Operation USB Drive Linux

Well, these days my Computer is "Ram bharose". One of the RAM stick is not working properly & it is still time before I upgrade.

So, I have two options, either have my own Linux distro which boots from Pen Drive of 1 GB or portable apps in Windows environment. Now I already have my whole arsenal of Portable apps for Windows like Portable Firefox or Portable Pidgin etc, but also wanted to have a Linux distribution which I can boot anywhere & work on my apps.

The apps I need in such Portable Linux, which I guess should be helpful to others looking for similar config is

1) Pidgin

2) Firefox

3) A tool for opening RAR ZIP etc

4) A notepad application

5) A word application

6) VLC Media Player

7) A blue tooth application to send files to & from my K750i.

8 ) KDE UI

9) NTFS read Write Support

10) A password manager

11) M I missing something?

Now, I know I can install these software on any distribution, but I want a distribution which I can install & boot from using my pen drive of 1 GB, it has to be small. I tried DSL but I don't like XFCE. Anything else I can try? I first need an OS which I can boot like that, which is also slim in HD usage then I will install these applications.

Ur smiley option i.e 8 ,KDe cannot be fulfilled coz AFAIK KDE requires 300+ MB and u'll be needing disk space to store ur documents also. U can try fluxbox instead of XFce. U can improve Fluxbox to look better than Gnome and Kde.

U didn't specify how much RAm "working" u have! If u have 512 MB, then Knoppix is the way to go! It will support all ur requirements, but not sure about VLC.

For HD usage, I guess Gentoo wud be good. Coz I have read a lot that it gives performance compared to other Linux distros coz it compiles directly from the source on YOUR machine!!

On a second thought, do u have a graphics card installed? Coz I too thought that my RAM is a goner coz the windows used to reboot a lot. But then I found it was the graphic card that was heating the whole box. So I removed it and all went fine, back to normal!!

gx_saurav said:
8 ) KDE UI

forget it! don't like xfce? well it is one of the most beautiful WMs out there. just needs customisation thats it.. and u can make it look jus like ur windows or mac os... or even beautiful.

i'd recommend gentoo too. completely customisable. since the installation will be wid limited resources full customisation is the key here.

its a little long procedure re,

try this
*www.pendrivelinux.com/2007/01/25/usb-x-ubuntu-610

after copying everything to usb, try to install the softwares u want... may be they will install coz usb is not restricted for any softwares installation like in CDs. Hope this method works.

it has gnome.

i was also thinking of burning on USB, if i succeed i will inform u.

.... will do once i have time.

mediator said:
Ur smiley option i.e 8 ,KDe cannot be fulfilled coz AFAIK KDE requires 300+ MB and u'll be needing disk space to store ur documents also. U can try fluxbox instead of XFce. U can improve Fluxbox to look better than Gnome and Kde.

Ok, i will try that after a while. I have 1 GB Pen drive & I will spare about 400 MB minimum for my files.

U didn't specify how much RAm "working" u have! If u have 512 MB, then Knoppix is the way to go! It will support all ur requirements, but not sure about VLC.

I forgot to mention, its not on my computer, I will use this to boot on cyber cafes etc which usually have 128 or 256 MB RAM

On a second thought, do u have a graphics card installed? Coz I too thought that my RAM is a goner coz the windows used to reboot a lot. But then I found it was the graphic card that was heating the whole box. So I removed it and all went fine, back to normal!!

[/QUOTE]

Graphics card is not a problem

i'd recommend gentoo too. completely customisable. since the installation will be wid limited resources full customisation is the key here

hmm...but it compiles. If I install it on my computer in pen drive, will it work if i take it to a cyber cafe of friends laptop?

Can't I slim KDE & install only whats needed.? I m downloading DSL, hope to make it look a bit better. Will tell here my requirements after I have installed it in first VMWare & then Pen drive.

check out pendrivelinux.com and choose a distro.. I wd say knoppix or pclinuxos

Vish

I am staying away from Ubuntu here, its toooo big.

Hey, I found one thing. I can run slax from pen drive too, right. But the slax modules are old. Can anyone tell me how to make Slax Modules. If I can make my own slax modules then it solves all problems.

