http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/item/16/
It would be great to provide Ubuntu as a liveUSB just as Mandriva does. We should be able to carry our distribution on any computer, manage our preferred settings (do I want binary drivers enabled ? what is my preferred resolution ?), etc.

The thing is not to make something transportable, but really a nomad system that could be used just the best way as it could on any computer.

[4328 votes] Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #16


[0 votes] Solution #2: copy slax's usb version


]]> en-us Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:35:14 +0000 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:41:28 +0000 QAPoll module http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/16/ I've been using it to test Hardy Alpha images, and the ]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:43:14 +0000
Yes I saw this but in my opinion there should be an "official packaging" for this type of media, and, as it is not used the very same way, and as it allows much more than a LiveCD, it would require additional specific pieces of software (to manage sessions, and preferences about hardware management for example).]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:55:47 +0000 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:57:25 +0000 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:03:54 +0000

As someone who was forced to purchase a CD burner for the single task of being able to install Ubuntu, I feel that this issue is quite important. In this day and age of 6€ 1GB flash memory and sub-50€ multi-GB USB mass storage devices, being forced to have a CD burner and burn a CD in order to install the operating system is something that can't be quite justified, specially when having in mind that installing the OS is mainly a one time only task. ]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:27:57 +0000 ]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:46:03 +0000
However, just like a solid-state drive, it can and will fail if used extensively enough. I haven't had the time to put a full Live-CD distro on a thumb drive, but if we use a USB drive as extensively as we would a disk drive, then we could see very many of them fried out.

I'm mixed on this one. It's a good idea, and should be an option, but I wouldn't want to spend $15 on a 1GB thumb drive just to buy another in 9 months.]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:14:12 +0000 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:00:31 +0000 It's juste a personnal feeling, but I think that the MacAir and the EEE from Asus won't be the only ones to be cdrom-less.

Then, having a portable system is a great thing, even for someone that has a computer at work and at home. No sync needed, would be a great news !]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:07:18 +0000
Installing from the Live USB would also save a huge amount on CDs which only get used once, not so much a cost thing but a bit of an environmental embarassment.

It should be relatively? trivial to create a python app which allows you to flash the CD iso to a usb drive. ]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:55:27 +0000
How-to:
http://www.debuntu.org/how-to-install-ubuntu-linux-on-usb-bar

You can also purchase ready-made one at some vendors:
http://www.thelinuxstore.ca/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1494
]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:08:13 +0000 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:12:39 +0000
Flipside, I already tried to follow some howto's I found, but I didn't manage to get it to work, my USB flash drive wasn't recognized during boot, probably because somehow I couldn't activate the partition on my USB flash drive with fdisk.

The current howto's which can be found on the internet take too much time and are too complex, it would be a good idea if an application or a script (with options for both persistence and non-persistence) was created to do it automatically. And I mean, an official application/script, which is mentioned on the download page of Ubuntu's ISO's, so users don't have to google for a (relatively) complex howto to figure it out. ]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:29:45 +0000 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:25:47 +0000
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/ubuntu:eeexubuntu:home#detailed_usb_installer_instructions]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:04:09 +0000 As we could do new things with this, we need additionnal software.
On a live-cdrom, we don't have to manage any session or hardware preferences, whereas we could do this (and we should) on a USB drive.]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:24:46 +0000
It would be nice for it to be an option when you click "Install Ubuntu" on the Ubuntu Live CD though.]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:49:54 +0000 Great idea for ubuntu in general ]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:36:38 +0000 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:51:31 +0000
But the thought of making a dual-boot machine was intimidating and I didn't feel right messing with my company's laptop. So instead I took the Ubuntu Live CD and used the install option to install it on a USB stick. This was 6 months ago and now I am so hooked up Ubuntu I almost never run Windows anymore. So I think this is a great idea for getting more folks to try Ubuntu because they don't have to change ANYTHING on their computer, yet they get the rotating cube!!

However, to those who say this idea is moot because you can "easily" do this today, let me reply by saying that while I am living proof it is possible for a linux newbie to create a bootable Ubuntu install on a USB stick, it was a GIGANTIC hassle. It ended up taking me many days to do it...here's why:

1) you need to partition and format the stick which is a scary, scary, thing to do because no window user has ANY idea what hda, sda, etc. mean and so you are constantly fearful of trashing your internal harddrive.

2) unless you go into an obscure "advanced" mode of the Ubuntu installer it will put GRUB on your internal disk thinking that your USB stick is another drive and you always boot from your internal disk. This is CRAZY!! Don't mess with my internal hard drive....put GRUB on the USB stick.

