====== CF + USB Combo Booting ======

!!Note:!! Not supported anymore with AstLinux 1.3.x and newer!

A new feature implemented with runnix-0.3.3 and AstLinux 0.7.8 allows the AstLinux distribution to be placed on a USB flash drive and operate just as if it were on a CF card.

If your AstLinux system box can boot directly to a USB drive, follow steps #2 and #3 below and install the USB flash drive as in #4.  

For the case where the AstLinux system box cannot boot directly to a USB drive, there is a solution for that, by using the CF card to "boot" the USB flash drive, "CF + USB Combo Booting".  Follow steps #1 through #4 below.

  - Raw byte transfer ('dd', physdiskwrite, etc.) a RUNNIX-bootonly image to a CF card.  The RUNNIX-bootonly images are available here: 
    * http://mirror.astlinux-project.org/runnix-bootonly/runnix-0.4-5781-bootonly.img.gz 
    * http://mirror.astlinux-project.org/runnix-bootonly/runnix-0.4-5781-bootonly-serial.img.gz
  - Raw byte transfer ('dd', physdiskwrite, etc.) a complete AstLinux image to a USB flash drive.
  - Mount the USB drive on a common OS (OS X, Linux, etc.).
    - In the "os" directory edit the text file "astlinux-xxxxx.run.conf", the line beginning with KCMD=, add the space separated option rootdelay=10 after the 'astlive' value in the line.
    - Eject the USB drive, remove the drive.
  - Finally, install both the CF card and USB flash drive in your box for the AstLinux system. Boot as a normal installation.  All files will be stored on the USB drive.


Beginning with AstLinux 0.7.8, upgrade-run-image from the CLI or upgrades via the web interface will automatically propagate the rootdelay=10 KCMD value on upgrades, so upgrades on a USB drive works just like a CF card.  Additionally, upgrade-RUNNIX-image from the CLI, and via the web interface, will automatically mirror any RUNNIX updates to the BOOTONLY CF card if it exists.

Note: With runnix-0.3.3 and later, advanced users will notice that this 'secondary' (Combo Booting) disk simply requires the AstLinux "os" distribution directory and a dosfslabel of RUNNIX on a small (128MB) FAT16 (or FAT32) partition together with a CF card with a RUNNIX-bootonly image.  The remainder of the unformatted 'secondary' disk will be formatted during the AstLinux setup process.  This would apply for any read-write media type, even for media types where a raw byte transfer of the AstLinux flash image would not be appropriate.