Installation problem

[mzoro]

Hello,

I am a programmer coming from the Windows world, hence knowing very few about the Linux world.
I tried again and again to install Salix in an exterior disk, without success.
I describe here some aspects of my attempts that I think are the most possible sources of failure.

First, my Desktop computer is x64.
I downloaded this version of Salix iso file: https://sourceforge.net/projects/salix/ ... o/download
and burnt it to a DVD disk.

The PC already has two internal disks containing windows 7 and folders, and I wished to install Salix on an exterior disk.
So I connected an exterior 1 TB disk with an USB adaptor and started the computer with the DVD inside.

This stated up the Salix installation. I describe here only the main options I configured, which I suspect something may be wrong; the other options seem to be unimportant for the problem.
I configured the exterior disk ("sdc") as:
sdc1: 30 GB, linux partition, bootable, write the partition table to the disk;
sdc2: 12 GB, linux swap partition, write the partition table to the disk;
sdc3: rest of the disk, linux partition, write the partition table to the disk.

Then they asked me about format: I configured
sdc1: / , ext4
sdc2: /swap
sdc3: /home, ext4

Then I chosen the full installation, which ended properly.

Then they asked me about Lilo and I chosen the first option (I don't remember the name, "super root" or something like this, they said this may demand some further work with sfscan).
Thus Lilo was installed successfully.
After creating one user account, and some unimportant things, they asked me to reboot and I did that.

When the system rebooted, Lilo offered me to chose "Linux" and I typed "Enter".
Then after doing "things" successfully, Lilo (or Salix) suddenly entered in a so-called "panic" and wrote finally :

Not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(8,33).

I tried several times to install Salix with slightly different choices, ending either with errors even sooner during the installation process, or with the same error after rebooting when the installation was seemingly successful.

Thank you in advance.

[djemos]

Welcome to salix.

Try this first: boot with the external disk plug in and press f2 or whatever is the Function key to go to boot menu. From there choose usb and boot on your salix system.
If cannot boot then read bellow.

Download salixlive64-xfce
Burn it to a dvd. Boot with it. After boot plug in the external disk
Then run sli (salix-live-installer) and install the salix on /dev/sdc (choose /dev/sdc1 for system , /dev/sdc3 for /home and check to format home. choose grub as the default boot loader, choose your keyboard, locale, time zone, set user name and password and proceed to installation).
then reboot with the external disk plug in and press F2 or whatever is the Function key to go to boot menu. From there choose usb and boot on your salix system. You have to do this every time want to boot from an external disk or a usb stick having salix installed.
When upgrade the kernel can install this gui tool to easily upgrade kernel and boot from the external disk.

Using the same procedure can also boot with dvd and plug in a 32 or 64GB usb stick and install there salix too, to upgrade it and have it always with you. A real ported installed system. I am writing this message running salix installed on 64GB usb stick.
More details on salix_live_startup_guide

[mzoro]

Thank you for answering me.
I succeeded to boot into Salix with the Salix live iso on a DVD, but that's the only thing I've succeeded so far after a week of struggling.
I feel very frustrated and depressive because of the exhausting effort and the waste of time. It seems like the Salix team has not tested the installation procedures for all the systems, or haven't given enough information for non very acquainted Linux users. For example, there is no step by step instruction manual with a pictures for each step. The Salix manual really lacks screenshots.

So, I have tried almost everything to install (non live) Salix on a USB exterior disk with your solutions above, after booting with a live Salix DVD.
But when I rebooted with the usb disk, the system just said: "error".

Then I tried to install a live Salix on an exterior USB ssd disk, using the "instonusb" Gui inside Salix. This seemed to install well. At reboot, with the USB disk, Salix succeeded to boot as it did with the DVD, letting me choose among the various Salix options. But after that, the installation was finally aborted with the following error message:
live system error: live media not detected; exiting.

My general impression: it seems that Salix always installs UEFI folders and needs UEFI boot system. But my system is only Legacy bios and does not offer UEFI. Despite what they say, it looks like the system won't install without some tweak on a Legacy bios. Could it be possible that during the writing of their manual, the Salix team assumed a UEFI system and didn't test their instructions with legacy bios?

[mzoro]

I think I have found the cause of the problem: the installation works with a usual disk-on-key, but not with a ssd disk connected to USB via an adaptor. I've posted a thread in the bug section.