3) if you let Ubuntu put GRUB on your internal hard drive (trashing the windows MBR) and later when you try to boot without your USB stick...you WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BOOT. You will get a GRUB stage 1.5 error and you will be hosed because the GRUB menu is ON THE STICK! In other words, if you use the installer defaults, and then go on a trip without your USB stick or Live CD your laptop will be unusable (I did this...thank you).

4) when you put GRUB on the usb stick, and later try to boot from it, you will fail. This is because the hard drive identifiers in the GRUB menu are all wrong after you boot from your usb stick because the installer thinks hda is always your internal drive. When you boot from the stick hda is the stick.

5) Making a USB stick bootable is tricky business. Often times they must be formatted with MSDOS and therefore slapping GRUB on to it won't make it bootable...use have to use MS DOS utilities or linux equivs.

Sorry for all the detail...its a great idea. Lets make it happen such that the hapless Windows user never needs to see or think about GRUB or hda1 in order to fall in love with Ubuntu.
]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:58:56 +0000
It can be found here: http://jak-linux.org/tmp/iso2usb.sh]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:23:42 +0000 sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg.

I have found this is all I need to do when cloning drives to completely different hardware so it should work on an installed system on a USB key.

I might try it next month as I can get a decent 4GB stick for $AUD80.
]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:44:03 +0000
The attraction of a Live CD is to avoid the risk and hassle of installation. A live portable HDD would have the same advantages with none of the disadvantages. Portable USB hard disk drives have gotten fairly cheap. ]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 06:06:20 +0000
But I would like to be able to install Ubuntu and other distributions with USB drive. It would save me at least 10 CD's a month (well, I'm kinda hooked up on testing different distros).]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:11:02 +0000 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:23:17 +0000
1. Remove hard drive from Computer
2. Insert USB drive
3. Insert Ubuntu Installer disk
4. Install Ubuntu
5. Remove CD when prompted and shut down the computer
6. Re-attach internal hard drives.
7. Boot from USB
8. At GRUB screen, change the drive to boot from /sda to /sdb. (or whatever the USB drive is detected as)
9. Once booted from the USB drive, sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst
10. Change the reference to the Ubuntu install from HD0,0 to HD1,0. Save the changes.
11. Reboot to prove it worked.

It was actually that easy. The steps were determined from a variety of postings and some trial and error. The worst part was getting the hard drive out of my thinkpad.]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:44:43 +0000 http://www.ixsoft.at/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi?ref=Products/de/IXUB0710USB-2048.html]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:30:27 +0000 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:40:52 +0000
i've managed to put puppy linux onto my USB drive which has only one big fat32 partition, and it contains some file. it can save all my setup to a big file which has ext2 fs in it.
it is possible to create the live usb while you're running the livecd, even if you only running it from virtualbox for example.
this way you could download the iso of the livecd, run it in virtualbox or you can boot from it on any kind of pc, and make a persistance live USB, saveing all your setup, installed programs....of course if you already run linux a small program/script could do a liveUSB for you.

i'm sorry for my english, i hope you understand more or less what i mean :D]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:30:46 +0000 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:23:47 +0000 Should have the option of having an encrypted install on the USB.]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:39:33 +0000 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 07:36:38 +0000 The Ubuntu desktop CD is a good live operating system, but if you want a really live distro, you can use Slax or Knoppix. I think, Ubuntu must be a good desktop distro and improve her features to be that.]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 16:25:31 +0000 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:58:29 +0000
It's already there.

All you need to do is basically copy the contents of the Live CD (including the hidden directories) to a FAT USB stick, and install MBR and syslinux.]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:04:52 +0000 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:05:49 +0000
Some USB PEN drives have utility to format it, encrypt it and modify it's appear. So these drives can appear as a USB-ZIP or USB-HDD. Need new option to appear PEN drive as USB-CD/DVD-ROM.

