How does my TC64 BootStik work?

[labeas]

I've lost the ability to boot an important old IDE partition.
TC64 can of course chroot it, but I need to have its X11 running to
extract some info to use in TC64.

So can my present USBstik for booting TC64, be used to boot
the USB-adaptor-driven-IDE-partition5 ?

I can't remember how I built the USBstik and installed TC64.
It's got:
/ldlinux.sys /syslinux.cfg
  and /boot/isolinux:  isolinux.bin  & isolinux.cfg ..etc.
and /syslinux.cfg  refers to: /boot/isolinux/isolinux.cfg

In principle can syslinux started from a USB, boot a different
USB; since the original USB is read by the computers USB-driver
and the other USB must be read by the first USB, which may not
have/need a USB-driver?

==TIA
 

[gerald_clark]

Try the Plop boot loader.

[polikuo]

USB-adaptor-driven-IDE-partition5

Partition 5 ?
Although you can store your tce directory in a logical partition.
In legacy BIOS, the bootloader (syslinux, grub ...etc) always boot from a primary partition.
i.e. partition 1-4

I can't remember how I built the USBstik and installed TC64.
It's got:
/ldlinux.sys /syslinux.cfg
  and /boot/isolinux:  isolinux.bin  & isolinux.cfg ..etc.
and /syslinux.cfg  refers to: /boot/isolinux/isolinux.cfg

Looks like you used a third party installer.
My suggestion, prepare a clean USB,
load tc-install.tcz, run tc-install.sh,
follow the instructions given by the script.
Personally I prefer frugal, whole disk, ext4 installation.

In principle can syslinux started from a USB, boot a different
USB; since the original USB is read by the computers USB-driver
and the other USB must be read by the first USB, which may not
have/need a USB-driver?

For syslinux to boot, all the required files must be placed in the same partition.
For instance, to boot tiny core with extlinux:

• extlinux.conf
• ldlinux.c32
• ldlinux.sys
• vmlinuz(64)
• core(pure64).gz