Boot Linux from a Creative Zen Vision:M
Tonight I setup Linux (Knoppix) on my Creative Zen Vision:M mp3 player.
Let me clarify that, I set aside a 1GB partition on my Zen to use as a removable hard-disk and installed linux on that. This allows me to boot a standard PC from Zen plugged into the USB drive to the Knoppix operating system.
The best part is probably that I can simply unplug, reboot and be back in windows.
I used the following guide [LINK] and only had to modify things slightly.
Essentially because the guide talks about booting from a USB drive which is essentially a ZIP drive, you need to modify the mkdiskimage command listed in the guide from this:
mkdiskimage -4 /dev/sdz 0 64 32
to this:
mkdiskimage -F /dev/sdz 0 64 32
This’ll setup things on a true Fat32 drive which is perfect for the Zen. If you don’t want to read the guide, here’s a summary of the steps:
Put the Zen in Removable Disk mode with the size set to 1GB.
Plug it in and boot knoppix from CD.
Find the name of your USB drive and substitute is for /dev/sdz below.
Be extra careful to use the right drive here as the next step wipes ALL data from the drive.
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdz
mkdiskimage -F /dev/sdz 0 64 32
syslinux -s /dev/sdz1
mount /media/sdz1
cd /media/sdz1
Should be one and only one file in the folder.
cp -av /cdrom/boot/isolinux/* .
mv isolinux.cfg syslinux.cfg
rm -f isolinux.bin
cp -av /cdrom/* .
rm -rf ./boot
reboot
This was a bit of a geeky thing to do but I love it and it’s super handy when you’re on the road (as I was this weekend) and need a better OS than the company issue. It’s also great if you’re Whingedoze dies on you. By setting up on a Zen like this it also frees up your CD drive so you can play DVDs without needing the Knoppix CD to be in the drive.
P.S. I’m claiming my blog, view my Technorati Profile.
Glad you got it working! I tried to write those instructions to be as general as possible, and am glad it worked for other devices besides USB keys. I’m thinking of trying it on an iPod sometime.
I have seen at least one PC boot from a FAT16 partition but not from a FAT32 partition. Strange. Identical USB ports, USB keys, software load, everything was the same except the usage of FAT32 and FAT16. Since FAT16 worked, I continue to recommend it for devices smaller than 2GB.
Also, I see you changed it to partition 1 instead of partition 4. The USB-ZIP “standard” still requires partition 4. You can do both -F and -4 options at once, like this:
mkdiskimage -4 -F /dev/sdz 0 64 32
Then use sdz4, not sdz1, for all future steps. I have not yet seen a BIOS that strictly requires partition 4, but given the sad state of BIOS programming these days, it doesn’t hurt to be pedantically safe.
BTW, I really like the “Type my first name in this box” entry field. Nice subtle anti-spambot test!
Hi, I’m trying to do the same but on a 2GB USB memory key. Do you know what mkdiskimage parameters I could use. I’ve tried the suggestions on the knoppix wiki document but none of them work.
I’m curious as to what failed with a 2GB key. Can you post to the thread on Knoppix.net? Try mkdiskimage -4 -F /dev/sdz 0 255 63 or mkdiskimage -4 -F /dev/sdz 0 256 63.
Everytime I try this I get to the syslinux -s /dev/sdz1 part and get an error “it doesn’t appear to be a valid fat file system”
been trying to 2 days, please help.
I did notice there is a sudo knoppix-installer; why doesn’t that work, I didn’t really try as I was afraid I’d kill my HDD
I do the same actions as you do but this doesn’t work. What can be the problem?
If this is not working for you, the only thing I can think of is that you’re using the wrong drive. /dev/sdz as I’ve included in the directions needs to be replaced with the correct drive. The reason I didn’t include the exact statement is that everyone’s computer is different and I might have accidentally told you to wipe your c: drive instead of the USB drive.