(I used USB "modem" which have flash storage with CD-Emulation - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huawei_E220 )]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:41:33 +0000 Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:54:08 +0000 https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LiveUsbPendrivePersistent

not easy.. but possible]]> Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:01:19 +0000 Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:37:05 +0000
http://blog.roozeec.fr/zeeclive

But in french ....
]]> Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:46:42 +0000 http://wiki.unixboard.de/index.php/Bootable_USB_Key
It's in German but commands are always English so if you know a bit it will work.
As I read this I had this in mind.
The install USB Stick that can hold kind of a Profile with all the configs that a certain machine has. So to a later date you just plug the thing in, boot it and press "Install my Dell XPS M1330".
This would allow Users to share there config files so hardware tricks can be included from others (like webcam, fingerprint etc.)
Also all your "standard" software packages can automatically be loaded for the selected user oder group that uses the notebook (ok, I use my "baseinstall.sh" but its not hard to add that to this tool)

This was just a lightning throe my head...

cu]]> Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:59:36 +0000 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:41:10 +0000 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:41:35 +0000
Correct me if I'm wrong, but we don't just want an exact replica of the LiveCD functionality on a USB stick, nor do we want a full (k/x/e)ubuntu install on the USB stick. The first doesn't take advantage of the read/write and space capabilities of the USB stick (customize settings, add programs, etc), and second will have the hardware drivers, etc, customized for the computer you installed it on.

Ideally we want the flexibility of the LiveCD detecting the hardware and working on any machine reasonably well, with the customizeability of an installed version.

If you know of how-tos that do this, point them out and make note of what they fully are, but I still think it's worth folding that into the project so that anyone with a pendrive and some curiosity can copy the files to the drive and try ubuntu without having to refer to a how-to.]]> Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:09:03 +0000 However I'll vote this topic since it's true that many out there are scared about installing Ubuntu partitioning their HD, but a CD/DVD live system cannot be really used to work, but only to evaluate.
A system running on USB can be used for both!]]> Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:08:14 +0000 Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:41:38 +0000 ]]> Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:40:29 +0000 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:31:37 +0000
Ubuntu, either when booted in live CD_mode, or in normal mode, but with the Lice_CD in the player, should have a menu option that asks for a memory stick, (and if needed the Live_CD) then checks the size of the USB_stick, formats it, makes it boot-able, and put a remastered live_USB system on it created from the live_CD code.

A USB_stick is much easier to carry around with you than a CD, and can be used on systems that do not have a CD drive (like the Ultra Mobile PC's that are starting to become popular).

yes, there are all kinds of how-to's on the web to create a Live_USB, but most are confusing and hard to follow, it's actually quite hard for a new Linux user to figure out how to do it, and it shouldn't be that difficult to do! The easier it is to create a Live_USB stick the easier Ubuntu can be spread and flourish!
There is no better way to demonstrate Ubuntu to a friend than to pull out a Live_USB stick, and demonstrate it to him/her. In contrast, a live_CD is awkward to have with you at all times.

Also, there are several ways to set up the Live_USB stick, as it can be done as a "super floppy", or as a "hard disk", and with FAT32 or NTFS or a Linux filing system. We also need a USB stick that will boot with as many BIOS systems as possible, not all live_USB solutions are equal in this respect.

If Ubuntu generates a Live_USB automatically, it should do it in the best way possible. A handy feature would be if the Live_USB stick would support installing new software on the flash filing system, keep settings etc. and you would be able to store data files and documents on it too. An automatic Live_USB creation system would be able to create such an advanced Live_USB stick with a minimum of hassle.]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:49:18 +0000
Not really.

A typical NAND device (usb stick) would only wear out after about fifty years of continual writing. I wouldn't worry about it.

Here is another link about putting Ubuntu on USB.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCDCustomizationFromScratch?highlight=%28cd%29%7C%28Live%29#head-78b0db78435f28e95edbd38e14148a42c1dc4e00
]]> Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:01:28 +0000 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:47:40 +0000
If you partition your usb drive into one partition for the live OS, and make another partition Ext3 and name it "casper-rw", that's exactly what you get.

This works with minimal differences between the live CD and USB infrastructure, namely, you replace one bootloader with another.

To make the USB system work differently by being read-write is a more invasive change to the infrastructure. I wonder if it would be difficult to implement a persistent "casper-rw" loop file instead of a separate partition?

That way, you would only have to copy the live USB files, make it bootable (with ext3, you don't have to unmount the filesystem to make it bootable with extlinux - with syslinux, you must unmount) and then create a loop filesystem which fills the rest of the drive up (or as much as you want).
]]> Sun, 06 Apr 2008 12:50:24 +0000
Maybe my idea is not so original :D.

Sorry for my bad english.]]> Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:12:43 +0000

What I want to know is if computers do checks of USB ports and can boot from USB drives from a cold boot without booting the OS on the hard drive. If so, then this idea pwns.]]> Sun, 27 Apr 2008 02:24:56 +0000 https://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/

We should tweak it to be compatible with Ubuntu and then ship it with the next version.

