Ok, here are the steps that you need to follow to put a root filesystem on a external USB drive.

1. Connect the USB drive to TonidoPlug. The USB drive will be automounted on /media/usb0. Stop samba server and unmount the USB drive before proceeding. To do this SSH to the TonidoPlug and run the following commands.


2. Make sure the external USB drive is not mounted anywhere else. Check the output of the following command.

As you can see the USB harddrive (usually /dev/sdaX) is not mounted anywhere else

3. Format the USB drive partition. You are about to create EXT3 filesystem on the USB drive partition. Warning: This command will wipe all the data on the partition.

Note: If you have multiple partitions in your USB drive, you have to always use the first partition, because the TonidoPlug will boot only from the first partition of the external drive.

4. Once the formatting is completed, mount the partition on a temporary directory


5. Download the root and modules tar ball from TonidoPlug site and place in the newly created ext3 partition.

Please make sure the checksum of the files match the following values


6. Untar the downloaded tar file onto the ext3 partition.


7. Now stop tonido and copy the tonido directory from your existing internal flash disk.


8. Now everything is ready. You can unmount the drive and reboot the plug. Leave the USB harddisk on the plug itself. When the plug reboots, it should reboot off the USB drive.


9. You can ensure that the plug has booted on the external HDD by using the following command.

You can see that we have booted the plug of the 4GB USB stick. If you see 512MB then probably you are still booting of the internal flash.

Sweet, thank you very much, Ill try this later this week. It may be a good idea to copy your post and make it sticky somewhere since I have seen alot of people wanting to do this.

Thanks again

Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for the tweet.

I followed the instructions and just added a couple of steps, first I had to run fdisk to undo all the tests that I had done yesterday trying to do it on my own. No way. I also added a small swap partition, just in case.

This idea of a green server is just right. I am sending a box I was using for a similar purpose to the dumpster. I am sure I will be saving some dollars and pay for the Plug in a few month.

As for these instructions as ezelkow1 suggest make them sticky because I am positive many users will go for it.

Thats great! Thank you! you should do our marketing!

A couple of details that I forgot to mention. After downloading and installing the file system and re-booting, the root password reverts back to nosoup4u. Of course, I did not copy /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow and /etc/group files from flash to HD. No big deal, I had not created any users or group in there.

The other detail is that the HD is no longer seen as a USB device, it replaces the internal flash drive as the file system.

I understand the USB concept a bit better. I can use a USB bridge and plug additional drives identified as additional drives and I can move files or simple expand the storage. I wonder what else I can plug there. My camera, my MP3 player? If this is so this is a very use "toy". Need to explore this a bit better.

Anyway, great product, hardware and software. Great potential.

I believe I followed these instructions to the letter - but I still can't get the plug to boot off the 1TB external hard drive (although the plug does mount the disk on boot at /media/usb0)

from fdisk:
---------
Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xcbce2081

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 121601 976760032 83 Linux
--------
Any pointers on where to look for error messages? Please see attached for /var/log/messages and dmesg

My guess is that you took these message files after you booted the plug with internal flash. Unfortunately these files won't have error messages for an USB boot.
These messages should be in the external hard disk when it booted.

Can you please send us the following information.

1) After the plug is up, connect the USB HDD and mount it on /media/usb0. Now we need the output of these command.


2) Copy of the file /media/usb0/var/log/messages

You should also make sure that since your booting off a hub that you have no other drives plugged in. Ive noticed on mine that if I want to boot from my usb disk I have to unplug all other hdds from my hub in order for the plug to boot from it. Im not sure if is an issue with just the order that the hdds are coming up from the hub and that if I moved the usb disk to another port it would work, but its something to try if you are.

There is no hub (drive is plugged directly into the plug), files as requested are attached.

Files in zip file are self named (so to speak). "messages" is in fact empty.

I should add a few things:

- I have blown away all partitions on the USB HDD.
- Recreated - fdisk:

Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xcbce2081

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 26109 209720511 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 26110 26175 530145 82 Linux swap / Solaris

- Partition has been set bootable (not sure if this matters), it is a primary partition
- The plug automounts /dev/sda1 this time around (once again wiped drive and followed instructions to the letter unless old age is creeping up ).

Everything seems to look right. Now the only variable is the harddisk itself.

1) Can you please tell us the make, model of the harddisk

2) Can you please copy the FS, kernel and modules onto an USB stick or another harddisk and try booting from it.

Thanks