[Trusted Developer]

How To Prep A Linux USB Flash Drive When All Else Fails

After trying fruitlessly to make a Linux hard drive on a Mac I finally found a way around it.

You will need:
A Computer (assuming your on a mac)
A Linux Distro

Installing Linux With Virtual Box to a Flash Drive

1.Download Ubuntu or another form of Linux and VirtualBox at VirtualBox.

2. Install Virtual Box and open it. In the top left hand corner click “New”. When establishing VM Name and OS Type Select Linux > Ubuntu.

3. Choose a memory size and make a virtual hard drive.

4. Now click “Settings” next to “New”.

5. Plug in your flash drive.

6. Click “Ports” then click the USB icon. Select your flash drive. Now your done with that.

7. Click the CD with the plus at the bottom left of the screen. Then click “Add CD/DVD device” Select the CD named “Empty”. Now click the folder with the arrow. A window titled “Virtual Media Manager” then find your EasyPeasy file.

8. Now close out the settings and click “Start”. It will boot EasyPeasy.

9. Next once booted go to Systems>Startup Disk Maker and open it.

10. Find your flash drive and erase it even if it already empty.

11. Next go to the bottom and click “Make Startup Disk”

12. Wait until it’s installed.

13. Reboot your computer and click F12 or whatever key is used to boot off a drive. Be sure USB BIOS is enabled.

14. Be forewarned, booting from a flash drive takes FOREVER.

15. Now your done. Install following a guide if your dual booting.

[Isthmus]

Originally Posted by merry558

hi everyone...i am merry .....i want to install linux operating system in my laptop..can it work good in window xp?

sure, you can run it in a virtual machine from within windows, but there is no need to do that. Instead, you can do a live CD, DVD or USB and boot directly from that medium. That allows you to run the program as it is intended to be seen without installing anything on the computer until you decide to do so.

If you are interested, Live CD's are an easy and cheap way of testing a distro. However, short of installing it, I find that nothing works as well as a live USB, as those are able to reproduce an OS in close to native install performance. Most distros call for a 2gb thumb drive, but I prefer to use a 4gb drive and give myself the room to try larger live DVD ISO files on the USB. Amazon.com is a good place to find cheap 4GB USB thumb drives (I went with Kingston) and they are very easy to reformat and reuse if you want to try different Distros. If you're interested in creating a live USB, download and use the following Windows based program (Unetbootin is also available as a Linux package):

UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads

If you would still rather run live CD's and live DVD's, then download the following windows based program:

ISO Recorder v 2

Please note that some distros are not made to have Unetbootin create a live USB out of them. You can always create them manually if unetbootin is unable, just look for the method in that distros community forum. Sometimes your best option will be to run a live CD/DVD.

Also keep in mind that Most ISO files are large (between 500 and 700 MB's on average, with most falling in the +/-600mb range). Most offer download mirrors, but those can take the better part of an hour to download on a fast internet connection. Consider downloading a torrent client (I recommend µTorrent and downloading your ISOs with that - it should make the process much faster.

[Trusted Developer]

There is no disk drive on the Dell Mini 10v. I did this all on the mac.

[piratesmack]

Some distros (At least Fedora, Mandriva, and Arch) are now using 'hybrid ISOs'.
These can be written to a USB drive using raw disk writing tools.

You should be able to create a Live USB for those distros on a Mac by following these instructions:
Putting installation media on a USB key - ArchWiki

EDIT:
I asked the PartedMagic developer to start using hybrid ISO's, and he said he would:
http://forums.partedmagic.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1190

PartedMagic comes with Unetbootin preinstalled, so you can use that to create other live USBs.
And since it runs completely in RAM, you can even use the same USB stick you used to boot Pmagic

[reflex]

Originally Posted by piratesmack

Some distros (At least Fedora, Mandriva, and Arch) are now using 'hybrid ISOs'.
These can be written to a USB drive using raw disk writing tools.

You should be able to create a Live USB for those distros on a Mac by following these instructions:
Putting installation media on a USB key - ArchWiki

Thanks for the info. Now, I won't mistakenly call someone a retard for using a command like "sudo dd if=disc.iso of=/dev/sdb" to write a ISO to a USB drive

[fdalbor]

While unetbooten is a nice program I find LinuxLive a better solution for putting Linux on a bootable USB drive. It allows you to set aside a persestance area where you can save files and changes in the OS. give it a shot and you will not be sorry. I have used both and fine LinuxLive not only easier to use but more stable. fdalbor