Forwarding the tool to Debian would be nice as well.]]> Thu, 01 May 2008 19:18:39 +0000
It would be nice if i could, say have drivers for different video cards installed, and the system would automatically load the correct one.

Another similar problem is xorg.conf files. Right now, i have to go in recovery console and copy the correct xorg.conf file in /etc/X11....

If the system would be more flexible in this kind of sense, it would be better suited for the future where probalby we will all be walking around with our own os on usb...]]> Sun, 11 May 2008 18:03:16 +0000
It would be nice if i could, say have drivers for different video cards installed, and the system would automatically load the correct one.

Another similar problem is xorg.conf files. Right now, i have to go in recovery console and copy the correct xorg.conf file in /etc/X11....

If the system would be more flexible in this kind of sense, it would be better suited for the future where probalby we will all be walking around with our own os on usb...]]> Sun, 11 May 2008 18:05:36 +0000
http://klik.atekon.de/liveusb/

Feedback is welcome, testers are wanted.]]> Sat, 17 May 2008 19:37:34 +0000 It seems to be a great first step, sure, additional work has to be done (like "prefiered-drivers configuration", etc.).

But really great work, I'll test it ASAP :-).]]> Sat, 17 May 2008 21:54:02 +0000 Mon, 26 May 2008 07:53:09 +0000
The brilliance of it is that it runs from Windows, making it easy for the typical PC user who is unable to repartition their hard drive to experience the joy of a native Ubuntu installation and even carry it with them to the office or wherever.

A rather clever idea, really - if this gets implemented well, chances are it will be my standard installation.]]> Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:30:44 +0000
Due to LP #219192 you need to edit your initrd though if you want to use persistence.]]> Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:14:52 +0000 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:01:02 +0000
Live USB is a brilliant idea :)
You got my vote


Regards,
Avatar Ng
]]> Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:10:00 +0000 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:05:58 +0000 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:55:02 +0000 One question : Is it possible to have ubuntu in french or other language in the usb key ?

Thank's a lot for this application !]]> Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:17:31 +0000
When you run the tool from the Live CD, it will detect the currently running language and keyboard setting and use this as the default for the Live USB system.

So you have no special settings to do. Just run the Live CD with the language and keyboard settings you want, and run the tool from there.]]> Sat, 02 Aug 2008 10:23:18 +0000 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:20:00 +0000
]]> Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:46:40 +0000 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:18:23 +0000
It works fine, but there are some drawbacks in this approach:

1. On system startup I must reconfigure time zones, keyboard layout and network interface; it remembers some of these settings but does not honour them.

2. Upgrade Manager fails trying to upgrade some kernel packages, since it believes it's running from a Live CD.

3. If you plug the stick into an already running Windows system you will only see the LiveCD partition, so you can't exchange files with a Windows computer, since the LiveCD partition is almost full. (You could create a slightly bigger partition, but that means reducing space available to your filesystem).

On all systems I've plugged it (work laptop and a relative's desktop) it is /dev/sdb, I don't know what it does if you plug it in a different system with more hard drives.

So the LiveCD plus casper-rw is not the perfect solution.]]> Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:57:08 +0000
This is a tool for remastering Hardy desktop live cd into a lampp server with open sources web applications in php, perl, python or Java.

The scripts are based on Reconstructor with an added functionnality to create Cooperation-iws live USB.

All the stuff (Demo CD /DVD) and live scripts are GPL and freely available.

]]> Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:00:49 +0000 Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:41:59 +0000

When you create a new install, you should be able to choose to already download all the installed packages installed on the host system. Optionally to show a list to select only some.

The application that resulted from this idea already does something similar with flash.

But flash is the least of the worries. Everyone that ever needs flash has internet connection. I know people that uses ubuntu offline for office docs and dvd watching.

It's a pain to install the vlc and dvd packages without internet. And it's something a regular user can't do. at all.]]> Sat, 01 Nov 2008 10:04:17 +0000
2) What affect does this have on the the USB stick given "overly writing" could be bad for it?

3) Does it avoid putting swap and /tmp on the USB stick?

I would like to make a USB bootable Ubuntu 9.04, so I could make inclusive to it things such as "VMware converter" (for "cold clone" conversions), and also for doing rescue type operations also (partitioning, data rescue, etc...).

Has their been any integration with this and perhaps something like parted magic, or system rescue cd?


Thanks,

Stuart
]]> Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:52:02 +0000