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jennybrew
December 19th, 2010, 10:08 PM
Ive long wanted a lightweight distro to carry around in my handbag on a usb drive.
PuppyLinux, I was told, was the best contender so I downloaded and installed on a fresh usb key.
The initial boot was ever so slow I actually thought something was amiss. I also chose the option to utilise a check file and saving took an absolute age as well. Nevertheless once loaded the distro runs very well indeed and the on screen documentation promised a much faster boot second time around.
However, Im so disappointed! The thing takes an age to boot whether Ive elected to utilise a check file or not and it also takes an age to shut down.
So my question is .. whats the best distro to carry around on a usb flash drive? PuppyLinux is just too slow to boot Im afraid so its not a contender anymore.
Answers on a post card please :) or, alternatively, posted below.

Linux_junkie
December 19th, 2010, 10:27 PM
Have you tried Xubuntu or Lubuntu? Just burn the .iso on to a usb memory stick theres a tool in Ubuntu for doing just that.

Spice Weasel
December 19th, 2010, 10:29 PM
.. If Puppy is slow, Lubuntu will be slower and Xubuntu will crawl.

Try TinyCore. It runs from memory so should be very fast.

edit: There is a guide on doing this here - http://wiki.tinycorelinux.com/tiki-index.php?page=Installing+TC+on+USB

Endomancer
December 19th, 2010, 10:38 PM
I prefer Puppy, but have found DSL (http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/) to be fairly quick to boot, use and even install.

But DSL is not as easy to use and lacks prettiness of any kind.

Another option you might want to try is SLiTAZ (http://www.slitaz.org/)

jennybrew
December 19th, 2010, 10:44 PM
.. If Puppy is slow, Lubuntu will be slower and Xubuntu will crawl.
Try TinyCore. It runs from memory so should be very fast.

edit: There is a guide on doing this here - http://wiki.tinycorelinux.com/tiki-index.php?page=Installing+TC+on+USB

Hi there and thanks. Puppy Linux is really quick once its loaded but its the boot time which takes an age as well as the shutdown time. However, Ill take a look at Tiny Core as well as Lubuntu as suggested above.
Does anyone know anything about Slitaz which a guy I know has suggested as "perfect" for what I want. :)
(always suspicious of "perfect")
whoops Endomancer!! you beat me to it about Sltaz :)

chucky chuckaluck
December 19th, 2010, 10:44 PM
Have you ever tried slax (http://www.slax.org/)?

trinitydan
December 19th, 2010, 10:53 PM
With all the scary talk about Unity being default in 11.04, I have been considering a temporary exodus away from Ubuntu if the need should arise while some things are getting smoothed out with Unity. I also was looking for a lightweight distro to run. I tried Slitaz last night and it ran OK, but honestly I am a little spoiled by Ubuntu's features and functionality at this point. I just tried crunchbang linux for the first time today and it looks AWESOME. At least for my needs where I was looking for a compromise of light weight and functionality. I have not tried Puppy so I can't really give you any kind of comparison for boot speed, but crunchbang seems to boot pretty quickly from a USB. Also you can install .deb packages which is handy coming from Ubuntu. It is WAY bigger than DSL or SliTaz, but it is still worth a try IMO.

jennybrew
December 19th, 2010, 10:55 PM
Have you ever tried slax (http://www.slax.org/)?
Wow yes looks neat. I think I have a lot to check out here ..thanks

Johnsie
December 20th, 2010, 12:37 AM
You could try Jolicloud. The website claims that it 'breathes new life into old computers' and it's a very well designed OS (based on Ubuntu).

http://www.jolicloud.com/

Ji Ruo
December 20th, 2010, 02:02 AM
Can I ask what computer you tried it on - was it old or fairly modern. You may have plugged it into a USB1.0 slot. This is going to be much slower than USB2. Also, what USB stick did you use?

If it really is Puppy that's causing the slowness you could try SLITAZ. It's extremely light and fast.

inobe
December 20th, 2010, 03:13 AM
slitaz is a slick little distro.

NightwishFan
December 20th, 2010, 03:41 AM
Just tried the latest Puppy. It is awesome for such a small distro. I highly recommend it.

leclerc65
December 20th, 2010, 03:59 AM
Save the Savefile in the SDA, next boot will be fast.
Puppy is a speed demon even when running on a SD card.
But it's not user friendly like Ubuntu. The other day I tried to run a Jar file with Java jre. I installed the Java without problem, then found no way to associate (open) the Jar file with Java.

Khakilang
December 20th, 2010, 05:35 AM
I find Puppy Linux very fast on my older computer and it uses .deb package which come in handy. Could it be you are using USB 1.0 instead of 2.0?

