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Thread: xubuntu, unetbootin, and 4gb USB

  1. #1
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    xubuntu, unetbootin, and 4gb USB

    I wanted to make my pc load xubuntu from only a flash drive. I used unetbootin and had it make me a xubuntu 12.04 boot drive on a 4gb drive. I booted up my PC and got to the first options page where it says "Install", "Try without install", etc. I tried to install but I can't move forward because it says I need a minimum of 4.3 gb( I think it's 4.3 but can't remember now).

    I used the 12.04 Desktop 32bit version for unetbootin. I wasn't too sure about the "Alternate" version. Could this be why I can't use a 4gb stick?

    I might have to use another light-weight linux, if I need more than 4gb.

    Thanks

  2. #2
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    Re: xubuntu, unetbootin, and 4gb USB

    Quote Originally Posted by phillyj View Post
    I wanted to make my pc load xubuntu from only a flash drive. I used unetbootin and had it make me a xubuntu 12.04 boot drive on a 4gb drive. I booted up my PC and got to the first options page where it says "Install", "Try without install", etc. I tried to install but I can't move forward because it says I need a minimum of 4.3 gb( I think it's 4.3 but can't remember now).

    I used the 12.04 Desktop 32bit version for unetbootin. I wasn't too sure about the "Alternate" version. Could this be why I can't use a 4gb stick?

    I might have to use another light-weight linux, if I need more than 4gb.

    Thanks
    Well, I guess I missed the requirements at the bottom of the download page. Alternate only needs 2gb space to install.

  3. #3
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    Re: xubuntu, unetbootin, and 4gb USB

    You can run a live session from your unetbootin made pendrive. If you add a casper rw file or partition on the pendrive, the live session will be persistent. This means that personal files, installed packages, settings etc will be saved at reboot or poweroff, and you will have it the next time you run xubuntu.

    An alternative is to install xubuntu to another pendrive. This installation is the same kind of installation as if it were done to an internal drive. It is possible to install Lubuntu into a 4 GB pendrive, but I think Xubuntu needs more, in practical life it means an 8 GB pendrive.

    A regular live drive is OK with a basic USB pendrive, but a persistent live or regular installation will be very slow unless you have a fast USB pendrive. The flash hardware is often slower than the USB2 interface, but if you get a USB3 pendrive, the flash is much faster. Of course it works at its full speed in a USB3 port, but it is also much faster than a basic USB pendrive in a USB2 port. Yesterday Sandisk Extreme was a good choice, but check speed versus cost, the market is changing rapidly.

    What is it you want? Please tell us some more details, and you will get more detailed tips

  4. #4
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    Re: xubuntu, unetbootin, and 4gb USB

    Quote Originally Posted by sudodus View Post

    What is it you want? Please tell us some more details, and you will get more detailed tips
    I am planning a headless cryptocurrency mining rig. It's very basic, using a P4 and mATX mobo, and probably a AMD 7950. I need to finish modding the case with some more fans and test out the USB drive linux to see it will work for me. More of a learning experience for me.

    I would say I'm a medium level linux user, adept with the cmd line and able to install non-native drivers.

  5. #5
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    Re: xubuntu, unetbootin, and 4gb USB

    So you really don't need a system that is responding quickly to your commands. Once it is started, it will be number-crunching for long periods of time. Then you can install any *ubuntu, xubuntu is fine, into a basic 8 GB pendrive or a very old internal HDD (if you have one). You might also install Ubuntu Server without any graphic desktop environment. And as you have already noticed, the alternate installer is better with old or small systems, but xubuntu wants more space than lubuntu, so if you need to use the 4 GB pendrive, lubuntu is better. After installation Lubuntu 13.04 'Raring' occupies about 2 GB of the drive, but more is needed for temporary files during the installation.

    Edit: You also need some space for a swap partition, maybe only 512 MB, to avoid crashes at temporary high memory usage. What cpu and how much RAM is there in the computer?
    Last edited by sudodus; April 26th, 2013 at 07:39 PM.