I will be back after I have installed DSL & Slax both on VMWare, like some pen drive.

M

gx_saurav said:
3) A tool for opening RAR ZIP etc

unrar and unzip

gx_saurav said:
4) A notepad application

Try nano, if you're not averse to CLI sometimes, it's quite easy. Or else try something like mousepad

gx_saurav said:
5) A word application

abiword

gx_saurav said:
7) A blue tooth application to send files to & from my K750i.

KDE or Gnome bluetooth framework

gx_saurav said:
8) KDE UI

else try enlightenment 17. It has some nice looking themes and is quite light. I run it on a PC having 128MB of RAM.

gx_saurav said:
Now, I know I can install these software on any distribution,

Slax is good enough.

pathiks said:
check out pendrivelinux.com and choose a distro.. I wd say knoppix or pclinuxos

Slax 6 RC4 download is on it way.

I also require proper NTFS read write support in this Linux Distribution.

I m looking to download PCLinuxOS MiniMe, but I guess it is now scrapped as I m unable to find any download links for it. It already has KDE which is a plus point. I was only able to find a VMWare Image of it. Is PClinux OS based on debian? or does it have synaptic like Ubuntu? That will solve lots of problems too.

2nd option is Slax which again already has KDE & Slax 6 RC4 is said to have NTFS-3g integrated. The thing I like about Slax is that applications are simply modules so I can update them easily in the pen drive itself. Later on when Slax 6 final releases I can simply install that in the pen drive, use my old configurations & settings, & application modules too.

So, first I m going to try to make Slax work for me, if someone finds PCLinux OS MiniMe then plz provide the link to download. I still am looking for some tutorial to make .mo from .deb

gx_saurav said:
Is PClinux OS based on debian? or does it have synaptic like Ubuntu? That will solve lots of problems too.

pclinuxos is an rpm based distro. however it has synaptic as its package manager (wid apt under the hood) and is quite easy to install/remove software... downloadin and resolving dependencies is quite easy

infra_red_dude said:
pclinuxos is an rpm based distro. however it has synaptic as its package manager (wid apt under the hood) and is quite easy to install/remove software... downloadin and resolving dependencies is quite easy

Good, dependency problem is solved, now give me a link to download PCLinuxOS .93a MiniMe CD, i am unable to find it.

Slax 6 RC4 is not booting from USB drive. Or may I m doing something wrong. I followed the directions given at Pendrivelinux.com for syslinux.exe, doesn't boot.

Still searching for PCLinuxOS MiniMe CD

gx_saurav said:
Good, dependency problem is solved, now give me a link to download PCLinuxOS .93a MiniMe CD, i am unable to find it.

............Still searching for PCLinuxOS MiniMe CD

*linux.softpedia.com/get/System/Operating-Systems/Linux-Distributions/PCLinuxOS-MiniME-11665.shtml

*www.pendrivelinux.com/2006/09/19/all-in-one-usb-pclinuxos-minimezip

i'd recommend that u do all the customisations, make an iso and burn it to a cd. hafing it on a usb flash drive is not that good an idea. the frequent read/ writes will shorten the life of the usb stick. u may however, widout any problem install it on a portable hard disk.

Change of plans

After infra_red_dude's advice, I have decided that I will not install Linux on my pen drive, it can really hamper the life of the USB Drive this way.

I have a 40 GB external HD which has one 25 GB FAT32 partition & one 13 GB FAT32 Partition. I have decided that I will install some sort of Linux in that 13 GB partition & leave the rest of 25 GB partition for file storage.

As said, I m right now downloading PCLinuxOS MiniMe CD, also I saw Zenwalk core Ultra for only 230 MB, it is even smaller then PClinuxOS, I guess I can install KDE on Zenwalk core which comes without anything.

I m inclining towards PCLinuxOS MiniMe cos it already has most of the things I need, there is Kopete so I won't need Pidgin too, also KDE is already there.

