Howto make USB boot drives

[sudodus]

mkusb-minp

mkusb-minp is a bash shellscript that is twice the size of mkusb-min (still very small compared to mainstream mkusb). It wraps a safety belt around dd and can also create persistent live drives from iso files of Ubuntu 19.10 and Debian 10 and newer versions.

$ wc mkusb-minp
  548  1713 12103 mkusb-minp

548 lines (and 12103 characters). It should be rather easy to see what the shellscript is doing simply by reading it in a text editor.

There is [not yet] any fancy user interface, only text dialogue (for a text screen or terminal window) with high-lighting using ANSI escape sequences.

Help text:

$ ./mkusb-minp -h
               This shellsript wraps a safety belt around 'dd'               
Clone from an iso or image file to a target device (typically a USB pendrive)
Usage:
 sudo /path/mkusb-minp [-p] <source file> <target device> 
Cloning:
 sudo ./mkusb-minp file.iso /dev/sdx
 sudo ./mkusb-minp file.img /dev/sdx
Persistence: for Ubuntu 19.10+ and Debian 10+
 sudo ./mkusb-minp -p file.iso /dev/sdx
Help:
./mkusb-minp -h
Version:
./mkusb-minp -v
Available devices (tran-MODEL  device),
 ata-SanDisk_SD6SB1M256G1001_143104401008  /dev/sda 
 ata-WDC_WD4002FYYZ-01B7CB1_K3GWHAEB  /dev/sdb 
 usb-Kanguru_SS3_07073AA487E2C547-0:0  /dev/sdc 
 ata-PLDS_DVD-RW_DH16AESH_S0C19802ZVJ8EZ00N797  /dev/sr0 
$

See details at

help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb/minp - small, can clone and also make persistent live drives

The method for persistence

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I hope you are curious and test mkusb-minp, particularly making persistent live drives. I am very interested in feedback

[sudodus]

New version: mkusb version 12.3.3

New version: mkusb-minp 2.2

The PPA at Launchpad includes versions of mkusb for all current versions of Ubuntu and also the new developing version 19.10, Eoan.

- dus: starter menu: text mode read command updated
- dus-persistent: upefi for debian buster
- dus-wipe: partprobe added near the end

mkusb was tested today, 2019-10-11, with a Lubuntu Eoan iso file from the testing tracker, and also with Debian Buster (10), and it works as it should.

- Version 12.3.3 is uploaded to the unstable PPA, ppa:mkusb/unstable.
- Version 12.3.3 is uploaded to the stable PPA, ppa:mkusb/ppa.

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If you run standard Ubuntu, you need an extra instruction to get the repository Universe. (Kubuntu, Lubuntu ... Xubuntu have the repository Universe activated automatically.)

Text after the # character is not used by the shell interpreter, it is a comment for the human eye.

sudo add-apt-repository universe  # this line only for standard Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mkusb/ppa          # stable PPA for regular usage
# sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mkusb/unstable   # PPA for development and testing; remove the # in front of the command to use it
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mkusb mkusb-nox

sudo apt-get install usb-pack-efi  # for persistent live drives that work in UEFI and BIOS mode with 32-bit iso files

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The new mkusb-minp is described at the following Ubuntu help page,

help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb/minp - small, can clone and also make persistent live drives from an Ubuntu Eoan (19.10) iso file

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Edit: After testing mkusb 12.3.3 is uploaded to the stable PPA and available for regular usage.

[DuckHook]

sudodus…

Just a humble thank you for all the time and effort you have put into this awesome app for all these years.

[C.S.Cameron]

Dito!

[sudodus]

@DuckHook and @C.S.Cameron,

Thanks for the friendly words

[sudodus]

mkusb version 12.3.3 for version 20.04 LTS, Focal Fossa

The PPA at Launchpad includes versions of mkusb for the new developing version 20.04 LTS, Focal Fossa

mkusb could not be tested today, 2019-10-18, with an Ubuntu daily iso file from the testing tracker, focal-desktop-amd64.iso, because there is no such file yet. So we are ready for testing, and if you have set the repositories to fossa and have an early Ubuntu fossa installed system, please try mkusb.

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If you run standard Ubuntu [persistent] live, you need an extra instruction to get the repository Universe. (Kubuntu, Lubuntu ... Xubuntu have the repository Universe activated automatically.)

Text after the # character is not used by the shell interpreter, it is a comment for the human eye.

sudo add-apt-repository universe  # this line only for standard Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mkusb/ppa          # stable PPA for regular usage
# sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mkusb/unstable   # PPA for development and testing; remove the # in front of the command to use it
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mkusb

sudo apt-get install usb-pack-efi  # for persistent live drives that work in UEFI and BIOS mode with 32-bit iso files

[sudodus]

mkusb works in focal fossa

Today I found an Ubuntu Focal Fossa iso file in the iso-tracker, and I could use it to install mkusb from the focal PPA.

It was a bit clunky, because add-apt-repository was not present. I had to edit the sources.list file and import the relevant gpg key for ppa:mkusb manually for it to work.

