How to install IsoWriter in Linux Mint

LeoR

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How do I install this program in Linux Mint? I found all the files here: https://github.com/KaOSx/isowriter

Clicked the "Clone or Download" button and got isowriter-master.zip downloaded. Unpacked all files to "Downloads" folder, extracted files to Downloads folder with all subfolders. But how do I run it or intall it?

Have to admit that Linux Mint has been user friendly, until trying to install programs that are not available from Software Manager... :)
 


What do you think it does and why do you need it?
 
I'm pretty sure it can do a bootable USB of a KaOS ISO image file. Just following documentation here: https://kaosx.us/docs/usb_flash/

Although, haven't clued out how to install IsoWriter yet. Do you think you know how to and would you mind sharing your thoughts?
 
Linux Mint I believe comes with a usb creator / usb image writer by default look in the menu.
 
Linux Mint I believe comes with a usb creator / usb image writer by default look in the menu.

Thanks, I'll try that. I already tried another one, "balenaEtcher", but seems like only IsoWriter does a correct job with KaOS ISO images. Atleast that's what the documentation gives me a hint of: https://kaosx.us/docs/usb_flash/

Actually I thought all USB creators would work, but if that is not the case, I'd really like to install IsoWriter. Any ideas how to install it on Linux Mint 19.2 Cinnamon? I got the isowriter-master.zip downloaded from https://github.com/KaOSx/isowriter

Thanks!
 
It keeps saying that unetbootin and rufus don't work.

I like and would try balena etcher. Get the .deb here. Install it with gdebi
 
I did start with balenaEtcher and default image writer in Linux Mint. After reboot with the USB memory stick, it boots up to a KaOS boot menu, tried both options but it stops after a while and shuts down the computer. So I guessed it might be a problem with the image writers I use and therefore the next step is to try IsoWriter which the KaOS team recommends.

So, how do I install IsoWriter, is it impossible?
 
You're making this harder than it needs to be. I'm running KaOS on a USB right now, following their instructions that you must have overlooked. Below IsoWriter, below SUSE Studio ImageWriter, they explain the Linux command line tool, dd. It works fine, and it's included in Mint. I'll add a little more to help make sure you're on the correct drive letter... dd is very unforgiving if you tell it the wrong path. :eek::D

Plug in your USB drive first (everything will be erased), then:
Code:
sudo fdisk -l  #to be sure of your USB drive letter
sudo umount /dev/sdX1  #where X1 is your USB partition, if mounted
sudo dd if=KaOS-2019.09-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=1M  #change X to your drive letter and start in folder where .iso is located

It might take up to about 5 minutes to work, and you won't see any activity in your terminal. Wait for it. It will finally respond with a number of "records in" and "records out." After that, reboot onto the USB.

Good luck!
 
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You're making this harder than it needs to be. I'm running KaOS on a USB right now, following their instructions that you must have overlooked. Below IsoWriter, below SUSE Studio ImageWriter, they explain the Linux command line tool, dd. It works fine, and it's included in Mint. I'll add a little more to help make sure you're on the correct drive letter... dd is very unforgiving if you tell it the wrong path. :eek::D

Plug in your USB drive first (everything will be erased), then:
Code:
sudo fdisk -l  #to be sure of your USB drive letter
sudo umount /dev/sdX1  #where X1 is your USB partition, if mounted
sudo dd if=KaOS-2019.09-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=1M  #change X to your drive letter and start in folder where .iso is located

It might take up to about 5 minutes to work, and you won't see any activity in your terminal. Wait for it. It will finally respond with a number of "records in" and "records out." After that, reboot onto the USB.

Good luck!
Thanks, I did use dd from Linux Mint now and got the same result = fail after boot with several error messages (something with ACPI) and then shutdown. So I guess the ISO file did write correctly even with balenaEtcher and also ROSA imagewriter and finally DD.

I got a MSI GL72M 7REX with both Intel and nvidia 1050ti graphics. Linux Mint runs perfectly.

What should I change in the boot options, with "e", to be able to start KaOS from USB? :)
 
Ok, seems that I solved the boot problem with KaOS USB live. I just added acpi=off to the settings. Now it starts and seems to work.

Would this be a problem if I continue installing KaOS? Seems like my laptop ACPI is not compatible with KaOS? Running with it permanently off, would that work?
 
I don't remember if the KaOS boot menu (on the USB) offered any "Failsafe boot" method... if it does, I would try that, even without the acpi=off setting first. If that works, I would install from that point.

But I'm glad that acpi=off worked for you. That seems to be about the most common solution. The setting may or may not stick when you install it, but the install may make everything work okay anyway. But always have an immediate backup plan in case of failure. If KaOS installs, but then doesn't boot up, it gets a lot more tricky to repair.
 
In use Linux Mint (exclusively)

The default usb creator / usb image writer is unetbootin
 
Ok, but if I used the DD command in Linux Mint terminal, does that mean that I used unetbootin? If so, then I might use ROSA imagewriter instead. But since the USB did boot and work finally, it should be correct?

Alright, now when I know that ACPI=off works, this is how to continue the analysis. :)

Here's how to debug ACPI:
 
Ok, but if I used the DD command in Linux Mint terminal, does that mean that I used unetbootin?
No, not at all. dd is a simple command line utility, but Unetbootin is a more complex graphical software program. Many graphical programs in Linux use command line utilities "under the hood".... so it may be possible that Unetbootin uses dd, but not the other way around. But even if Unetbootin does use dd, it must also do "other things" that are what make it incompatible with KaOS.


But since the USB did boot and work finally, it should be correct?
KaOS only advises against Rufus and Unetbootin. But other programs may fail too, even if they aren't listed. I don't know anything about ROSA Image Writer, but there are many programs both for Windows and for Linux that perform this task. Because KaOS seems kind of picky about installation, I think I would only follow their instructions, and dd is by far the easiest method.

Cheers
 
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That's a good link, Leo, thanks for sharing :)

After an install, if problems persist, you can add any of the ACPI parameters to GRUB.

If/when it comes closer to that time, let us know and we can help. And then provide us with the content as with the following instruction at Terminal (Konsole?)

Code:
cat /etc/default/grub

There will be a line starting with eg

Code:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=

and we will add the ACPI at the end of that line inside any quotes if they are there. Then save the file, and run

Code:
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

and reboot with the options saved.

Cheers

Wizard
 
I'm still trying to figure out if I should install KaOS or KDE Neon as my third OS. Right now I got Linux Mint 19.2 Cinnamon and Windows 10. I love Mint, but would like to test the KDE Plasma desktop environment. I like the idea that KaOS is not built on Ubuntu like KDE Neon, if that matters in any functional way. What I've seen so far about KaOS while live booting the USB, it looks very nice. I could not get my Nvidia 1050ti to work on the live boot version though, but I guess it could/should work with full install?
 
I like the idea that KaOS is not built on Ubuntu like KDE Neon, if that matters in any functional way.
Have you tried KDE Neon on a live USB? One of the great things about Ubuntu-based distros is its ability to detect and configure a wide variety of hardware, so it might work with your Nvidia card right out of the box.

Another thing... KaOS released a new update a few days ago. Might be worth burning it to a USB to see if that latest version recognizes your Nvidia. I would guess that you can get Nvidia proprietary drivers to run in KaOS after a full install, but I can't be sure... it's not something I do.

Cheers
 
I used balenaEtcher to create my KaOS USB. I’m intrigued with KaOS too and I want to install it along with Windows 10 and Kubuntu. I’m just needing the install instructions for each.
 
You should start your own thread asking for that information.

Maybe @wizardfromoz can split it off and start a new thread in 'Getting Started'?
 

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