Needed fully functional [NOT 'Live'(sic)] Linux on USB stick - was [Re: Ubuntu on pendrive]

[Default User]

On Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 07:45, Liam Proven <lproven at gmail.com> wrote:

> On 1 February 2012 03:56, Default User <hunguponcontent at gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 21:22, Liam Proven <lproven at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> On 1 February 2012 01:39, Sam Sebastian <sebastiansam55 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >> > the problem with this is that the one time i did it, when i was really
> >> > new
> >> > to ubuntu/linux in general it install GRUB on the USB and the computer
> >> > would
> >> > not boot at all without having the USB stick plugged in
> >>
> >> Please /bottom/ post on the list.
> >>
> >> You have the problem the wrong way around here.
> >>
> >> GRUB on the hard disk is the problem; GRUB on the USB  stick is what you
> >> want.
> >>
> >> If GRUB is on the hard disk *and it points to a Linux installation on
> >> the hard disk*, no problem.
> >>
> >> If GRUB is on the hard disk *and it points to a Linux installation on
> >> the Flash drive*, then the machine will not boot if the Flash drive is
> >> not connected.
> >>
> >> If GRUB is on the Flash drive and it points to a Linux installation on
> >> the Flash drive as well, no problem. The hard disk is not affected.
> >
> > 1) I only suggested FAT 32 since it works, but in the past I have had
> > difficulties writing iso's to USB thumb drives unless they were first
> > formatted FAT 32.  Also, in the past I recall reading instructions that
> > would often say to format using FAT 32.  Of course, the Ubuntu
> installation
> > program will allow the user to select whatever filesystem the want, and
> I do
> > not disagree with your recommendations.
>
> But if you are /installing/ onto the USB key, and you're going to
> pre-format it, then you might as well pre-format it with the
> filesystem you're going to use on it. There is no point in formatting
> it twice; you will just wear it out a little bit more for no reason at
> all. Format with the FS you will /use/ then tell the installer /not/
> to reformat it. Saves time & effort.
>
> If you're going to make a LiveUSB with an ISO, then sure, use FAT32,
> but that's a different kind of install. Takes less space, but it's
> slower & you can't update it. & an OS without updates is a serious
> liability.
>
> > 2) I recently did an install of Ubuntu 11.10 on an 8gb flash drive.
> IIRC, I
> > did:
> >
> > apt-get clean
> > apt-get autoclean
> >
> > but I did NOT do:
> >
> > apt-get autoremove
> > apt-get purge
> >
> > I ended up with only about 399mb free, not enough for my purposes.
> >
> > That's why I said I didn't think 8gb would be enough.
>
> Out of 8GB?! In one partition? You are doing something seriously
> wrong, or adding one hell of a lot of extra apps. A full install of
> Ubuntu, with all updates & all the optional restricted extras, should
> take about 3 to 3½ gig.
>
> > 3)  I just can't resist:
> > "I have a dream; that one day all of God's children will be judged by the
> > content of their character, not by whether they top-post or bottom post."
> >
> > :-)
>
> Feh. Destroy the top-posting heretics! Burn them! Burn them all! If
> they send email in HTML, torture 'em a bit first, /pour encourager les
> autres/!
>
> --
> Liam Proven • Profile: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile
> Email: lproven at cix.co.uk • GMail/G+/Twitter/Flickr/Facebook: lproven
> MSN: lproven at hotmail.com • Skype/AIM/Yahoo/LinkedIn: liamproven
> Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 • Cell: +44 7939-087884
>
> --
> ubuntu-users mailing list
> ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
> Modify settings or unsubscribe at:
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users
>


I went back and looked at the 8gb flash drive in question.  According to
gparted:

7.4gb total space
3.5gb main partition (ext4)
3.9gb extended partition, including
    3.9gb linux-swap partition
1gb unallocated space

Of the main partition, 2.93gb are used, and 576 mb are unused.  That's
after applying all current updates.

That does leave room to breathe, especially if the swap partition is shrunk
to free up more space.

My mistake.  (Always check your work.)

BTW, I don't know why the install program set up a 4gb swap partition.
That might be excessive.

So, I guess an 8gb device can be used after all.  But I was not able to use
a 4gb drive, it ran out of space.

And note that a FAT formatted partition somewhere on the flash drive would
make sharing data with Windows users easier.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-users/attachments/20120201/4a11f2e0/attachment.html>