This is what I did:

- in my working computer I created a persistent live drive from the Ubuntu Focal Fossa iso file.
- booted the Ubuntu Focal Fossa persistent live system and installed mkusb
- used mkusb to create another persistent live system (Lubuntu 18.04.1 LTS)
- tested that the created system (Lubuntu 18.04.1 LTS) works correctly.

See the attached screenshot.

Conclusion:

We can expect mkusb to continue to work, but wait until Focal is more complete (e.g. that add-apt-repository is available) until you test it.

[sudodus]

Buggy ext3 file system in persistent live drive made by Rufus

We are happy that @Akeo has developed Rufus to create persistent live drives using a partition for persistence. It works, and seems to work well with small partitions for persistence.

However, if you try with bigger USB pendrives, 16 GB, 32 GB etc. there will be increasing problems, at least when created in some Windows 10 computers (updated and upgraded to be up to date 2019-10-23). It is really bad with an SSD of 60 GB.

I noticed that the ext3 file system is buggy. When running the command

sudo e2fsck -f /dev/sdxn

where x is the drive letter and n is the partition number for the 'casper-rw' partition for persistence, several errors were found and they could be fixed.

The symptom in a persistent live drive is that part of the space is occupied, 'lost', and it seems that it increases dramatically with the size of the partition.

Examples (size of USB drive, the partition for persistence gets what is left, when the system is written)

Size  Loss
 GB   GiB

  4    0.3
 16    4.6
 60   40    # Yes, 40 GiB are lost in this case !!!

GB decimal, GiB binary (because this is what is shown by most tools)

Details are shown in the attached screenshots. Please use the file name to identify each screenshot.

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There are three alternatives to fix this problem:

1. Ask @Akeo to fix the problem. I have started doing that.

Edit { Link to a bug report }

2. Repair the ext3 file system with e2fsck. I have tried that and it works, but you need a working linux operating system for it. It does not work when booted into the drive itself, even when booted live-only, because a log directory seems mounted to the partition and it is busy, cannot be unmounted.

3. Install another tool in Windows, and create a fresh file system in the partition for persistence, to format it (or should we say re-format it). I have tried with AOMEI Partition Assistent Standard Edition (freeware), and it works (better than Rufus).

[sudodus]

mkusb version 12.3.4

mkusb 12.3.3 - dus: p_starter: text mode read command updated - dus-persistent: upefi for debian buster - dus-wipe: part_info: added partprobe mkusb 12.3.4 - dus-persistent: added delays at 'tweak 3 grub.cfg'

These are minor tweaks or bug-fixes to make mkusb more robust.

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Unstable 1: You get/update this new version of mkusb from the unstable PPA via the following commands

sudo add-apt-repository universe  # this line only for standard Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mkusb/unstable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mkusb mkusb-nox                # to install
# sudo apt-get dist-upgrade                         # upgrade to current version (with all other upgrades), only for installed systems

sudo apt-get install mkusb guidus dus mkusb-common  # to upgrade all mkusb basic components including dus

sudo apt-get install usb-pack-efi  # for persistent live drives that work in UEFI and BIOS mode with 32-bit iso files

and you get only the version dus (alone or with guidus) via one of the following commands (if you don't care about mkusb-11, mkusb-nox, mkusb-bas)

sudo apt-get install dus
sudo apt-get install guidus

Unstable 2: This new version of mkusb might also be available via this link: mkusb/gui#from_phillw.net.
Unstable 3: There are tarballs with only dus and guidus (mkusb version 12) as a last alternative.

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Stable: mkusb version 12.3.4 is in the stable PPA. The policy is to test mkusb for a long time and in several environments before it is uploaded to the stable PPA (unless there are minor tweaks or bug-fixes).

You get/update this version via the following commands

sudo add-apt-repository universe  # this line only for standard Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mkusb/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mkusb mkusb-nox                # to install
# sudo apt-get dist-upgrade                         # upgrade to current version (with all other upgrades), only for installed systems
sudo apt-get install mkusb guidus dus mkusb-common  # to upgrade all mkusb basic components including dus

sudo apt-get install usb-pack-efi  # for persistent live drives that work in UEFI and BIOS mode with 32-bit iso files

and you get only the version dus (alone or with guidus) via one of the following commands (if you don't care about mkusb-11, mkusb-nox, mkusb-bas)

sudo apt-get install dus
sudo apt-get install guidus

[sudodus]

Do It Yourself method to make a USB boot drive with or without persistence

The following Ubuntu help page has been debugged and updated,

help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/iso2usb/diy

The main new feature is that there are instructions to use a partition for persistence. This makes it possible to use big USB drives, not only pendrives but also memory cards and SSDs connected via USB adapters, and take advantage of the whole drive [remaining drive space behind the live system] for persistence.

Another new feature is that there are detailed instructions for Debian 10 live alongside the improved instructions for Ubuntu.

Please notice that if you need only boot in UEFI mode, you need not use the image file 'grub-do-it-yourself.img.xz', which provides a BIOS bootloader. Then it is enough to use the method that I learned from @oldfred:

Create a partition with a FAT32 file system on the USB drive and extract the content of the iso file into that partition. If you want a [second] partition for persistence, you should make that [first] partition rather small, only big enough to extract 'everything' from the iso file plus maybe some drive space for transfer of data between Windows and Ubuntu.