Bug #7378

Universal USB Installer creates unbootable devices

Added by mercedes508 2014-06-07 14:21:48 . Updated 2018-11-02 07:05:58 .

Status:
Resolved
Priority:
Normal
Assignee:
Category:
Installation
Target version:
Start date:
2014-06-21
Due date:
% Done:

100%

Feature Branch:
Type of work:
Research
Blueprint:

Starter:
0
Affected tool:
Deliverable for:

Description

After installing Tails-1.1-devel using UUI, when trying to boot users get that error message:

SYSLINUX 4.07… Avin et al
ifcpu64.32: not a COM32R Image

Which seems similar to https://labs.riseup.net/code/issues/7345

Files

uui.log (1796 B) anonym, 2014-06-22 14:44:39

Subtasks

Feature #7425: Ship Windows binary of syslinux in the ISO filesystem Resolved

100
Feature #7466: Wait for Universal USB Installer to run the syslinux.exe we ship in the ISO Resolved intrigeri

100
Feature #7477: Document which version of UUI is needed to install Tails 1.1 Resolved

100

Related issues

Related to Tails - Bug #7345: Tails 1.1~beta1 created by upgrade from ISO from a 1.0 USB does not boot Resolved 2014-06-24
Related to Tails - Bug #7411: Universal USB Installer Tails-specific code has not been updated since we ship a 64-bit kernel Resolved
Related to Tails - Bug #7412: Universal USB Installer tries to remove the live-media=removable protection Resolved 2014-06-13

History

#1 Updated by intrigeri 2014-06-07 15:20:37

  • Assignee set to intrigeri
  • Target version set to Tails_1.1

I’ll have a look in the next few days because this seems related to Bug #7345, but don’t hesitate taking it over from me: I have no Windows system to test this, so I doubt I can complete this task alone anyway. Tentatively flagging for 1.1. If this bug report is correct, and if we don’t manage to fix it in time for 1.1, then we may have some doc update to do…

#2 Updated by intrigeri 2014-06-07 15:20:54

  • related to Bug #7345: Tails 1.1~beta1 created by upgrade from ISO from a 1.0 USB does not boot added

#3 Updated by BitingBird 2014-06-09 09:19:11

  • Status changed from New to Confirmed

#4 Updated by BitingBird 2014-06-09 09:48:44

  • Status changed from Confirmed to New

#5 Updated by intrigeri 2014-06-09 11:26:49

  • Subject changed from Universal USB Installer fails at installing Tails-1.1-devel to Universal USB Installer creates unbootable devices

#6 Updated by anonym 2014-06-12 19:03:00

intrigeri wrote:
> I’ll have a look in the next few days because this seems related to Bug #7345, but don’t hesitate taking it over from me: I have no Windows system to test this, so I doubt I can complete this task alone anyway.

I have access to a Windows computer and can at least help with testing.

#7 Updated by intrigeri 2014-06-13 03:36:21

> I have access to a Windows computer and can at least help with testing.

Awesome. Then, it would be great if you could reproduce it (install
1.1~beta1 with UUI) and send me the resulting MBR, and full content
of the syslinux and EFI directories created on the stick.

#8 Updated by intrigeri 2014-06-13 07:29:17

  • Status changed from New to Confirmed

I’ve looked at the UUI source code, and indeed it uses its own copy of syslinux 4.x, so it can’t possibly produce bootable devices based on syslinux 6.x. I’ll report that problem to UUI developers.

(Not marking this as “In progress”, as that’s merely a confirmation of what the problem is, and not even the beginning of a UUI-based solution.)

There are alternatives to UUI that can use a syslinux Windows binary found in the ISO, e.g. Tuxboot, as used by Clonezilla that itself ships syslinux 6. While working on Bug #7345, I’m using the same paths as the ones used in Clonezilla and Tuxboot, in case we decide to go this way.

I doubt this can be fixed in time for 1.1. Focussing on Bug #7345 first, and then we’ll see. Worst case, first-time Windows users will have to burn a DVD.

#9 Updated by intrigeri 2014-06-13 07:29:36

  • related to Bug #7411: Universal USB Installer Tails-specific code has not been updated since we ship a 64-bit kernel added

#10 Updated by intrigeri 2014-06-13 07:30:38

  • related to Bug #7412: Universal USB Installer tries to remove the live-media=removable protection added

#12 Updated by intrigeri 2014-06-21 10:30:43

I’m told that the next version of UUI will “look for the utils/win32/syslinux.exe, and if detected will use this version to install syslinux” => what we need to do on our side is Feature #7425.

