Sugar on a Stick

Cannot boot live USB SOAS on Mac OS X

Asked by Danbalam

I've followed the instructions 'For Mac OS X Users' from
http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_on_a_Stick/Blueberry#For_Mac_OS_X_Users

After downloading the live USB image and the image writer, then following the instructions to install it on to a USB 1gb stick. I've now tried to boot using this USB via various methods I've found through google searches on booting from USB since the instructions forget to describe how to boot and only describe how to install (wtf? - pardon my english ;P ). Shouldn't this also detail how to boot the USB once the image is created?

The methods that I've discovered on how to boot from USB are -
restart computer and press;
Option key - This loads into a screen that allows me to choose which boot disk to load from (yay). The only disk visible is my internal HD (booooo!)
'c' key - Nothing, just boots OS X as normal
'e' key - Nothing, just boots OS X as normal

Are there some versions of Mac that cannot boot from USB? This is what I have:
2.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
OS X 10.5.8

I've found the topic 'Cannot install SOAS using instructions for Mac OS X (Solved)' through the FAQ forum. Some (read most) of the information was very confusing. So I was wondering what the solved part refers to as I couldn't find the solution. But after reading through the discussions I was able to decipher how to check the USB device through terminal to find out the USB's name, is it read only, is it bootable, etc.

This is what the command returned:
 diskutil info /dev/disk1
   Device Identifier: disk1
   Device Node: /dev/disk1
   Part Of Whole: disk1
   Device / Media Name: Generic Flash Disk Media

   Volume Name: soas-2-blueberry
   Mount Point: /Volumes/soas-2-blueberry
   File System: ISO Rockridge

   Partition Type:
   Bootable: Not bootable
   Media Type: Generic
   Protocol: USB
   SMART Status: Not Supported

   Total Size: 588.9 Mi (617512960 B) (1206080 512-byte blocks)
   Free Space: 0.0 B (0 B) (0 512-byte blocks)

   Read Only: Yes
   Ejectable: Yes
   Whole: Yes
   Internal: No
   OS 9 Drivers: No
   Low Level Format: Not Supported

I can see from reading this that my USB is not bootable. I thought that the point of going through these steps was to make a bootable live USB. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that to do so I need the USB to be bootable, but I was unable to decipher whether or not I need to make the device to be read only or otherwise.

These are some questions that spring to mind while attempting to install and use Sugar.
1. Do I need to install this image (or a different image) to my USB via a different method? Where do I find the steps to do so? Why weren't they easier to find in the first place? i.e. linked through from the SOAS installation page.

2. Is my USB device faulty? How do I check? What do I look for when selecting a USB to make sure it will work?

3. Is my MacBook Pro compatible? Can I boot via USB with this version of software and combination? How do I check? If not then can I do anything to make it more compatible? (see question 1 regarding image version).

4. Why use 'solved' as a status when the solution is not clear or obvious?

                              ---- SOLUTION ---- (Example only. Sorry to those who also cannot boot USB on Mac yet for getting your hopes up)
Make the solution into a part of the original page, or put the word solved in bold centred on the column identifying the solution. (just a suggestion do with it what you will)

But seriously how do I make Sugar on a Mac go?

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Revision history for this message
James Cameron (quozl) said : 		#1

On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 04:51:42AM -0000, Danbalam wrote:
> New question #98710 on Sugar on a Stick:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/soas/+question/98710
>
> I've followed the instructions 'For Mac OS X Users' from
> http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_on_a_Stick/Blueberry#For_Mac_OS_X_Users

The section after this describes the Boot Helper for machines that don't
support booting from USB. Have you tried that?

> After downloading the live USB image and the image writer, then
> following the instructions to install it on to a USB 1gb stick. I've
> now tried to boot using this USB via various methods I've found
> through google searches on booting from USB since the instructions
> forget to describe how to boot and only describe how to install (wtf?
> - pardon my english ;P ). Shouldn't this also detail how to boot the
> USB once the image is created?

Not really, because the details vary quite a bit from system to system,
and depend on the firmware (BIOS) version and features. It isn't
practical to cover them all with the limited base of volunteers we have.

You could have a look at http://www.google.com/search?q=usb+booting

> Are there some versions of Mac that cannot boot from USB? This is what I have:
> 2.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
> OS X 10.5.8

http://www.google.com/search?q=usb+booting+mac comes up with a few
ideas.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1948 suggests that what you want is not
possible, since it requires the USB device be formatted with a GUID
partition type and contain Mac OS X. If Apple are correct in this, then
the next option is for you to use the Boot Helper.

(You might also consider running VirtualBox or another virtual machine
manager and booting a virtual machine from the device. This bypasses
the BIOS firmware but runs the virtual machine within Mac OS X as a
process. This may be slower.)

> I've found the topic 'Cannot install SOAS using instructions for Mac
> OS X (Solved)' through the FAQ forum. Some (read most) of the
> information was very confusing. So I was wondering what the solved
> part refers to as I couldn't find the solution. But after reading
> through the discussions I was able to decipher how to check the USB
> device through terminal to find out the USB's name, is it read only,
> is it bootable, etc.

Doesn't sound relevant to your problem, and I've answered there as well.

> I can see from reading this that my USB is not bootable.

That's because Mac OS X thinks it cannot be booted. The same USB device
in another system may show it is bootable.

> 4. Why use 'solved' as a status when the solution is not clear or obvious?

This is entirely outside our control. It is a feature of LaunchPad.

--
James Cameron
http://quozl.linux.org.au/

Revision history for this message
lisfolks (lisfolks-dev) said : 		#2

I agree with James' response. I will also add that the 'solved' on the question is because THAT (#94113) issue was solved - the question was about getting the image onto the USB, not about how to boot the USB.

Now, about the booting part - here is how you SHOULD be able to do it:

1) Install the image on the USB stick per the instructions in that older (solved) question, using image-writer-mac.

2) Create the boot CD: use Disk Utility to burn the soas-2-boot.iso image to a CD.

3) With the CD inserted in the drive and the USB stick inserted in a USB slot, restart your Mac. Once the screen gets dark, press and hold the 'c' key. After a bit, a white screen should appear, giving you some options.

4) Press enter at the first option (to boot from the USB - I don't think you need to use 'boot and verify'). Give it a few minutes... The little XO guy/icon should appear on your screen with circles appearing around it.

5) If all is well, at this point it should boot into the USB and begin Sugar.

If it doesn't work and gives you an error about sleeping forever, check my post at question #95622. Hopefully it'll work fine for you, though.

Can you help with this problem?

Provide an answer of your own, or ask Danbalam for more information if necessary.

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