[SOLVED] Installing and running Zorin 6 from a USB stick

I am still a newcomer to Linux, and I am getting enthusiastic about Zorin.

I have run Live sessions from the Zorin CD/DVD, and also from a USB stick (with persistence so that changes are saved). That enabled me (with the help and advice of madvinegar and others, in a separate thread) to overcome the initial problem, that Zorin could not make a wifi connection because it did not have the right Broadcom driver for my laptop. Now I have the driver in Zorin on the USB, and I'm happy!

Now for the next question. I do not (yet) want to install Zorin as dual boot on my hard drive alongside WinXP, because that would mean messing with the Windows MBR and also dealing with the presence of Dell Media Direct on my Inspiron 1520 (which occupies a special partition and can apparently cause headaches when trying to create or change partitions on the hard drive).

Instead, I want to actually install Zorin on to a 32GB USB stick from the Live CD/DVD. This means I can avoid the risk of messing up my hard drive or changing my current Windows XP setup. It would also allow me to use it on more than one laptop (I have two).

In theory I believe this is just the same as installing it on to any other drive, and I need to use the "Something Else" option during the install process. But the task of partitioning is all new to me, and I have a few questions before I attempt this.

i) should I format and partition the USB stick before I start, or do it during the install process?
ii) if I format first, do I then have to "unmount" the USB drive/partitions during the actual install in order to create/assign the various different partitions, and "remount" them again afterwards? ( I have not quite grasped the concept of "mounting"....)
iii) I know I have to take care to ensure the bootloader is installed on the USB stick too (which will be dev/sdb....)
iv) I believe it would be sensible, since I have a 32GB USB stick, to have a "root" partition, a "swap" partition, and a separate "home" partition. What size should each of these be? (my laptops have 2GB and 1GB of RAM respectively). How much space does Zorin need for "root" if I also create a separate home partition? Which ones should be primary, extended and/or logical (I am not sure I understand the distinctions)?
v) And while I know the root has to be ext4, and the swap is swap, should the home be ext4 or FAT32?

Apologies if these questions seem elementary. But once I start the process, I know I will be confronted by options and choices as I go through the install sequence. I can cope with choosing languages and time zones - but I need to make sure I am choosing the right options when it comes to the partitioning.

Hi,

this is a good starting point:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/16988/ho ... sk-creator

Read it carefully!.

Thanks, Wolfman...

I have had a quick (not necessarily careful...) look through that linked thread. It seems to offer at least three ways of doing the job - using Testdrive (whatever that is), setting up a Virtual machine (ugh, why get complicated...) , or just installing from a LiveCD/DVD direct to a USB stick as if it were simply another drive. This last seems simplest.

Some of the answers/comments seem to confuse installing a Live CD/DVD on to a USB stick so as to run Live sessions from the USB stick (been there, done that, it's how I'm using Zorin at present) with the idea of actually installing the OS on to a USB stick (which is what I want to do now).

Some of the comments in that thread seem to suggest it is a straightforward process:

I did it using the following method :

insert liveCd and plug USB key.

select install ubuntu.

chose advanced when selecting drive partition.

chose your USB key partition as target.

CAUTION : chose your USB partition for the grub loader.

After installation process, boot on your USB key not your hard drive

..... and ..............

I have made live-usb flash drives in the past using the usb-disk-creator tool. Then booted it and done a 'full normal install' from that flash drive #1 to a second flash drive. Same as one would do to a real hard drive. Never really had an issue other then needing to keep an eye on where grub gets installed to.

Those comments seem to describe exactly what I want to do. But they don't give the details I was seeking about what kind of partitions, and what sizes, to choose when you actually go through the steps in the installation process.

Hi,

I wouldn't partition the USB stick but just choose that drive to install!.

If you want a full partition tut (USB not included!):

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2601

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4848

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Howto ... ningBasics

see also:

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal- ... -as-1-2-3/

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/creating-a ... b-from-cd/

http://www.wikihow.com/Install-a-Linux- ... plications

Basically, "Point & Shoot", select the USB as the target drive and install directly to it!. Boot the PC with the stick still in!.

Look also this regarding partitioning:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6785

If you use bigger than 4 Gb drive so you can make a second partition to use as "home directory" to save data. Othervice that additional left over space can not be used for anything. Make the partitioning using GParted before installing the os. and the persistent file to the drive.