#13 Updated by anonym 2014-06-22 13:49:13

I remastered a recent Tails testing image to include utils/win32/syslinux.exe, obtained from the same APT source package used to build the syslinux shipped in that Tails image. I then ran the UUI snapshot you sent me (which supposedly should use any such bundled syslinux.exe instead of its own). However, after looking at the UUI logs, I could see that it ran an old syslinux (4.07, I think), and unsurprisingly the resulting image didn’t boot. I even tried to run the same syslinux commands manually, but with the newer one, but the stick still didn’t boot.

#14 Updated by anonym 2014-06-22 14:44:47

Here’s the full log I got from UUI. The way I verified that the old syslinux.exe was used was by running the one in the temporary directory with --version.

#15 Updated by intrigeri 2014-06-25 12:31:20

Builds from experimental now have the right version of syslinux.exe in utils/win32. I’ve pointed Lance to it.

My understanding of this log is that first, the syslinux.exe that’s shipped with UUI is run:

Execute: C:\Users\XXX~1\AppData\Local\Temp\nsaA8D9.tmp\syslinux.exe -maf -d /uui G:

And then, the syslinux.exe that we ship in our ISO is run:

Execute: G:\utils\win32\syslinux.exe -maf G:

It might be that -d syslinux (or -d uui, whatever) would be needed to produce a bootable stick.

Also, I’m unsure if UUI is replacing any COM32 modules with its own ones, which can’t work once it installs syslinux 6.x.

#16 Updated by intrigeri 2014-06-25 12:59:53

  • Status changed from Confirmed to In Progress

#17 Updated by sajolida 2014-06-29 14:23:11

  • Category set to Installation

#18 Updated by BitingBird 2014-06-30 23:44:16

Is this one “fix commited” like its child ticket, or is there more work to do ?

#19 Updated by intrigeri 2014-07-01 07:14:56

  • Status changed from In Progress to Fix committed
  • Assignee deleted (intrigeri)

#20 Updated by BitingBird 2014-07-22 22:55:56

  • Status changed from Fix committed to Resolved

#21 Updated by mercedes508 2014-09-20 04:41:49

  • Status changed from Resolved to Confirmed
  • Target version deleted (Tails_1.1)

we’ve been reported that using version 1.9.5.6 of UUI, the resulting stick is still unbootable. So apparently using version 1.9.5.4 or newer doesn’t fix the bug.

here is the full output of UUI:

Extract: C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\syslinux.exe… 100%
Extract: C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\syslinux.cfg… 100%
Extract: C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\7zG.exe… 100%
Extract: C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\7z.dll… 100%
Extract: C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\chain.c32… 100%
Extract: C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\menu.c32… 100%
Extract: C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\vesamenu.c32… 100%
Extract: C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\mbrid
Create folder: D:\uui
Copy to D:\uui\syslinux.cfg
Executing syslinux on D:
Execute: C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\syslinux.exe -maf
-d /uui D:
Syslinux Errors 0
Creating Label UUI on D:
Extracting the iso: The progress bar will not move until finished. Please
be patient…
Execute: “C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\7zG.exe” x
“C:\Users\Robert\Desktop\TAILS\tails-i386-1.1.1.iso” -o“D:\” -y -x![BOOT]*
Execute: D:\utils\win32\syslinux.exe -maf -d /uui D:
Installing the packaged Syslinux version from the ISO
Syslinux Errors 0
Editing Configuration Files
Extract:
C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\Uni-USB-Installer-Copying.txt…
100%
Extract:
C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\Uni-USB-Installer-Readme.txt…
100%
Extract: C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\license.txt… 100%
C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\Uni-USB-Installer-Copying.txt
-> D:\Uni-USB-Installer-Copying.txt
1 File(s) copied
C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\Uni-USB-Installer-Readme.txt
-> D:\Uni-USB-Installer-Readme.txt
1 File(s) copied
C:\Users\Robert\AppData\Local\Temp\nsxFBE2.tmp\license.txt -> D:\license.txt
1 File(s) copied
Installation Done, Process is Complete!

#22 Updated by intrigeri 2014-09-20 16:11:42

  • Status changed from Confirmed to Resolved

This ticket is about UUI running its own syslinux 4.x, instead of the 6.x we ship in our ISO. The log pasted above shows that it does run the syslinux.exe we ship in our ISO. So, this is a completely different bug (in general, please don’t reopen an existing ticket unless you’re sure that it’s the very same problem; this is akin to rewritting history, and makes things confusing: this problem was resolved in Tails 1.1).

So, please open another ticket, and we’ll need all the debug info (https://tails.boum.org/doc/first_steps/bug_reporting/tails_does_not_start/) to do something about it. Thanks!