Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2017 March 4

= March 4 =

steamOS problem
Hi. I am trying to install steamOS. I have downloaded SteamOSInstaller.zip. I am having difficulty with step 2:

Unzip the SteamOS.zip file to a blank, FAT32-formatted USB stick. Make sure to use an MBR partition.

I am not sure what this means. I am using a ubuntu linux machine and type

cd /media/USBDISK/ unzip ~/Downloads/SteamOSInstaller.zip.

(the USB stick is formatted FAT32). Then when I insert the USB stick into the target computer and boot from the USB stick, it says "An operating system wasn't found". I know I'm missing something obvious; can anyone advise? Robinh (talk) 06:53, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
 * First quick thing to check: if the computer's BIOS has a "secure boot" setting, switch it from "Windows UEFI" to "Any OS". 91.155.195.247 (talk) 12:45, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
 * Also, check to make sure the computer will boot from a USB stick without you explicitly telling it to in the BIOS settings (I've been stung by that one before). If you have access to another computer, you could also try boot it with your USB stick, which will give some indication of where the actual issue is. Finally, if you didn't format the stick yourself, you may need to do that and explicitly make it bootable (MBR stands for Master Boot Record, which is the address that your computer expects to find the actual boot code; if it's not there, the computer won't boot). OldTimeNESter (talk) 17:29, 4 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Have you checked that the OS did actually unzip to the USB stick? Did you copy SteamOSInstaller.zip to the USB before issuing the command? There are two suggested methods here.  D b f i r s   17:34, 4 March 2017 (UTC)


 * The MBR bit part of the intructions is critical. It's not enough to copy the files on the USB stick and expect that the computer will find and boot from them. That's way you get the message about an OS not being found. Here you can find one way of making the USB stick bootable:
 * You also have to pick the right settings to allow the computer to boot from alternative media (which are not your HDD). Somehow it's easier to boot from a CD than from a USB stick. Hofhof (talk) 18:29, 4 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Agreed, but the SteamOSInstaller, when run, after being unzipped, should create the boot sector, rather than needing extra software.   D b f i r s   19:49, 4 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Disagree. To run the SteamOS Installer you'll first have to create a bootable USB stick and put it there. --Hofhof (talk) 22:55, 4 March 2017 (UTC)

(OP). thanks everyone! I am 100% certain that the computer is booting from the USB stick (I can boot my knoppix USB no problems). I have made the USB stick bootable as per advice from Hofhof. Dbfirs says "the SteamOSInstaller, when run, after being unzipped, should create the boot sector". How do I do this? How to run SteamOSInstaller? Robinh (talk) 20:53, 4 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Since the USB stick is bootable, now unzip the files in it and try to boot from it. You will be prompted by the installer about what to do next. "Automated install (WILL ERASE DISK!)" is the easiest choice. I am following the instructions here
 * But be careful: this is not like a live USB/CD (like Knoppix) that won't even mount your HDD unless explicitly told to do so. It's also not an install CD (like Debian, Ubuntu) where you can choose a partition of your HDD to install to. This will weep the whole HDD.Hofhof (talk) 22:55, 4 March 2017 (UTC)

I have had some success with USB-based operating systems that don't boot by doing the following: Why does this sometimes work? My theory is that the new OS somehow gets confused about how to make the USB stick bootable and does nothing, leaving a tiny part of TCL on the stick even though you told it to overwrite everything. --Guy Macon (talk) 02:40, 5 March 2017 (UTC)
 * 1) Install Tiny Core Linux to the USB stick from the coreplus image at (use frugal and vfat options).
 * 2) Confirm that TCL boots.
 * 3) Install the new OS, overwriting TCL.

(OP) OK, everything failed except for Guy Macon's suggestion. I have managed to boot Tiny Core Linux from the USB. I downloaded an ISO file, then used unetbootin to make the USB bootable. This worked! I have a working version of Tiny Linux. I then unzipped SteamOSInstaller.zip on the USB stick, thinking that this would make the USB stick boot into SteamOS. But it boots into Tiny Core Linux. Guy, can you talk me through "Install the new OS, overwriting TCL" (or, better, point me to a FAQ) please? Robinh (talk) 06:00, 5 March 2017 (UTC)


 * It is clear that simply unzipping the contents of SteamOSInstaller.zip on the USB did nothing to overwrite Tiny Core Linux, and thus that following the instructions never actually got a SteamOS Installer program to run. Yet that is what the instructions at http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown say to do! As we speak I am downloading SteamOSInstaller.zip, but I am on a slow connection and it will take a while.


 * There are a bunch of places where you can find instructions for installing SteamOS. Some give the same "unzip the files and it will boot" advice that isn't working for you, but some talk about making a bootable CD or DVD from an ISO. I would try that next.


