Boot maker - just. doesn't. work. Neither do other boot disk programs
Tofloor
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pebkac
deepin
2016-06-05 16:47
Author
I have spent more than 8 hours today trying to get boot maker to work. Easy way to create a boot disk? NOT WITHOUT INSTRUCTIONS.
First of all, if you want to market Deepin as a user-friendly app, you should start by providing some installation instructions for your boot maker. It's hopeless to install on linux and you've provided NO instructions "open the software and run it" just doesn't cut it. I spent hour upon hour figuring out what to do with the file I downloaded. Eventually through hours on Ubuntu and other websites, I figured out what programs I needed to use to decompress and install it, only to find that it does nothing when I double click on its icon. I've un/reinstalled it about 50 times today, each time it just doesn't work. There are no error messages to give an idea why it won't work. It just. doesn't.work.


I'm on Zorin OS9 right now but I've only been using it for a few weeks. I attempted to find alternatives to the non-installable deepin boot maker so I could create a bootable iso on my USB hard drive. I tried unetbootin and a native Ubuntu boot disk program. Neither of them can find the Deepin ISO file, and they do find other ISO files I have on my hdd. The USB external drive is fully detected in Zorin, I reformatted the whole 600 GB drive with a single partition using FAT, so there's no reason I shouldn't be able to copy an ISO to it.


I give up. I'm at the 10 hour mark trying to get this crap to work and that's more than enough to spend on this. If nothing works now, I don't want to know how badly it will suck if I ever get it installed.

Consider this feedback (since, predictably, your feedback page doesn't work either) - provide DETAILED instructions for users of different operating systems including Linux. Make them simple to understand for newbies. Tell us how to fix common errors. I'm sure I'm not the first person who gave up on Deepin in frustration because they couldn't find any way to get your boot maker or ISO to work the way it's supposed to. Not all of us try to install Deepin from Windows. I'd hate to be a linux noob who picked this crap for their first distro.
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dance707
deepin
2016-06-05 18:09
#1
The Deepin Boot maker located in the ISO and video tutorial on blog are for users coming from Windows. Please use a regular USB flash drive 4gb or higher will work. Other methods like UNetbootin will also work if your on another version of Linux and is not necessary to  decompress the ISO.
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pebkac
deepin
2016-06-06 07:08
#2
https://bbs.deepin.org/post/31118
The Deepin Boot maker located in the ISO and video tutorial on blog are for users coming from Window ...

This is precisely why I strongly recommend that instructions be provided for people using ALL platforms! I wasted the better part of a day yesterday trying to install a "Windows only" file on linux due to lack of information or instructions.

Now I seem to have two ISO files for Deepin. One is the boot maker, I am guessing (lack of instructions again) that the other is the OS itself. Do I just copy the OS ISO file directly to my USB drive and then try to boot from it? Or do I need the boot maker ISO as well?
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dance707
deepin
2016-06-06 08:05
#3
Yes they do need help with there English Wiki and there manuals. There are 2 ISO's you can download one for 32bit computers and one for 64bit computers. If your not on windows or mac forget about what is inside the ISO. It is generally assumed if your already on another version of Linux that you have some knowledge about ISO's . Its pretty much the same for any version of Linux, use DD commands or UNetbootin or others to copy the ISO to make a bootable flash drive instead of burning a cd or dvd. I would not use a USB external drive that can work on some but many don't. And the Deepin Boot Maker does not support.
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pebkac
deepin
2016-06-06 13:04
#4
https://bbs.deepin.org/post/31118
Yes they do need help with there English Wiki and there manuals. There are 2 ISO's you can download  ...

So... the only way I can install Deepin is with a 4 gb flash drive? I can't even install it from a DVD, much less my USB HDD?

Right now I don't have a flash drive. All I have is a raspberry pi that I'm sure won't be detected any more than the USB hard drive. So there goes that idea.
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dance707
deepin
2016-06-06 13:38
#5
Edited by dance707 at 2016-6-5 14:56
https://bbs.deepin.org/post/31118
So... the only way I can install Deepin is with a 4 gb flash drive? I can't even install it from a ...

Hi, you could try DVD or your external hard drive , I have not tried or work with a raspberry pi before. If your working with Linux on a computer I would suggest a least a 4gb flash drive for now and in future Linux installs.
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nihil
deepin
2016-06-06 19:54
#6
I was able to install on a 16GB flash drive, so I think as long as the drive is big enough, it should work. As for a DVD, it should work the same since it is an ISO image that you are burning, assuming the disc has enough space on it. Try doing it with this command, as well, to avoid using boot loaders. I did it with my flash drive and it worked like a charm:

1) Download the 32 or 64 bit ISO from https://www.deepin.org/download.html
2) Assuming it is placed in your Downloads directory, use a terminal session to:
  1. cd ~/Downloads
Copy the Code

3) Find the drive that is your media (USB stick, DVD):
  1. fdisk -l
Copy the Code

For me, this was /dev/sdb, but yours may be different.
4) Enter the following dd command to "burn" the ISO to your media. I am using the name of the ISO I downloaded; be sure the file name after the "if=" section matches your file name exactly:
  1. dd bs=4M if=deepin-15.2-amd64\(1\).iso of=/dev/sdb status=progress && sync
Copy the Code


In a nutshell, what this does is set a base size (bs) of each chunk to be written to the media at 4MiB. Then it takes the iso file (The input file or "if" section) and writes it to the drive /dev/sdb (Output File or "of"). Finally, it shows your progress as it goes and makes sure everything is synced before it completes.

Hope this helps!
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m***o@gmail.com
deepin
2016-06-06 23:12
#7
Try to see my own video: https://youtu.be/zWvVCu59lq4
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