Can you run Linux (Ubuntu/Gentoo, not sure yet) from a SD card?

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Fudzy

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I know that you can make a 'Live-CD' that boots off a USB stick but that resets everytime you are finished using it. Is it possible to install Linux onto a SD card completely?

If so, where is a good place to start looking? Trying to Google what I'm looking for always takes me back to the create 'Live CD' option.
 
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HavocXphere

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Sure its painfully slow though & apparently it nukes the SD quick due to no wear leveling algo.
 
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Ancalagon

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Linux will boot off just about anything. I had it booting off an external hard drive, so as long as your SD card is connected via USB it should be fine. If your SD card is an internal card reader, then I'm not sure.
 
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GoofySmurf

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Yes you can i remember that back in 2006 there was a version of gentoo called gentoo on a stick it might help looking into it. I personally have a 4gb flash stick with a OpenSUSE installation on if i feel like faffing around.
 
ponder

ponder

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Does your laptop have a esata port?

You can always install it to a external esate/usb hard drive, usb is slower though.
 
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Fudzy

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ponder said:
Does your laptop have a esata port?

You can always install it to a external esate/usb hard drive, usb is slower though.
Click to expand...

Yeah it does, it also has an internal SD card slot which I was hoping to use as a less obtrusive solution (ie. for browsing while in front of the TV). I think the best bet would be a big memory stick though it still might be quite slow :(
 
ponder

ponder

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Fudzy said:
Yeah it does, it also has an internal SD card slot which I was hoping to use as a less obtrusive solution (ie. for browsing while in front of the TV). I think the best bet would be a big memory stick though it still might be quite slow :(
Click to expand...

Go with the eSata route for the fastest solution, same as internal. SD card slot will also work but a lot slower I suspect.
 
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SecretCode

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Fudzy said:
I know that you can make a 'Live-CD' that boots off a USB stick but that resets everytime you are finished using it.
Click to expand...

Not always - using the ubuntu usb creator, you can set a portion of the usb stick for persistent data. If you've got a 4GB stick, or larger, set 2GB for persistent data.

The only hassle I've found is that it uses a weird filesystem which eventually fills up because it doesn't reclaim deleted space or something. Otherwise it works perfectly - setings, documents, downloads.
 
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Sysem

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Another potential solution is a small usb flash drive. Seen 8GB HP drives from IC that are 2cm big or so.
 
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