  6. #6
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    Re: xubuntu, unetbootin, and 4gb USB

    Hmm, good points there. I just went with xubuntu because there is a guide to set it up for pendrive and mining.

    I only have a 4gb USB drive at the moment. Can't I just install xubuntu and remove the unnecessary programs. I only have 1Mbit DSL so downloading these distros take a while.

    I have the drive setup with Xubuntu 12.04 Alt version, so I will try it out later today. I'll have to look into that swap partition you mentioned.

    System Specs:
    Intel Pentium 4 515, 1Gb RAM. I took out the HDD to reduce unnecessary psu usage. The mobo has one PCIe slot so right now it's good enough for me.

  7. #7
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    Re: xubuntu, unetbootin, and 4gb USB

    I think it is hard to install to the same drive as you are installing from. So if you want to install 'a regular installed system' to a USB pendrive, you should install from another pendrive or from an optical drive, CD or DVD, or even from a HDD (internal or external).

    If you have a read/write optical drive, that would be straightforward: Make an install CD and install to the USB drive. Otherwise, you can clone the Xubuntu iso file to the HDD, and install from it to the pendrive. After that you can remove the HDD.

    Or the other way around might work better: Install Xubuntu to the HDD as usual and remove the application program packages that you don't need. Reduce the size of the root partition, make the swap small enough, and move it so that the whole system is small enough to squeeze into the USB pendrive. Use
    Code:
    gksudo gparted
    to edit the partitions.

    Then you are ready to clone the system. But I think you need to boot from a third drive (a CD, DVD, USB or HDD), because the source and target drives should not be mounted (not used at all) when you clone the system from the HDD to the USB drive.

    I would clone it with dd, nicknamed 'disk destroyer', because it does what you tell it to do without any questions, even if it is not what you want to do. So a typing error makes the difference between miracle and catastrophe. Don't use dd in a computer with a lot of personal files, unless you have a fresh backup!!! In this case, there should not be too much work invested, that can be lost. Assuming the HDD is found at /dev/sda and the USB pendrive at /dev/sdx, use this command

    Code:
    sudo dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdx bs=4096
    Running from a USB flash drive, you should use the mount option noatime in /etc/fstab for the root partition. It reduces the wear of the flash hardware. If you tamper with the swap partition and the UUID is changed, you need to edit its entry in /etc/fstab. Check with

    Code:
    sudo blkid

  8. #8
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    Re: xubuntu, unetbootin, and 4gb USB

    Are you saying that it is better to use a boot disc. Then I boot and install to the empty USB drive? Then what is the purpose of unetbootin? I thought it would install on my boot USB drive and delete unnecessary files.

  9. #9
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    Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish

    Re: xubuntu, unetbootin, and 4gb USB

    Once the computer is booted a Persistent install is as fast as a Full install.
    With a 4GB pendrive you will end up with about 3GB of persistence space.

    A persistent install takes longer to boot, is not as secure and shouldn't be updated.

    The Try/Install screen can be removed by overwriting syslinux.cfg with:

    Code:
    default persistent
    label persistent
      say Booting an Ubuntu persistent session...
      kernel /casper/vmlinuz
      append  file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper persistent initrd=/casper/initrd.lz quiet splash noprompt --

  10. #10
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    Re: xubuntu, unetbootin, and 4gb USB

    Unetbootin makes a boot USB drive, that will act similar to a boot CD. So you can say that Unetbootin will do what the burning program would do, but to a USB drive instead of a CD or DVD.

    The purpose of the boot USB drive is to perform the installation to an internal HDD in the standard case. If you want to install to a USB drive, you need to have the system to install from somewhere else.

    An alternative is a persistent live USB drive, which can be made with Unetbootin. It boots in the same way as without persistence, and in addition, there is a casper rw file (or partition), where you can save personal files, installed programs and system settings. A persistent live system is 'between a boot CD and an installed system'. It is easier to make than a full installation, and it is easier to break (so that you have to start with a blank casper rw file or a backup copy of it).

    The persistent live system might be the best choice for you, if the installation procedure to the USB pendrive is too complicated. When everything you need works, make a full backup, and you need not worry if it breaks.

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