[DC LoCo] OS on USB Stick

[Jeremy Bicha]

On 4 January 2011 19:50, Aaron M. Ucko <ucko at debian.org> wrote:
> Marti Martinson <arthur.martinson at verizon.net> writes:
>
>> My question is this: "Can an Ubuntu OS on a USB stick be updated (for
>> apps and packages) and/or upgraded (for releases) or not?"
>
> That really depends on the details of the setup.  A simple native
> filesystem image, as might exist on a hard drive, should be
> straightforward to update in the usual fashion; however, other possible
> arrangements are effectively read-only:
>
> - Images designed to double as CD images may use the traditional ISO 9660
>  CD filesystem, which doesn't really support modification even on
>  rewritable media.
>
> - Some other setups embed a compressed filesystem image containing
>  everything needed beyond early boot, in which case the only option is
>  again to prepare and write a full replacement.
>
> Moreover, updates of whatever scale will likely leave any supplied
> installer as is.
>
> That said, the larger drives could well have regular updateable
> filesystems.
>
> --
> Aaron M. Ucko, KB1CJC (amu at alum.mit.edu, ucko at debian.org)
> http://www.mit.edu/~amu/ | http://stuff.mit.edu/cgi/finger/?amu@monk.mit.edu
>

If the USB stick had been created with Ubuntu's included Startup Disk
Creator, the default option is to reserve 128MB for persistent data.
If several GB was reserved for this persistent data, it would be
possible to upgrade this disk but I've never tried this and I wouldn't
recommend it.

Like Aaron says, there are two main ways that these Ubuntu on USB
work, one is to actually install Ubuntu to a USB stick (like it was a
regular hard drive) which should be upgradeable just fine as long as
the partition is big enough. And the other is the Installer/Demo
version, which is what Startup Disk Creator makes, and I don't believe
is intended for full upgrades.

Jeremy Bicha