On Thu, 15 Oct 2015 04:51:49 -0700 (PDT), ray <r...@aarden.us> wrote:
> > This seems very strange- if you are able to get the free version to boot you > > should be able to get the non-free ISO to boot as well. They are identical, > > save the inclusion of non-free firmware. > Yes. > > > > The 'no bootable device' message- does this occur when you select the hard > > drive as the boot device, or the USB? The hard drive is understandable > > (since there is no longer a boot loader or operating system on it) but this > > really should not happen with the USB. Can you describe your BIOS settings > > to us? UEFI, Secure Boot, CSM, that sort of thing. > > The 'no bootable device' came with an attempted boot from the hard disk > (actually an SSD). I have disabled secure boot. I do not have the laptop > with me so I will check that when I get back to it. > > > > I would also recommend you prepare the boot device with Rufus. It is by far > > the best USB ISO writer for Windows. Pity you don't have access to a UNIX > > box with dd... > > I am using Rufus. I do have a stretch installation on a desktop. But I have > not attempted to build an installation disk from there. But I am very will > to try that. Some details on links would be great. Writing hybrid ISO images to USB under UNIX is easier than you think. I don't even need to link you anything- I can describe the process right here. Simply download the Debian ISO image, plug in a USB, make sure it is unmounted, and then run the following command: # dd if=<iso_image_file> of=/dev/<device> bs=4M;sync Replace <iso_image_file> with the file you wish to write, <device> with the device you wish to write to (it must be the master interface, not a partition), and hit enter. In a few seconds the image should be written, no problem. Remove the USB and boot as desired. Here's an example from my own system: # dd if=debian.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M;sync That writes the file debian.iso to my USB drive at /dev/sdb. BEWARE! Your system may differ. Use lsblk to determine the name of your USB drive's device- although usually /dev/sdb, if you have more than one SATA hard drive this may vary. If you write to the incorrect device, you will end up overwriting things. Once you get the hang of dd, I assure you that you will find it easier than any of the graphical Windows USB writing shenanigans. Good luck. dd never fails.
