Linux USB ISO Instructions

TBJLT119

Application

This Tech note describes the procedure to be followed to create a USB FLASH Drive that can be used to ISO the Vista T4, T2, I3 and L5 console hard drives.

Parts Required

  • 512MB or larger USB FLASH drive.

Procedure

The following procedure assumes WinRAR has been installed on the computer and the ISO file has been downloaded.
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  1. Open a file manager and navigate to the downloaded ISO file.
  1. Right click on the ISO file and select “Extract files…”. See image at right.
  1. Navigate to a suitable location on the computer hard drive and click OK. The files will take a few minutes to be extracted, depending upon the type of computer. The remainder of this document will assume the files have been extracted to c:\temp\iso_ext.
  1. In the file manager, navigate to the c:\temp\iso_ext\isolinux directory.

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  1. Select all the files in the directory and paste them into the directory above ie c:\temp\iso_ext. When the paste is complete the iso_ext directory should look something like the image at right.

If the FLASH drive has been used before to ISO a console, proceed directly to step 10.

  1. The FLASH Drive must be formatted with the FAT32 file system. If the FLASH drive is already FAT32, proceed to step 7.

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Note that this procedure will erase all data on the FLASH drive, and if not done properly could erase all data on the computer internal hard drive.

Format the FLASH drive in file manager by right-clicking on the drive and selecting the “Format” option. Ensure the File System option is set to FAT32 before clicking the “Start” button.

  1. Note the drive letter assigned to the FLASH drive by Windows eg “E”.
  1. Open a Command Prompt for which the user account is running with administrator-level access. In Windows XP open the Start Menu and select “Run”, then type “cmd” in the box and press enter. In Windows Vista open the Start Menu, select “All Programs”, then “Accessories”, right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as Administrator”. In Windows 7, click “Start”, in the search field type cmd and press CTRL+Shift+Enter, then click “Yes” in the User Access Control dialog if one appears. In Windows 8 open the “Command Prompt” from the Apps screen and select “Run as Administrator” from the selections at the bottom of the screen.
  1. Using the appropriate drive letters noted in step 7 and the location of the files extracted in step 2, type the following:

c:\temp\iso_ext\syslinux –ma [FLASH Drive letter]: –f

For example:

c:\temp\iso_ext\syslinux –ma E: -f The FLASH drive is “E”
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This only takes a second or two to complete.

  1. Select all the files and folders in the c:\temp\iso_ext directory and paste them into the root of the FLASH drive. This may take 5 or 10 minutes, depending on the computer and the FLASH drive.
  1. Eject the drive and install the software on the console.