EXT2 and Windows

Hi all

I have IPTV set top box, Dune HD Mini, that works very well.

For recording purposes, I had 2TB HD connected to it and had roughly 17Gb of recordings done and saved on it.

Same time, I noticed that Dune takes long time turning on, as it is reading through files on HD. I have 2nd Dune, w-out HD, and it starts 10 times faster.

In my wisdom, I swapped that HD for a smaller one, 256Gb. Planning on faster start up. So it does.

I backed up files on my PC. Moved 2Tb HD to PC and it is loading files on it as I type.

Here's problem that I have.

Dune wants any HD attached to it to be in EXT2 format. Period. It formats new HD to that format, or it will not recognize it.

As a result, I can not move my saved, Dune recordings files, onto that smaller HD. My PC runs on W7. It opened and backed up recordings fine, but the very moment I move 256 Gb HD to Dune, it wants to format it, as it is not in EXT2 format. Erasing all recordings on it, of course. If I move it back to PC, PC wants to format it now, "to make it accessible".

W7 gives me only 2 options to format HD. Either NFTS or some ...EXT something format, but no choice of EXT2.

Basically, I have those recordings stuck on PC in backup file now.:cry

To make things worse, we have major company coming in 5 days, and a lot of those recordings were done for their entertainment. Not to mention that my wife will be quite upset, as recordings have some of her very favorite programs recorded.

Basically, I need help figuring out how to format that smaller HD on W7 PC in EXT2 format. Of course, Dune and PC are on the same network, and there should be way to stream those recordings off PC to Dune, Dune even has NETWORK application, but beats me how to do this.

help, please?

 

Hello,
If you want to format the hard drive as EXT2, download Gparted Live CD. Burn the iso file. Boot the CD and format. Just make sure you select the correct drive in the drop-down box in the upper right corner of the window. Don't want to format the wrong drive. Make sure you download 0.9.0-7 and not 0.9.0-6. There was a bug in 6 regarding resizing NTFS partitions. You may wish to use GParted later for resizing NTFS.

http://gparted.sourceforge.net/news.php


Tutorial

 

Make a Puppy Linux CD and boot from it. You can then use GParted to format in EXT2 the HD and then transfer your videos onto it.
http://puppylinux.org/main/Overview and Getting Started.htm

 

OK< OK.

Firstly - Thank you both.

I figured later that my IPTV box got to be Linux OS based.

Now, before I mess up my new pc bad, let me do a walkthrough.

1. download either puppy or gparted
2. burn ISO to dvd (Nero? VLC? ISO burner?)
3. insert dvd into dvd rom and shut down pc
4. start pc - and it will boot off cd into gparted or linux puppy? how do I tell my machine to do this? basically, I am using now a Linux OS or Linux based program? if yes, how do I do whatever I need to do to move those recordings onto that 256Gb HD? Won't they be on the "windows" side of PC? I have NO experience with Linux or Linux based programs.
5. I am assuming, if I am happily done, I simply eject that dvd and restart PC? and it will boot back to its original W7 OS?

 

I have to agree with Just Playin. If you are going to be moving files, Puppy is the way to go. I like Imgburn for burning iso's but Nero or isoburner will be okay also. Just don't burn at too high a speed. You do not have to tell the machine anything. Just boot the DVD/CD and let it get to the desktop. When you boot Puppy, you have a OS that is totally in memory. Yes, when done, just eject the CD and reboot. You are back to Windows 7. Just remember, when using Gparted to partition and format, make sure you have the correct drive selected. See the tutorial link I posted. It is a very good guide on gparted.

You will see your hard drives in the lower left corner of the Puppy desktop. Just click on them and they will automatically mount and a window will appear showing the files and folders on the hard drive. To copy from drive to drive, just drag and drop then select Copy when asked. If you insert a USB flash drive, you can practice copying files from your hard drive to the flash drive.

 

thank you. will be my project for tonight. I have to have those recordings back on Dune's HD, no matter what.

