XigmaNAS

Let me say first that I'm not the most educated person when it comes to talking about this stuff. I am my company's IT person by default. It's also very possible that I'm trying to install NAS4Free on a system that can't handle it.

That being said... I'm trying to create the CD to install N4F. I am going to verify tomorrow if the computer is 64-bit or 32-bit. I suspect it is 32-bit. If that's the case, I will download NAS4Free-x86-LiveCD-9.1.0.1.847.iso (yes... I'm going to try running from a CD and floppy... I know... just to try and get something up and running). Questions:

1. Do I need to do anything special when I burn this .iso to the CD (I've seen different information in different places)?
2. When I do burn the .iso file to the CD, is the .iso the only thing I should see on the disk (as opposed to several different files... almost like the .iso was "unzipped")?

The reason I have these questions is because I have tried doing this two different ways. I first downloaded NAS4Free-x64-LiveCD-9.1.0.1.847.iso and burned it to a CD using Windows. When I tried to boot from that CD I got the "Insert boot media in selected boot device." I then downloaded NAS4Free-x86-LiveCD-9.1.0.1.847.iso but used some "iso burning program" I read about somewhere, and when it wrote the .iso to the CD it appeared to "unzip" the .iso (several different files on the disk rather than just one .iso file). When I tried to boot that CD I got the same "Insert boot media in selected boot device" message.

Any information/insight is greatly appreciated.

jflowers wrote:1. Do I need to do anything special when I burn this .iso to the CD (I've seen different information in different places)?

nothing special, only burn ISO on CD

jflowers wrote:2. When I do burn the .iso file to the CD, is the .iso the only thing I should see on the disk (as opposed to several different files... almost like the .iso was "unzipped")?

you must see a lot of small files,NOT a ISO file, when burn, if you see ISO file is because you create a data disk and copy iso file on it, THIS IS NOT to burn a ISO file, use software to create CD and search Burn ISO option.

EG: http://cdburnerxp.se/help/Data/burn-iso

doing this in XP I always used Nero but now 7pro seems able to [natively] burn a disk from an iso file.
mostly I burn from iso on my work bench machine which boots Ubuntu by default
there it is simply right click and select. win-7 seems to do this right click via Roxio burn.
but this [in win] might be due to Dell's included software. [not native] I just don't know.

my most unsuccessful burns and boots are due to worn CD-DVD drives
thus I have several nearly new quality drives on the shelf,
where they are returned after loading to the permanent booting medium.

you can load the OS to boot storage medium on any computer with the same bit width [32 vs 64]
just don't wipe the C drive in error
be sure to use a good storage. I avoid USB boot mostly due to unreliable flash. don't buy the cheapest.
mostly I use a small Hdd [under 10 Gb] or industrial flash either PATA or SATA as needed.

of course the live CD can be used as the booting medium with a USB memory stick for the configuration

For a quick and solid CD/DVD image burner on Windows, use Image Burn. http://www.imgburn.com/ It is so simple that it is very hard to mess anything up. Also try burning at half speed or less to insure a good burn.

As for the CD version, you can also use a USB thumb drive instead of a floppy. A little more stable. And keep a backup of your config.