Hard disk space is not a concern anymore, but low RAM requirment is still a concern, I hope PCLinux is worthwhile

@gx_saurav
You speak of low RAM and KDE.
You should know these dont go together

For low RAM systems go for XFCE or E17.
E17 is really lightweight and got loads of eye candy.
I personally use zenwalk on a 128 meg system and it boots in less than 15 seconds.Zenwalk comes with XFCE but the zenwalk forums have packages of E17 if you want it.

Regards...
ray

M

gx_saurav said:
Hard disk space is not a concern anymore, but low RAM requirment is still a concern, I hope PCLinux is worthwhile

Go for elive, it's based on debian, has apt and runs enlightenment17 which is a lightweight window manager, but still has pretty nice looks and effects.

can anyone tell me which version of kernel is been used in latest damnsmalllinux version 3.4 ??

coz dsl version 3 is using 2.4 and thats pretty old one.

M

No, 2.4 is still under development. Just that it doesn't add new features, just bug and security fixes. Though there maybe unofficial development patches for it.

rayraven said:
@gx_saurav
You speak of low RAM and KDE.
You should know these dont go together

Hmm....

Zenwalk comes with XFCE but the zenwalk forums have packages of E17 if you want it.

I see Zenwalk Standerd is 450 MB, well will it install & boot via USB Harddisk? How do I install applications in Zenwalk? Like in case of Ubuntu, to install Firefox I can either download a .deb file or synaptic, but what about Zenwalk? What is the size of Zenwalk Standerd after installation in harddisk.?

You should assume that the computers in cyber cafes on which I will use it will have maximum 256 MB RAM.

Zenwalk standard takes like a gig of install space i guess.
Dont remember exact value....

Well as for packages,Zenwalk uses tgz's like debian based distros use deb's.
Since zenwalk is based on slackware most slackware packages work well with it.Also Zenwalk itself has a good list of apps on its repository.
I barely had to compile any apps on my system.
To install packages you can either use xnetpkg the package management software of zenwalk or download tgz's ans run 'installpkg' as root.

In case you are free with synaptic you can install slapt-get & gslapt which are ports of apt-get and synaptic for slackware based distro's.

Regards...
ray

Oh...k, so what if I want to do this

1) Install ZenWalk core

2) Install XFCE or Enlightment, whatever suits me a bit. I don't need eye candy, I just need good Window management & taskbar features. So, how do I install XFCE on the CLI system & start X.org?

3) Now since I have a GUI & Core system, I will install only what I need. The list is given above.

I found that Zenwalk Standard is 1.1 GB atleast, which includes many thing. So using the zenwalk core method I can save some HD space further. Those synaptic like systems are a must anyway.

Upon inquiry, PCLinuxOS MiniMe is 300 MB only, & it can install in the HD too. it only comes with basic KDE & not with any extra packages, so I can skip installation of KDE web browser etc in favor of firefox. (Example). 100 MB is left, lets see how slow it is.

if u are going wid zenwalk then the default window manager is xfce. that is pretty usable and customisable. plus if change ur mind abt eyecandy it can do that too. to get an idea, jus check out the screenshots of the latest version of dreamlinux. this uses xfce wid not that much customisation. its a light, clean and usable WM.

regarding ur requirements, whatever u've mentioned... u'll get almost everything in pclinuxos. installing everything in zenwalk then removing stuff etc.. is unnecessary. 1gb is overkill for ur requirements. try out pclinux os first. if it doesn't suit then try customising zenwalkm. u may also try gentoo. the perfect distro for customisation.

edit: if u are so inclined at pclinuxos but worry abt kde then try Granular. it can be called 'pclinuxos wid xfce preinstalled'. i dunno if a readymade usb install is available. but u can try it.

Hmm...Ok, let me try PCLinux OS first, if it is good then balle balle....

I will try Granular if PCLinuxOS doesn't work for me. Granular is 697 MB, so it must be having everything, but since its XFCE, the RAM usage will be low. Can't I lower the RAM usage in KDE?

See i can live with a non good looking themes, as long as I get good windrow management & all the apps I need

V

gx_saurav said:
Hmm...Ok, let me try PCLinux OS first, if it is good then balle balle....