JustinR
December 20th, 2010, 06:00 AM
Ive long wanted a lightweight distro to carry around in my handbag on a usb drive.
PuppyLinux, I was told, was the best contender so I downloaded and installed on a fresh usb key.
The initial boot was ever so slow I actually thought something was amiss. I also chose the option to utilise a check file and saving took an absolute age as well. Nevertheless once loaded the distro runs very well indeed and the on screen documentation promised a much faster boot second time around.
However, Im so disappointed! The thing takes an age to boot whether Ive elected to utilise a check file or not and it also takes an age to shut down.
So my question is .. whats the best distro to carry around on a usb flash drive? PuppyLinux is just too slow to boot Im afraid so its not a contender anymore.
Answers on a post card please :) or, alternatively, posted below.

Run puppy linux at boot with "puppy noram". Puppy Linux is copying the whole filesystem into RAM @ bootup - which is why it takes forever to bootup.
But I recommend SliTaz as a better distribution.

ugm6hr
December 20th, 2010, 06:07 AM
Run puppy linux at boot with "puppy noram". Puppy Linux is copying the whole filesystem into RAM @ bootup - which is why it takes forever to bootup.

Copying to RAM is what makes it so fast when using....
Take your pick - running from a USB will be slow if you don't copy to RAM.

Plumtreed
December 20th, 2010, 09:49 AM
The Slitaz distro needs a bit of work if you plan to go wireless or mobile broadband, it is an excellent os once set up.

Have you tried Peppermint ICE, I have it on a 2GB 'stick' and, while it is a trifle slow because it boots from the stick, it runs well once it is up. I recently bought a brand new eeePC and loaded Peppermint ICE and it runs exceptionally well and 'out-of-the-box'....looks classy too!

TheNessus
December 20th, 2010, 02:40 PM
Ive long wanted a lightweight distro to carry around in my handbag on a usb drive.
PuppyLinux, I was told, was the best contender so I downloaded and installed on a fresh usb key.
The initial boot was ever so slow I actually thought something was amiss. I also chose the option to utilise a check file and saving took an absolute age as well. Nevertheless once loaded the distro runs very well indeed and the on screen documentation promised a much faster boot second time around.
However, Im so disappointed! The thing takes an age to boot whether Ive elected to utilise a check file or not and it also takes an age to shut down.
So my question is .. whats the best distro to carry around on a usb flash drive? PuppyLinux is just too slow to boot Im afraid so its not a contender anymore.
Answers on a post card please :) or, alternatively, posted below.

It was slow since what it does is copy itself to RAM before booting. Your USB is slow, Probably RAM a bit slow too. hence booting is slow. Simple.

jennybrew
December 20th, 2010, 05:15 PM
It was slow since what it does is copy itself to RAM before booting. Your USB is slow, Probably RAM a bit slow too. hence booting is slow. Simple.

No offence meant but Ive always found it best to read the question before I fire off an answer.
Thanks anyhow; I appreciate your response and thanks as well to everyone else who has answered :)

TheNessus
December 20th, 2010, 05:51 PM
No offence meant but Ive always found it best to read the question before I fire off an answer.
Thanks anyhow; I appreciate your response and thanks as well to everyone else who has answered :)

It's too much of an effort to read questions carefuly. None taken :)

HappinessNow
December 20th, 2010, 07:01 PM
for a fast and lean distro I prefer MacPup

but you might try out Hexxeh's Chromium OS Flow or wait a few weeks for the new version Chromium OS Lime
http://goo.gl/3jG9P

jennybrew
December 21st, 2010, 09:52 PM
Some feedback here folks:
Ive actually ended up with Mepis and as soon as I saw it my reaction was... WOW!
Ive installed the small version to USB and its booted up and running on the net before Puppy had even began to show signs of waking up.
The desktop is just awesome and it is just a super light weight install.
So, for the moment Im sticking with MEPIS on my usb drive :)

HappinessNow
December 21st, 2010, 09:55 PM
Some feedback here folks:
Ive actually ended up with Mepis and as soon as I saw it my reaction was... WOW!
Ive installed the small version to USB and its booted up and running on the net before Puppy had even began to show signs of waking up.
The desktop is just awesome and it is just a super light weight install.
So, for the moment Im sticking with MEPIS on my usb drive :)
Sounds like you can mark the thread "solved" :p

jennybrew
December 21st, 2010, 10:04 PM
Have done Thanks :)

Spice Weasel
December 21st, 2010, 10:04 PM
Some feedback here folks:
Ive actually ended up with Mepis and as soon as I saw it my reaction was... WOW!
Ive installed the small version to USB and its booted up and running on the net before Puppy had even began to show signs of waking up.
The desktop is just awesome and it is just a super light weight install.
So, for the moment Im sticking with MEPIS on my usb drive :)

AntiX or KDE3 Mepis? Either way, awesome. :D

Endomancer
December 22nd, 2010, 05:11 AM
Hmmm I might have to look into Mepis after Chrstmas when I get back home

marl30
December 22nd, 2010, 06:02 AM
Hmmm I might have to look into Mepis after Chrstmas when I get back home

Puppy is failing me too. I'm currently using one of my older computers. I have to be using Windows 2000 at the moment as Puppy kept freezing. Gonna try out Mepis on the second hard dive.