Update: Now there is an easy solution to build this making use of the Asus EeePC USB Recovery Disk. Please refer to the page Boot Xandros on USB for Dummies.
These are variations of the steps for to built Xandros on USB (without union filesystem) from your desktop with Puppy Linux live CD for advanced Linux users. For building Xandros on USB exactly the same as the stock distro on eeepc, please refer to the original steps here.
Also, I assume you have enough knowledge on Linux so I have skipped explanation of some Linux basics. If you want more detailed information, please refer to the section Explanation of Linux terminology and Puppy Linux Specific Instructions on the webpage of the original steps.
| What You Will Need |
| Downloads |
| Easy Steps |
| Advanced - Build Init RAM Filesystem Image from scratch |
Without the union filesystem, you only need to built 1 partition: the SYSTEM partition (min 2.5G). At startup, the system will loop scan for the USB device of the root partition, identifying it with a volume label as specified in the kernel parameters specified in the menu.lst config file of GRUB (the default boot loader). Here I have used the volume label USBSYSTEM. Feel free to change to whatever you like.
DOWNLOADS
For the lazy, I have hosted a package containing the initramfs image and grub menu.lst available for download: eeepc-bootusb-nounionfs.tgz. You can just extract and copy the file initramfs-usb-nounionfs-eeepc.img to the folder /boot of your Xandros on USB, i.e. /mnt/sdx1/boot as mounted by Pmount (the Puppy Mount Monitor) of Puppy Linux, and the file menu.lst to the folder /boot/grub (Backup the original /boot/grub/menu.lst if required).
icon for the device where you have copied the P701L.gz file. Navigate into the folder
with the image file.gunzip -c P701L.gz | dd of=/dev/sdx
This will copy the MBR and the SYSTEM
partition (/dev/sdx1) to the target drive
(/dev/sdx).
6) Open a terminal and run this command to
change the volume label of the SYSTEM partition (USBSYSTEM for me or any for your
choice). Also convert the it to ext3 journal filesystem:
e2label /dev/sdx1 USBSYSTEMtune2fs -j /dev/sdx1
7) Start GParted Partition
Manager to resize the SYSTEM partition to
use remaining space of the USB device or any size you prefer.
Menu > System > GParted Partition Manager
[NB. Umount the partitions with Pmount before running
GParted.]
- Select /dev/sdx on the top
right (Maximize the window if you can't see it)
- Highlight the line
/dev/sdx1
- Partition
> Resize/Move
- Drag and expand the partition to your preferred size
- Edit > Apply all operations
8) Click 
in Pmount and mount /dev/sdx1 (click the rightmost 
icon). Then open file manager for that drive (click the
leftmost icon). Navigate into the folder /mnt/sdx1/boot.
9) Mount the device where
you have downloaded the file eeepc-bootusb-nounionfs.tgz. Open file manager for that drive
and navigate to the folder where you have put them. Double click on it to
extract it, then drag and drop the file "initramfs-usb-nounionfs-eeepc.img" to the
other window of /mnt/sdx1/boot.
10) Navigate into
the folder /mnt/sdx1/boot/grub, backup the file
"menu.lst", rename it as
"menu.lst.orig". Then back to
the other window with the extracted downloaded file, drag and drop the
file "menu.lst" here.
13) Run a filesystem check on your partitions before you reboot. For me, the easy way is to do it on the command line. Open a terminal and run these commands:
umount /dev/sdx1 e2fsck -c /dev/sdx1
Or you can do it with GParted partition manager:
- Menu > System > GParted partition manager
-
Select /dev/sdx on the top right
(Maximize the window if you can't see it)
- Highlight the line /dev/sdx1
- Partition >
Check
- Edit > Apply all operations
[NB. Umount the partitions with Pmount before
running filesystem check.]
14) Now your Xandros on USB is ready for use. Plug it into your EeePC, press [Esc] at startup and select USB: USB2.0 Card Reader SD0 or USB: Generic Storage Device as first boot device.
gunzip < ../initramfs-eeepc.img | cpio -i
11) Edit the file "init". Replace
its content with this
init.
13) Navigate into the folder /mnt/sdx1/boot/temp/modules. Open another
file manager window of the same drive and navigate into the folder /mnt/sdx1/lib/modules/2.6.21.4-eeepc/kernel/drivers/usb.
Look for the files usbcore.ko, ehci-hcd.ko, uhci-hcd.ko, libusual.ko and usb-storage.ko in the different
sub-folders. These are the kernel modules you will need to boot from USB device.
Drag and copy them here.
14) [NB. With
devices dynamically created by mdev in the new "init", this step is no longer
needed.] Navigate into the folder /mnt/sdx1/boot/temp/dev. Open a terminal
and create the necessary devices for mounting the root filesystem during startup
with the mknod command:
mknod -m 644 sdb1 b 8 17 mknod -m 660 sdb2 b 8 18 mknod -m 660 sdb3 b 8 19 mknod -m 644 sdc1 b 8 33 mknod -m 660 sdc2 b 8 34 mknod -m 660 sdc3 b 8 35 mknod -m 644 sdd1 b 8 49 mknod -m 660 sdd2 b 8 50 mknod -m 660 sdd3 b 8 51 mknod -m 644 sde1 b 8 65 mknod -m 660 sde2 b 8 66 mknod -m 660 sde3 b 8 67 mknod -m 644 sdf1 b 8 81 mknod -m 660 sdf2 b 8 82 mknod -m 660 sdf3 b 8 83 mknod -m 644 sdg1 b 8 97 mknod -m 660 sdg2 b 8 98 mknod -m 660 sdg3 b 8 99 mknod -m 644 sdh1 b 8 113 mknod -m 660 sdh2 b 8 114 mknod -m 660 sdh3 b 8 115
Instead of running those commands one by one, you can also download a package sdxx.tar.gz of the device files I have created and extract it to the folder /mnt/sdx1/boot/temp/dev.
15) Now you can pack the initramfs image. Navigate into the folder /mnt/sdx1/boot/temp, open a terminal and
run this command:
find | cpio -H newc -o | gzip -9 > ../initramfs-usb-nounionfs-eeepc.img
16) Continue as per step 10 above.