Using iPod as boot device

[Grutzvalt]

I was looking through Google, and couldn't find what I needed. I want to use my iPod Touch to boot into different OS's for fixing computers. I want to have two different OS's on it, and be able to select which to boot up to. Basically, something like the Windows boot list (When you tap F8 at start-up), but I want custom options, and I want it to be on my iPod.

I also need to know how to make my iPod appear as removable media. I know how to do all of the BIOS stuff to make it boot.

Can anyone give me instructions on this?

 

[h3g3l]

I was looking through Google, and couldn't find what I needed. I want to use my iPod Touch to boot into different OS's for fixing computers. I want to have two different OS's on it, and be able to select which to boot up to. Basically, something like the Windows boot list (When you tap F8 at start-up), but I want custom options, and I want it to be on my iPod.

I also need to know how to make my iPod appear as removable media. I know how to do all of the BIOS stuff to make it boot.

Can anyone give me instructions on this?

You can build a custom boot disk image, or make one based off WindowsPE.

You could even download an Ultimate Boot CD image. You could download some other images, too, right now I can only think of tens of things to dissuade you from doing this. To make it short, why not a 1GB flash drive that you can get for $8 or what have you?

You'll need two things:
(1) The disk on the iPod must be bootable;
(2) The computer must be able to boot from an attached USB device.

Oh, and your iPod drive is not going to be happy about swapspace--make sure to NOT permit any on the disk itself.

 

[Grutzvalt]

I was planning to use the UBCD image I already have, as well as BackTrack 4. I'd use a Flash drive, but I figure pulling out my ipod and fixing your computer would just be so much cooler. How do I keep things from writing? I can fix your computer, but I don't know anything about bootable OS's...

 

[Hex]

[font="Calibri,Arial"]You can't boot from an iPod Touch. You need to do some complicated stuff to access it as a drive from within Windows/OS X. Accessing it from the BIOS is out of the question.

You might have more luck with the iPod Nano or iPod Classic.[/font]

 

[bgi39jsjw0ggg]

Can't be done with an iPod that you want to use as an iPod. I'm not sure about the Touch, but you can use an iPod classic as a boot device if your computer accepts booting from USB, but then you wouldn't be able to use it as a portable music device anymore. You'd have to write a boot sector to it that would completely fuck up the onboard OS and would basically turn it in to nothing more than a portable hard drive.

 

[element]

Probably easier to just grab a cheap USB stick, honestly. You'll save yourself a lot of hassle.

 

[Grutzvalt]

Crap...Well, sometimes it shows up as removable storage, and starts the autoplay thing and its labeled as a digital camera...It would just be super cool to pull out an ipod, boot your computer into something, and run a script to fix everything. It just would be cool!

 

[h3g3l]

Crap...Well, sometimes it shows up as removable storage, and starts the autoplay thing and its labeled as a digital camera...It would just be super cool to pull out an ipod, boot your computer into something, and run a script to fix everything. It just would be cool!

Meh.

What would be even cooler is fixing the client machine quickly and keeping your damn fool toy working and hidden away.

Also, one cannot "fix everything" through use of a monolithic script alone. There needs to be some subtlety here, Grizzy. Barring subtlety, someone with a busted machine will take "fixing my computer QUICKLY" above the computer monkey coming with a neat-o toy, that on closer inspection doesn't do the thing it was built to do. Or suddenly falls over and dies.

I think the writing is on the wall for you:
It would be cool if you could wave the magic wand of whiz-bang, but it doesn't work like that, especially if you're doing a house call or other on-site engagement.

 

[Sephiroas]

...It would just be super cool to pull out an ipod, boot your computer into something, and run a script to fix everything. It just would be cool!

So find someone who has an ipod touch that has a broken screen, buy it off them for almost nothing, and fix it to use for booting? (assuming they're too lazy to/don't know how to fix it themselves)

Or...get an old ipod touch case and put a flash drive in it, and have a usb extension cable threaded through a hollow usb connector so it looks somewhat legit.


Just throwin ideas out there if you want the "cool" factor...

