[arch-general] Help with making a bootable usbkey from arch for ssd drive firmware update

[Mike Cloaked]

On Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 10:16 PM, Mauro Santos
<registo.mailling at gmail.com>wrote:

>
> > Running the "file" command on the boot2880.img file after loop mounting
> it
> > gives:
> >
> > # file /mnt/iso/boot/isolinux/boot2880.img
> > /mnt/iso/boot/isolinux/boot2880.img: x86 boot sector, FREE-DOS Beta 0.9
> > Bootloader KERNEL.SYS, code offset 0x3c, OEM-ID "FreeDOS ",
> sectors/cluster
> > 2, root entries 240, sectors 5760 (volumes <=32 MB) , sectors/FAT 9,
> serial
> > number 0x2b6112fe, label: "BOOTABLE   ", FAT (12 bit)
> >
>
> This seems to be a FreeDOS floppy. If you can mount that image and have
> a look inside you can probably find the firmware file itself, the
> flasher program and probably the command used to launch it (look inside
> autoexec.bat).
>

I guess that is possible - though I would have to look up how to open up
the img file.


>
>
> You could try downloading freedos, installing it to a usbkey and check
> if it boots, if it does it is a matter of adding the flasher program,
> the firmware file and launch it the same way it is launched in the
> original image.
>
>
I did try using unetbootin to make a freedos usbkey using freedos from the
standard list in the available options within unetbootin but the key I
prepared would not boot!  I don't know if it is critical to put the
partition table into the key in a particular way - but I tried using
gparted and making a standard msdos partition table followed by making a
new partition which was fat32 with boot and lba labels. I have seen some
articles which have the old 63 sector start point for the first partition
on the usbkey - but again when I tried that the key would not get
recognised by the arch system when I plugged it in.

So is there any magic incantation in formatting the usbkey in the first
place before putting writing the MBR and placing the syslinux boot files
and image files in the key?  If using grub2 via grub-install on the key is
there any magic incantation for that ?  I guess if I can get freedos to
boot on the key I may be closer to getting something going! (Or getting
sysylinux to boot - either would be a solution)

Thanks
-- 
mike c