[LAU] Trying to install 64studio, no luck so far

[Ken Restivo]

So I figured I'd try using a music-specific distro for the new "embedded" Micro-ATX synth/PC. I started with 64 studio since that's what seems to have had the best install experience so far from most folks.

My install CD is a USB drive. That was the first problem: the BIOS was easily able to boot SYSLINUX off of the USB CD, but SYSLINUX couldn't understand USB (understandably: it's a tiny bootloader and doesn't have USB support).

So I dismantled the USB drive, and sure enough it is a PATA drive inside a USB housing. So I hooked the now-PATA CD drive into the mobo via the PATA cable. Great, it boots, and SYSLINUX can find the drive.

But then, it dies, with a "boot:" prompt, saying "unknown keyword in config file". I didn't have a look at the syslinux.cfg file (I'm getting lazy), but I can't imagine it has anything weird in it.

Googling around, it seems that the workaround is to type "linux26". I'll try that tomorrow.

Next problem that I predict, is that I'm trying to install 64Studio onto an 8GB USB drive. I'll predict that the instal kernel and installer system doesn't have USB/SCSI disk support, and that'll stop me.

Would it be easier to just format the USB key, do a debootstrap on my existing Debian Sid system, and then just change the /etc/apt/sources.list to 64studio's repositories, and then apt-get dist-upgrade? (a variant of this: http://wiki.flimzy.com/index.php/Install_Debian_on_USB )

Actually it might be easier to just do chroot and install Sid onto the key, following the procedure in the above link, but I really would like to try a music-specific distro this time around for this synth.

-ken