 

[Deleted member 221]

this exponentially useless...
sure it could be "cool" but I'm sure from my experience that the client wouldn't give a living shit about the "cool" multi-use gadget you have... the client would just want you to fix the damn computer.! so for a far more practical solution just put that damn ipod away and get an el'cheap'o usb flash drive of choice and load your bootable media onto it, wouldn't it be much better to pull out a small flash drive you can barely see to reinstall windows or something like that instead of a crappy ipod on a usb extension cable.
this is very worthless and not worth the hassle.

 

[h3g3l]

this exponentially useless...
sure it could be "cool" but I'm sure from my experience that the client wouldn't give a living shit about the "cool" multi-use gadget you have... the client would just want you to fix the damn computer.! so for a far more practical solution just put that damn ipod away and get an el'cheap'o usb flash drive of choice and load your bootable media onto it, wouldn't it be much better to pull out a small flash drive you can barely see to reinstall windows or something like that instead of a crappy ipod on a usb extension cable.
this is very worthless and not worth the hassle.

We are in agreement on this main point.

Grizzy, if you're going to fix other folks' computers, you'll run into an issue of "perception."

Show up, fix the thing quickly and predictably, be reasonable, and people will come back to you.

 

[Grutzvalt]

Well, I know how to fix things very well. I use a few different tools, but its quite easy to fix a windows computer because it tells you the issue. I apologize, it sounded like I was completely clueless....I meant run like a batch script to run different programs at once...

 

[h3g3l]

Well, I know how to fix things very well. I use a few different tools, but its quite easy to fix a windows computer because it tells you the issue. I apologize, it sounded like I was completely clueless....I meant run like a batch script to run different programs at once...

"Knowing" and being perceived as knowing are two different issues.

If you want to do this to fix your friends' computers, you'll run into the technical limitation I've outlined above.

If, however, you want to do this to fix computers for folks who will pay you, then you'll run up against some issues of how you are perceived. I've walked this path, and I can tell you that people prefer someone who quietly comes in, sacrifices a chicken to Cthulu, and gets the computer working quickly than someone who comes in with whiz-bang stuff and seems to dawdle. Perception doesn't match up with reality, but this is how working for-pay goes sometimes.

 

[bgi39jsjw0ggg]

This could be done, but you'd have to eliminate all ability to use it as an iPod. In order to boot from it, certain sectors of the storage device need to have specific code written to it. Unfortunately, iPods require those same sectors to store their own internal operating system. It can be handy if you need to use it on a computer where the USB ports don't provide enough power to run a normal portable hard drive (since it will still run on battery just fine) and a flash drive is too small to store what you need, but given that you can get 64gb flash drives for a lot cheaper than a 30gb iPod, I say go for a flash drive and call it a day.

 

[DannyTheNinja]

I've posted on this before, but meh.

iPod touch does not work as a USB drive like all the other iPods. Ordinarily, a bit of MBR hacking (mark partition 2 as active in the UNIX fdisk, then install grub to partition 2) would make it possible to have both an iPod and a bootable device, but the touch doesn't allow this.

Seriously, get an external hard drive, you'll copy files to it about six times faster and have ten times the storage to work with at a minimum. I speak from personal experience. Bus powered USB hard disks are very fun for portable Linux experiments.

I still have yet to get Windows booting from my drive, but who cares - I have like 4 Linux distros on there right now.

--Danny :ninja:

 

[babibear]

I was looking through Google, and couldn't find what I needed. I want to use my iPod Touch to boot into different OS's for fixing computers. I want to have two different OS's on it, and be able to select which to boot up to.

Hmm, I've never tried this with the USB iPods, I'd think it'd be dead slow. My first gen iPod with Firewire certainly worked fine as a boot drive (I had OS9 on it and later, 10.1), though it wasn't very speedy.

Personally I'd go for a plain external drive that has has USB2, Firewire800 and if you can afford it, SATA. There are many enclosure makers that can give you combinations of these. USB will be adequate (though slow) and probably most common of the three.

 

[h3g3l]

My first gen iPod with Firewire certainly worked fine as a boot drive (I had OS9 on it and later, 10.1), though it wasn't very speedy.

Apple-F (or is it Option-F? I use a Windows-key keyboard with mine) on bootup, yes, but that's something tied to Apple's Boot PROMs (OpenBoot?).

However, DTN has answered this, above. I think you have your answer all 'round, Grizzy.