Bug 782884

Summary:	Incorrect instructions for making bootable USB key
Product:	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6	Reporter:	Tony Camuso <tcamuso>
Component:	doc-Installation_Guide	Assignee:	Jack Reed <jreed>
Status:	CLOSED CURRENTRELEASE	QA Contact:	ecs-bugs
Severity:	urgent	Docs Contact:
Priority:	unspecified
Version:	6.0	CC:	alyoung, dayleparker, jimmy.vance, jskeoch, pbokoc, ssato, tcamuso, trinh.dao
Target Milestone:	rc	Keywords:	Documentation
Target Release:	---
Hardware:	All
OS:	Linux
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version:		Doc Type:	Bug Fix
Doc Text:		Story Points:	---
Clone Of:		Environment:
Last Closed:	2012-06-22 00:13:46 UTC	Type:	---
Regression:	---	Mount Type:	---
Documentation:	---	CRM:
Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team:	---	Target Upstream Version:

Description Tony Camuso 2012-01-18 19:26:52 UTC

Description of problem:

The Red Hat documentation in section 2.2 shows how to create a USB key. But I have not been able to boot a USB key using this method on any system. I have tried booting this key on several different systems (servers, desktops, and laptops) without success.

What I have verified to date is the following. Download the “boot.iso” image from a Red Hat repository, as stated in section 2.3 of the same document and then follows the instructions in section 2.2, the result is a bootable USB key.  “boot.iso” is a minimal image and requires additional media to do an installation. Normally “boot.iso” is used in conjunction with a network installation when PXE cannot be used as the boot method.

If you attempt the procedure listed in section 2.2 with the RHEL DVD .iso image using the same USB key media from the test above, the resulting key which does appear to contain the contents of the RHEL DVD is not bootable.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): All RHEL


How reproducible:
100%

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Use instructions to create bootable USB key
2.
3.
  
Actual results:
USB key does not boot

Expected results:
USB key should boot

Additional info:

Comment 2 Tony Camuso 2012-02-09 18:44:05 UTC

Because these instructions are part of the doc set, we are testing against them and getting consistent failures. 

Please either fix the problem or remove these instructions from the doc set.

Comment 3 Jack Reed 2012-02-09 22:16:22 UTC

Thanks, Tony. I am working on generating new instructions for the 6.3 release, but will indeed remove them then if necessary.

Comment 4 Jimmy.vance 2012-02-09 22:22:58 UTC

Jack, is there a new/different process for 6.3?

Comment 5 Jack Reed 2012-02-09 22:34:30 UTC

Hi Jimmy,

I'm still investigating the new process, but it is not new for 6.3. That is just when the docs will be updated.

This is one of two bugs (see bug 767062) reported about this issue so clearly something in the procedure is incorrect.

Keep an eye on these bugs for more information.

Comment 6 Jack Reed 2012-03-13 00:10:09 UTC

*** Bug 767062 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 7 Jack Reed 2012-03-13 04:11:46 UTC

OK, we have a workaround. 

isohybrid from the syslinux package needs to be run on existing 6.x ISOs prior
to them being transferred to the USB by dd. This adds a bootloader and yields a
functioning USB installation source.

The procedure will be updated for 6.3 to advise of this requirement.

Comment 10 Jimmy.vance 2012-03-14 16:01:34 UTC

Steps used to create USB key

cp RHEL6.2-20111117.0-Server-x86_64-DVD1.iso RHEL6.2-20111117.0-Server-x86_64-DVD1-hybrid.iso
isohybrid RHEL6.2-20111117.0-Server-x86_64-DVD1-hybrid.iso
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb bs=1M count=100
dd if=RHEL6.2-20111117.0-Server-x86_64-DVD1-hybrid.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M


The result was a bootable USB key. 

The installation starts normal. A few screens into the installation you are asked for the location of the installation media, options are local CD/DVD, Hard drive, NFS diretory, and URL. selecting CD/DVD returns no media as it should. When you select hard drive, you are presented with a list of choices. selecting /dev/sda1 the installation continues. Select Specialized storage devices to see a list of disks, the USB key device is listed and checked, you cannot de-select it as a device to install the operating system on. When you click next a message box pops up stating the installation source /dev/sda1 could not be found.

If you switch to tty2 you can mount /dev/sda1 and verify it is indeed the contents of the USB key

The key also needs to be able to mount as a virtual media device in iLO. When this key is inserted in a system running Windows XP or a Windows 7 a message box pops up "You need to format the disk in drive F: before you can use it"

Will attch images of relevant screen shots

Comment 12 Jack Reed 2012-03-21 03:19:12 UTC

Despite the success of isohybrid in getting a dd'd USB to boot when containing an ISO from 6 through to 6.2, the dd procedure itself does not work for DVD ISOs. As Comment 1 confirms though, it does work for boot ISOs.

See bug 805357 regarding the problem within RHEL itself, and bug 804476 for the changes made to documentation.


Jimmy, I followed your procedure and was unable to proceed with installation using the resulting USB. The problem remains that anaconda does not recognise a dd'd USB as an installation source. I'm unsure of how you reached any of the GUI screens - was sda1 your hard drive or the USB? If the latter, I'm unsure how you proceeded unless it was somehow a networked installation.

However, due to the urgent need to finalise documentation for 6.3., I have had to move the dd procedure into the Minimal Boot Media section and remove the section on Preparing a USB as an Installation Source, because in our testing dd only creates bootable USBs.

Comment 14 Dayle Parker 2012-06-22 00:13:46 UTC

This bug is now fixed and available as part of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.3 release on http://docs.redhat.com/.

Setting to CLOSED > CURRENTRELEASE.