Installing linux on a usb flash

[carnagelan]

Hi Guys,

I have a dual core and 2gb ram pc with out a hard drive. At the moment i am running LibreElec which is a Kodi only linix based OS.

This is running off my usb as a live usb.

LibreElec is really great for a HTPC, but there are services and small apps i need to install on a desktop system.

I am looking for a linux OS that will run ok on my pc specs and will allow the installation onto usb instead of a live usb. Preferably a Debian based. Software will still be for a htpc.

 

[Crumbl0x]

Hi! Pretty much any distro can run off a USB, just pick something lightweight and Debian based like Xubuntu or what have you and while installing, use the manual partition option to select your USB and create a root / + allocate a little swap space if needed. You can also look up creating persistence from a ISO flash so that you don't even need to install it while keeping all data in tact and running a little faster from USB.

 

[Nod]

I can recommend to make use of Yumi to create your bootable USB stick.
You will also be able to add a partition that can be used for configs and home directories.

 

[Crumbl0x]

I can recommend to make use of Yumi to create your bootable USB stick.
You will also be able to add a partition that can be used for configs and home directories.

Yes, but this is overkill for a single distro instead of carrying multiple, that partition can be easily created by hand and circumvent the limitations of storage that YUMI has to deal with because of its nature.

 

[JustAsk]

Hi Guys,

I have a dual core and 2gb ram pc with out a hard drive. At the moment i am running LibreElec which is a Kodi only linix based OS.

This is running off my usb as a live usb.

LibreElec is really great for a HTPC, but there are services and small apps i need to install on a desktop system.

I am looking for a linux OS that will run ok on my pc specs and will allow the installation onto usb instead of a live usb. Preferably a Debian based. Software will still be for a htpc.

Can use any distro. Boot up your live usb/cd with an added say 32gb usb in another port. Install distro as usual to the 32gb drive. Nothing special, your usb stick is just another harddisk. Don't use manual install, it'll just complicate things for you. Choose default option and everything will be fine.

 

[shadow_man]

Eventually your USB will bite the bucket with the sheer number of read / writes. I've certainly achieved this when running storage hosts off USB.

What about something that just runs in RAM most of the time - like Puppy?

 

[Crumbl0x]

Eventually your USB will bite the bucket with the sheer number of read / writes. I've certainly achieved this when running storage hosts off USB.

What about something that just runs in RAM most of the time - like Puppy?

That's true, but for this purpose and when choosing a quality flash manufacturer like SanDisk and Samsung, I've personally been able to run a few of these for niche purposes for over 5 years with no signs of degradation so OP will most likely be ok, you're definitely right though generally.

 

[carnagelan]

Thanks guys. I got it working. Its a temp solution until i can afford a hard drive.