 * BTW, I always disconnect power and data from all of my PC's hard drives before trying to install any new OS, whether installing to a USB stick or to a scratch hard drive I keep around for just this purpose. --Guy Macon (talk) 14:30, 5 March 2017 (UTC)

(OP) thank you Guy. It is good to know that you too are interpreting the instructions the same way as me. I have seen most of the links you point to; as you say, they all give the "unzip the files and it will boot" line. Which is, as you say, not going to work. I didn't realise that there were ISO versions of steamOS out there. I'll download one of those, use unetbootin to make the USB bootable, and have another go. Best wishes, Robinh (talk) 18:53, 5 March 2017 (UTC)


 * I finished downloading SteamOSInstaller.zip and unzipped it into a separate folder. I see several readme files, a setup.exe and an autorun.inf that runs the setup.exe. I am not willing to go to my windows box and try to run that setup.exe, but looking at it with a text editor I see the telltale string "This program cannot be run in DOS mode", so it is a windows program. Got an old, hard drive floating around? Disconnect the drives you care about, plug in the old drive and install whatever version of Windows you have handy on it (formatting with FAT, not NTFS), unzip SteamOSInstaller.zip to a folder, and run setup.exe. If that fails repeat but unzipping to the root. If you succeed, be sure to follow up hetre so the next peson will know what does and does not work. --Guy Macon (talk) 21:00, 5 March 2017 (UTC)

Google Chrome tab icons vs. labels
Google Chrome uses helpful mini-icons to label each tab. For example, there's the distinctive Wikipedia W mini-icon. However, when I open too many tabs, it switches over to truncated text labels, such as Wiki for Wikipedia. I don't like these at all, as they are easy to confuse, such as with Wikinews, Wikihow, etc. So, is there a way to prevent it from making this switch ? I realize that the mini-icons would also need to be truncated, but that's better than truncated text. I also realize there are workarounds like having multiple browser windows open, each with a smaller number of tabs, but I'd prefer a better solution. StuRat (talk) 17:44, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
 * You can't without an add-on. If you have a lot of related tabs, look for a tree tab extension. 71.85.51.150 (talk) 01:48, 5 March 2017 (UTC)

Web Browser Blocking Access to the Clipboard
I use Firefox, and recently I've received notifications from several websites that my web browser is blocking access to the clipboard. These usually appear as a pop-up message and advise me to use the keyboard shortcuts instead. First, why do the keyboard shortcuts work at all if the browser is blocking access to the clipboard? Second, this only happens on some websites: for example, on Amazon, I can right-click and Paste directly from the clipboard without any problems, so clearly the browser isn't blocking access to the clipboard unilaterally. Why does it work on Amazon, but not on certain other websites? OldTimeNESter (talk) 23:02, 4 March 2017 (UTC)


 * The popups mean to say: Firefox doesn't allow websites to directly access your clipboard (bypassing you) through a javascript. This is for security and privacy. See.
 * It's fine, websites should never be allowed access to resources on your computer, because your computer is yours and not theirs. You may have data on the clipboard and it's not up to them to decide that your data can be overwritten. And surely it's not up to them to read whatever you have on your clipboard.
 * You yourself can of course access the clipboard through keyboard and mouse, that's never blocked by your browser. That's also fine, because your clipboard is on your computer, so you're the boss.
 * Decent websites, apparently including amazon, don't even dare to touch your clipboard and have no reason to produce such a popup.
 * Summarized: some websites have nasty habits, and your browser is protecting you from that.
 * There may be ways to make the clipboard accessible to scripts (see the above provided link), but I would strongly recommend against that. You're not missing any functionality, except that you have to copy and paste manually. That's probably what you'd expect anyway.
 * Hm, I used too much text, but I hope this helps anyway. :) Jahoe (talk) 03:35, 5 March 2017 (UTC)


 * For an example of why this might be a problem, imagine you did a screen grab during an online purchase, and had your credit card info on it. StuRat (talk) 05:40, 5 March 2017 (UTC)


 * ...or that your lovely but somewhat naive teenage daughter copy/pasted her latest sexy selfie... (Yes, the clipboard can contain images.)
 * Many people don't realize that, after copying, the data remains on the clipboard until they use it again. And Windows provides no direct way to clear it. Jahoe (talk) 13:20, 5 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Clip something else, that won't get you into trouble. StuRat (talk) 15:45, 5 March 2017 (UTC)


 * OP here: thanks for the clarification. The odd thing, though, is that I can't access the clipboard with the mouse, just with the keyboard shortcuts. For example, lets say that I copy some text from a website, and want to paste it in an e-mail. My e-mail program won't let me right-click and select Paste; instead, it gives me a popup that says "you need to use the keyboard shortcuts", which do in fact work. I've visited other websites that behave the same way, but then there are sites like Amazon that let me right-click and select Paste. So I guess my question should have been "Why can I access the clipboard using only the keyboard shortcuts?" OldTimeNESter (talk) 15:38, 5 March 2017 (UTC)
 * I think you're under the impression that websites can predict what you're going to do – and I feel I need to clarify you overestimate them: they can't. They can not know in advance you're going to paste anything. Please note they do not say 'You can not paste with your mouse". They actually don't care about pasting at all! They're rather protecting their own contents from being copied by you. Also, probably, from being directly printed or reverse-engineered, because those functions (Copy, Print, View Source...) are usually available from a context-menu. You may want to verify in the browser's main menu whether corresponding commands get disabled (greyed) when you visit one of sites you mentioned. --CiaPan (talk) 23:12, 6 March 2017 (UTC)


 * I know a lot of people who store passwords in a text file and copy and paste them (not that I'm condoning this). I know a lot of people who occasionally copy and paste passwords under other circumstances, too. Also credit card numbers, usernames, etc etc. There's also a huge cross section between those folks and folks who leave browser pages open for hours on end. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants   Tell me all about it.  17:53, 6 March 2017 (UTC)