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   <sect3 arch="x86">
   <title>Partitioning and adding a boot loader</title>
<para>

We will show how to set up the memory stick to use the first partition,
instead of the entire device.

</para><para>

In order to start the kernel after booting from the USB stick, we will
put a boot loader on the stick. Although any boot loader
should work, it's convenient to use
<classname>syslinux</classname>, since it uses a FAT16 partition and can
be reconfigured by just editing a text file. Any operating system
which supports the FAT file system can be used to make changes to the
configuration of the boot loader.

</para><para>

First, you need to install the <classname>syslinux</classname> and
<classname>mtools</classname> packages on your system.

</para><note><para>

Since most USB sticks come pre-configured with a single FAT16
partition, you probably won't have to repartition or reformat the
stick.  If you have to do that anyway, use <command>cfdisk</command>
or any other partitioning tool to create a FAT16 partition now<footnote>

<para>
Don't forget to activate the <quote>bootable</quote> flag.
</para>

</footnote>, and then install an MBR using:

<informalexample><screen>
# cat /usr/lib/syslinux/mbr/mbr.bin >/dev/<replaceable>sdX</replaceable>
</screen></informalexample>

Now create the filesystem using:

<informalexample><screen>
# mkdosfs /dev/<replaceable>sdX1</replaceable>
</screen></informalexample>

Take care that you use the correct device name for your USB stick. The
<command>mkdosfs</command> command is contained in the
<classname>dosfstools</classname> &debian; package.

</para></note><para>

Having a correctly partitioned USB stick (now), you need to put
<classname>syslinux</classname> on the FAT16 partition with:

<informalexample><screen>
# syslinux /dev/<replaceable>sdX1</replaceable>
</screen></informalexample>

Again, take care that you use the correct device name. The partition
must not be mounted when starting <command>syslinux</command>. This
procedure writes a boot sector to the partition and creates the file
<filename>ldlinux.sys</filename> which contains the boot loader code.

</para>
   </sect3>

   <sect3 arch="x86">
   <title>Adding the installer files</title>
<para>

There are two different installation variants to choose here:
The hd-media variant needs an installation ISO file on the stick,
to load installer modules and the base system from.
The netboot installer however will load all that from a &debian; mirror.

</para><para>

According to your choice, you have to download some installer files from
the hd-media or netboot subdirectory of
<ulink url="&url-debian-installer;images">debian/dists/&releasename;/main/installer-&architecture;/current/images/</ulink>
on any &debian; mirror:   

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>

<filename>vmlinuz</filename> or <filename>linux</filename> (kernel binary)

</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>

<filename>initrd.gz</filename> (initial ramdisk image)

</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

You can choose between either the text-based version of the installer (the
files can be found directly in hd-media or netboot) or the graphical
version (look in the respective <filename>gtk</filename> subdirectories).

</para><para>

Then mount the partition
(<userinput>mount /dev/<replaceable>sdX1</replaceable> /mnt</userinput>)
and copy the downloaded files to the root directory of the stick.

</para><para>

Next you should create a text file named <filename>syslinux.cfg</filename> 
in the root directory of the stick as configuration file for syslinux, which at
a bare minimum should contain the following line:

<informalexample><screen>
default vmlinuz initrd=initrd.gz
</screen></informalexample>

Change the name of the kernel binary to <quote><filename>linux</filename></quote>
if you used files from <filename>netboot</filename>.

</para><para>

For the graphical installer (from <filename>gtk</filename>) you should add
<userinput>vga=788</userinput> at the end of the line. Other parameters can be
appended as desired.

</para><para>

To enable the boot prompt to permit further parameter appending, add a
<userinput>prompt 1</userinput> line.

</para><para>

If you used files from <filename>hd-media</filename>, you should now copy the
ISO file of a &debian; installation image onto the stick. (For the
<filename>netboot</filename> variant this is not needed.)

</para><para>

You can use either a netinst or a full CD/DVD image (see
<xref linkend="official-cdrom"/>). Be sure to select one that fits on your stick.
Note that the <quote>netboot <filename>mini.iso</filename></quote> image is
not usable for this purpose.

</para><para>

When you are done, unmount the USB memory stick
(<userinput>umount /mnt</userinput>).

</para>
   </sect3>
