck booting from cf/usb adapters, my experience look
really different... worked all the times except on a Asus Pundit 2
PC... but this one worked without any problem via a CF to IDE adapter.
Obiouvsly i am speaking about usb boot capable pcs.

Follow a report of tests i have done today using some CF cards loaded
with a quite old (late 2007) webconverger image.
Some notes:
- Asus pcs, AMI bios
- Intel D945GCLF, Award bios (really buggy bios!)
- Fujitsu pc, Award bios
- Intel D945GCLF, linux have problems with tle onboard lan
- Intel D945GCLF, IDE DMA can't be disabled

-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----[CF 512 Diunamai (Toshiba), pre image copy]-----------------
Disco /dev/sdb: 512 MB, 512483328 byte
16 heads, 63 sectors/track, 993 cylinders
Units = cilindri of 1008 * 512 = 516096 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

-----[BOOT OK on old P933 fujitsu Siemens]-----------------------
-----[B0OT OK on Intel D945GCLF (Atom CPU)]----------------------
-----[B0OT OK on Asus P1-P945GC]---------------------------------
Disco /dev/sdb: 512 MB, 512483328 byte
84 heads, 60 sectors/track, 198 cylinders
Units = cilindri of 5040 * 512 = 2580480 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0003259e

Dispositivo Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 75 187391+ 83 Linux
La partizione 1 ha diversi elementi finali fisici/logici:
phys=(23, 83, 60) logico=(74, 30, 24)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----[CF 2GB takeMS, very slow (unformatted)]--------------------
Disco /dev/sdb: 2079 MB, 2079350784 byte
64 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1023 cylinders
Units = cilindri of 3968 * 512 = 2031616 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

-----[BOOT OK on old P933 fujitsu Siemens]-----------------------
-----[WON'T boot with wbc image on Asus P1-P945GC!]--------------
-----[B0OT OK on Intel D945GCLF (Atom CPU) but...]---------------
-----[WON'T load the OS on this board because of DMA problems]---
Disco /dev/sdb: 2017 MB, 2017419264 byte
84 heads, 60 sectors/track, 781 cylinders
Units = cilindri of 5040 * 512 = 2580480 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0003259e

Dispositivo Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 75 187391+ 83 Linux
La partizione 1 ha diversi elementi finali fisici/logici:
phys=(23, 83, 60) logico=(74, 30, 24)
----[same card as above, with Puppy 4.0 installed]---------------
----[BOOT OK on all testing machines listed above]---------------
Disco /dev/sdb: 2017 MB, 2017419264 byte
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 245 cylinders
Units = cilindri of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000e219a

Dispositivo Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 245 1967931 83 Linux
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----[Kingston 1 GB, BOOT OK on P933 fujitsu Siemens]------------
-----[WON'T boot on Asus P1-P945GC!]-----------------------------
-----[WON'T boot Intel D945GCLF (Atom CPU) because...]-----------
-----[SYSLINUX... EBIOS load error...]---------------------------
Disco /dev/sdb: 1008 MB, 1008451584 byte
84 heads, 60 sectors/track, 390 cylinders
Units = cilindri of 5040 * 512 = 2580480 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0003259e

Dispositivo Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 75 187391+ 83 Linux
La partizione 1 ha diversi elementi finali fisici/logici:
phys=(23, 83, 60) logico=(74, 30, 24)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----[PNY 2 GB (unformatted)]------------------------------------
Disco /dev/sdb: 2004 MB, 2004516864 byte
62 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1018 cylinders
Units = cilindri of 3844 * 512 = 1968128 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0003259e

-----[B0OT OK on P933 fujitsu Siemens]---------------------------
-----[B0OT OK on Intel D945GCLF (Atom CPU)]----------------------
-----[WON'T boot on Asus P1-P945GC!]-----------------------------
Disco /dev/sdb: 2004 MB, 2004516864 byte
84 heads, 60 sectors/track, 776 cylinders
Units = cilindri of 5040 * 512 = 2580480 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0003259e

Dispositivo Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 75 187391+ 83 Linux
La partizione 1 ha diversi elementi finali fisici/logici:
phys=(23, 83, 60) logico=(74, 30, 24)

Just my two cents, hope may be useful for someone... also sorry about
my bad english!

[Iax]

Tested today the same group of CF cards in my previous message on a
Alix 1C board from PC Engines, all booted and run without any problem.

[Kai Hendry]

Thank you for contributing this information.

My general feeling is that USB boot is becoming more and more
possible. I imagine most hard drives will be replaced with faster SSD
based drives, connected simply with common USB like interfaces.

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Compact_Flash_boot_drive

Webconverger is perfect for such cases. :)

And of course it forces users to think about storing information on
the Web, instead of local drives.