Is This A True Statement? - Linux Portability Question

[soundchaser59]

If I run Linux from a 128GB usb thumb drive.....Can I install it to the thumb drive? Or is that only for demo purposes? Does it have to be installed on a dedicated hdd? If I'm running it from iso on a usb thumb drive, I assume I can save my files and bookmarks and things to a folder on the same thumb drive and then......

(here is the money question)

Does that mean my Linux "install" is portable? I can take it to another computer and (assuming I can boot to usb from that computer) run it on that machine, and all of my files and bookmarks etc. will still be there? Will the Linux running from iso on the thumb drive also be able to utilize the other 120+GB of space left on that thumb drive? What might be the factors that would prevent me from doing a "portable Linux" this way?

If that is a viable way to use Linux on a thumb drive, then this has real possibilities for making me portable and far more versatile. I can imagine using Linux to fix a friend's machine by booting to thumb drive and using it to run (for example) an anti virus scan on his whacked out hard drive.

[vinnywright]

well yes ,,,you can install to the usb drive and even partition it the way you like ,,,so you have the OS in one partition and some storage space or /home/you on a different partition ,,,,,,,,,I have even read that these days it will probably even work on most other computes you boot it on .

or you can just make a live usb ,,,,like you probably installed with and set a persistence file in it (for saving things between boots)

and just for the info of it ,,,there are already quite a few live usb's loaded with recovery tools .

VINNY

[Qqmike]

So, if you run it as a "live" Kubuntu USB, then, as Vinny said, you want to build that live USB to include a persistence capability.

Or, you can simply install Kubuntu to a thumb drive from your USB live Kubuntu thumb drive. I would use a separate thumb drive. So your live Kubuntu USB thumb drive might be sdx and the thumb drive you are installing the "permanent" Kubuntu to might be sdy (x different from y, of course). So your Kubuntu on sdy would be like any Kubuntu on any hard drive. People will chime in about wearing out your sdy thumb drive, but my research has indicated that is probably not a real danger in most practical situations--it would take MANY many uses of that thumb drive to wear it out.. Or, if worried about wearing out that permanent thumb drive sdy, simply re-install Kubuntu to a fresh thumb drive every now and then (like every year or two or three or five). And always back up your user data, just in case.

(Edit: I corrected a typo, see the bold-faced sdy in the above paragraph--originally, I had written sdx.)

[claydoh]

Yes, installing the OS to a thumbdrive works well. You can use the persistence thing, but you can also install it as you would on a hard drive, which imo is better if you plan to use it a lot. You do have to be sure to tell the installer to put the grub boot loader on the MBR of the usb stick rather than the default ( MBR of the hard drive) If you don't, then it won't boot if it is not used on the computer that the grub boot loader was installed on.

[soundchaser59]

Yes, installing the OS to a thumbdrive works well. You can use the persistence thing, but you can also install it as you would on a hard drive, which imo is better if you plan to use it a lot. You do have to be sure to tell the installer to put the grub boot loader on the MBR of the usb stick rather than the default ( MBR of the hard drive) If you don't, then it won't boot if it is not used on the computer that the grub boot loader was installed on.

Nice tip, thanks! I'm gonna get a second 128GB thumb drive and start toying with it.

[GreyGeek]

I always carry a LiveUSB + persistence thumb drive in my pocket for emergencies.

[soundchaser59]

I always carry a LiveUSB + persistence thumb drive in my pocket for emergencies.

I assume that means two usb thumb drives.....one to boot the OS, and one for saving files? I haven't had a chance to iron out my understanding of persistence yet....

[Snowhog]

No, a single USB thumb drive that was created with a persistent partition; used to save stuff to.

LiveUsbPendrivePersistent - Ubuntu Wiki

The above is a bit dated, but it is a good place to start with. Ask question about anything you are unsure of.

[GreyGeek]

I assume that means two usb thumb drives.....one to boot the OS, and one for saving files? I haven't had a chance to iron out my understanding of persistence yet....

As Snowhog says. A 32GB thumb drive with all the unused devoted to a persistent drive. In addition I also carry a 64GB thumb drive strictly for data.

EDIT: Wow. My fingers aren't connected well enough to my brain. They drop letters and words. I was thinking:" I carry in my watch pocket a 32GB thumb drive.....". What I wrote isn't even close... sigh...

[soundchaser59]

As Snowhog says. A 32GB thumb drive with all the unused devoted to a persistent drive. In addition I also carry a 64GB thumb drive strictly for data.

Ok, makes sense. I should know how to do this before the night is over, or at least before the weekend has expired.

[oshunluvr]

Another option for multi-boot thumb drives is to install GRUB and use it to boot directly to an ISO. Not all distros will work this way, but many do.

[soundchaser59]

Decided the usb method is something I do not have enough experience to pull off reliably, so.....

Went ahead and got my old Windows partition cleaned up, and installed Mint on the hdd. Partitioned to about 110GB with the remaining 50GB left for the old Windows part. Works quite well, and once I get used to everything and do everything I used to do on Windows, I don't think I will miss Bill Gates at all.

Used some editor (rosa?) to modify the grub loader and update the grub cfg. I'll get used to the sudo prefix quick enough.