I have not experience of "full" installation of an os. to a USBdrive but I suppose that you should have a USB 3.0 drive and port available. In full installation the data is extracted form from .iso file and the amount of transferred data between RAM and USBdrive is bigger. If only USB 2.0 is available so it may run really slowly. Only in a USB 3.0 spec. the r/w speeds are on the level of internal HDD drive. In any case use a USB 2,0/3.0 specified drive so you can run it also a computer having USB 3.0 port.

I am really interested in hearing the results of that try to make a full installation to a USB Flash Drive.

See also:

http://www.linuxliveusb.com/en/help/faq/persistence

http://www.linuxliveusb.com/

Wolfman wrote:Hi,

I wouldn't partition the USB stick but just choose that drive to install!.

If you want a full partition tut (USB not included!):

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2601

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4848

...............

Basically, "Point & Shoot", select the USB as the target drive and install directly to it!. Boot the PC with the stick still in!.

Thanks, Wolfman, that's very helpful. Those two tutorials you linked to are superb - they covered almost all the areas about which I was uncertain.

The other links (to the pendrive site) were mostly familiar to me. I used UUI, from that site, to create the USB from which I am now running Live sessions of Zorin.

One reason why I am looking to do a full install of Zorin on to a USB stick is that it is really easy to boot from a USB stick on my Dell laptop: I don't even have to make a permanent change to the boot order in BIOS, just hit F12 when starting and choose the USB option. This is just as simple as a dual boot. It is still just a two-click operation and straight choice on startup. It avoids any messing with the Windows XP on my hard drive. And it means no need to have "grub" replacing the Windows MBR.

Among the interesting points I picked up from your tutorials were (i) if installing on to a completely empty drive (like a brand new USB) then I assume it is sensible to format it first to ensure it is formatted to FAT32 so that Linux can see and use it. (ii) When partitioning for Linux, it is sensible to create the swap space first, then the root then the home partitions. (iii) all of them can be 'primary' partitions (I think...?) if you don't have any other pre-existing partitions on the drive (ie if you don't have any pre-existing Windows/NTFS already there).

And - as a comment by madvinegar reminded us - it is crucial to check that the bootloader goes on to the USB, and not (by default....) into the main hard drive (which is where my Windows XP resides!)

On a 32GB USB stick, I am thinking 1GB for swap, 20GB for root, and the remaining 11GB for home. Or maybe i could get away with 1GB swap, 15GB root, and 16GB home?

I have seen some suggestions that on a small drive (like a USB) it is enough to create a swap and a root partition, so that the OS can use whatever it needs within root and the rest is available for home .... until it fills up! But I can see the sense in separating root and home so that any upgrade or reinstall of the OS can be done without affecting the files and docs stored in the home folder.

I notice that henriolavi is interested to see how a full install on to a USB (as distinct from just a LiveCD/DVD iso with persistence) will work. He is right that running on USB2 won't be that quick. I plan to install Zorin to a 32GB USB3 stick even though my laptops only have USB2 ports, (a) because a USB 3 stick will run at the port's max speed when older USB2 sticks would be slower; and (b) because I expect I will before too long be using a newer laptop with USB3 ports, so would then be able to continue using the USB stick with Zorin installed on it, in a newer machine. We'll see how it goes!

Hi,

glad it helped, I don't do persistence as I can't be bothered to be honest!.

Can we mark this as solved now?.

Yes, I'm marking this as solved. Haven't actually done the install yet, but on the basis of all the info and links in this thread, I hope all will be well.

Thanks again for all the wise advice.

EDIT AND UPDATE: I have now done a "full install" of Zorin 6 on to a 32GB USB3 stick. The process was very easy - thanks largely to the forum tutorials (thanks again Wolfman), I am now running Zorin from the stick plugged into my Dell Inspiron 1520, which only has USB2 ports. But it seems quick enough for me (I'm not into streaming or gaming).

I added the Broadcom wireless driver using the advice madvinegar provided in an earlier thread, and Zorin runs happily either wired or wireless. The Update Manager kicked in after install, and has updated flawlessly. The Software Centre works well too: I have already added Clementine for music, which i find much more user-friendly than Rhythmbox or Guayadeque.

So what's not to like? I am a very satisfied convert to Zorin!

FURTHER EDIT: I have read in some forums that installing an OS on to a USB stick risks "wearing out" the USB stick memory because running from a USB requires a lot of read and write cycles, and flash drives have a limited read/write capability. Just thought I would note this in case others have comments, and also in case anyone else is planning to do the same....