 

killing me. how hard is it to put "download latest version" link on their download latest version page? why it has to be some "download old version" and then "download puppeee for eeePC" instead? wdf is eeePC? Download version 5.2.5 from ibiblio.org: Get lupu-525.iso or explore the folder. am I born with knowledge what lupu is?

sorry guys, you've been good sports. s/w people just don't see world the same way regular folks do.

 

Download here. you want the version 5.2.5 from ibiblio.org Sorry about that.

 

nah, it's my bad. I lost my cool.

anyway, had lupu 525 burnt off their site, tried booting off it - nothing happens, I am back to normal windows. I'll try your link next.
does it matter if it's burnt on DVD or CD-R?

is there anything special I need to do during restart? like press F12 or something?

BTW, imgburn hangs and when closed, shoots some website onto the screen that wants to sell me something. must have gotten bad copy...

 

ok, it does not boot of cd or dvd.

files are on dvd. for some reason, after both burns, it still says "1 files remains to be written to cd 1" and that is file "desktop initi". I have attached screen shot of files on cd.

any suggestions now?

 

When you look at the CD, is there only the iso file on it? If so, then it did not get burned correctly. It might be that the BIOS on your computer is not set to boot from CD. Check your BIOS and see if your CD drive is set as first boot device. Some computers require you to press F12 and then choose to boot from CD. You might try that.

I do not see any screenshot.

I have never had that happen to me with Imgburn. Can you boot from a USB flash drive?

Edit: Try it with a CD-R
Try burning the iso at 4X

 

ok, got better way.
same dvd works fine on my wife's mac laptop. it booted right away, so it's not a dvd, it's something on my PC that prevents boot.

anyway, here's my plan:
1. I am re-installing recordings back on 256Gb HD IN WINDOWS. HD was just formatted to Windows format.
2. on laptop, I'll remove dvd with puppy, run regular mac os, and will move recordings onto laptop.
3. will boot again from puppy dvd, and format that HD to EXT2. then, move recordings back onto that HD it being formatted to EXT2 now and that should make it recogniozable by Dune IPTV again.

here's only one problem. at a quick glance at puppy running, it's all chinese to me. all terminology is different, all icons different, HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO FORMAT ANYTHING in it.
I figured how to get to laptop HD in Linux, but from that on - beats me.

 

I will be signing off tonight. But, can you check to see if F12 brings up the boot option for a DVD/CD? Also, does your BIOS show the DVD drive as the first boot device?

 

thanks, tgell.

it did not work on mac laptop for simple reason. puppy does not read main, 150Gb, hard drive on laptop. as a result, I have only 200 mb memory available, and there's not enough memory, in Linux's mind, to move 17GB files.

dead end.

 

well, guess what.:-D:-D

that 256 Gb HD works on my IPTV player. :drool

I simply plugged it in to format to EXT2 again - and voila, it worked just fine.

My wild guess is, when I had it mounted to Puppy Linux on Mac laptop, Linux automatically changed format of that HD.

whatever it was - IT WORKS and recordings are playable on Tv again.:-D:drool

Thanks to all for help, esp to tgell for being a great sport. :wave

 

Glad you got it all sorted. Thanks for the feedback.

If you get the chance to explore Puppy, you will find it can be a very useful tool to have.

 

good morning, tgell.:wave

it was interesting experience, though with a lot of frustration.

i figure, when I had that 256 Gb HD "mounted" by Puppy, it prolly automatically changed it's digital signature, or format, to standard Linux format, which is EXT2.

basically, it resolved by itself, just with Linux use, and my ignorance. :-o

Thanks for your help once again.

Oh, and by the way. When PC starts, there's a brief message, on manufacturer screen, where it says to press delete to get into bios. From there, boot options can be changed to "boot from cd/dvd". otherwise, it boots from primary HD, bypassing that cd in cd rom. I did not go deeper into this, for safety reasons, did not want to mess up something.