I will try Granular if PCLinuxOS doesn't work for me. Granular is 697 MB, so it must be having everything, but since its KFCE, the RAM usage will be low. Can't I lower the RAM usage in KDE?

See i can live with a non good looking themse, as long as I get good WIndow management & all the apps I need

When I first encounter Pclinux OS it ended with failure because my 128 DDR RAM.. not only PCLinux's all the KDE variants act as the same way.. Only after increasing the RAM I can able to taste the fruit of installation..Granular has lot of eyehandy wall papers, iconset themes, a la Vista look, so it RAM requirements heavy not withstanding it had KDE and XFCE,, If you wanted MAC killer look and its functionality just simply install DreamLinux you wouldn't regret it..Out of Nine distros in my system this is the best distro that I havn't change for any other distro (Every week installing new distros is a hobby for me no other distro except PClinux Lilnux Mint and now dreamlinux remain same partition for more than Ten days)

wish you bests!!
Vaithy

aaaaa, this is what I hate about Linux, so many distros...plz let me tackle them one by one

vaithy said:
When I first encounter Pclinux OS it ended with failure because my 128 DDR RAM.. not only PCLinux's all the KDE variants act as the same way.. Only after increasing the RAM I can able to taste the fruit of installation

That was full PClinuxOS, what I m downloading is just 300 MB of PCLinuxOS MiniMe CD which is faster & slimmer then the real version.

I don't want really awsome eye candy. Just want a functional system, thats why I m eve ready to use XFCE if required. Let me try to install & boot PCLinuxOS first on my external HD & boot from it. No matter what I use, performance will be slow anyway due to working on the USB BUs

Yeh... If you want look 'n feel with XFCE then always try for DreamLinux.
It is the BEST LOOKING DISTRO I ever seen. Pretty low on resources & plays MP3, Movies also ;-)

gx_saurav said:
aaaaa, this is what I hate about Linux, so many distros...plz let me tackle them one by one

Too many choices tend to confuse, so shortlist 3 distro & stick to them

PCLinux OS compleated downloading just now. Hmm...wonder how it is different from any other KDE distribution.

Anyway, i tried it in VMWare right now, looks good. I will install it in the external HD tomorrow after exam, good night.

Operation damn small linux on USB... Mission Impossible

i tried running dsl from usb but i get this error message

Invalid or Damaged boot partition

this r the method how i installed / copied dsl on USB.

I tried with dsl 3.0 and dsl 3.4, both didnt work for me. :-(

From within Windows

Note: This guide assumes that your USB Flash Drive is "F:". Please replace "F" with the correct drive letter. There are two methods. For either method, you will need:

A USB flash drive (also called flash disk, pendrive, USB stick...)

Download "dsl-embedded.zip" from *www.damnsmalllinux.org/download.html (49Mb - The Torrent is recommended, and is often the fastest)

[edit]
Method I

Format your flash drive, from cmd.exe (the "DOS" window) type:FORMAT F: /fs:FAT32

Unzip "dsl-embedded.zip" to your flash drive (you could use the "Extract all files" built into XP with the destination as "F:\")

Download Syslinux - Syslinux can also be used by various other platforms, such as Unix.

Go to a command prompt and run syslinux for your drive from \win32\syslinux.exe (SYSLINUX F:)

reboot.

Note: Booting from USB may or may not work on your computer, mostly dependent on its age and bios setup. Some systems may have problems booting from USB drives formatted as FAT32. Changing the format step to FORMAT F: /fs:FAT may allow DSL to boot.

Method II

For this method, you will need "HP USB Key Utility for Windows", from *h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/download/23839.html?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

Install "HP USB Key Utility for Windows"

Plug in the flash disk and let windows find it (check the letter assigned to your flash disk i.e. F

Run Start Menu-> Programs -> HP System Tools -> HP Drive Key Boot Utility

On Welcome Screen - click Next

Select your flash drive letter (in my case F - click Next

Choose Create New or Replace Existing Configuration - click Next

Choose Hard Drive - click Next

Choose Create New Filesystem - click Next

Wait until the drive is formated...

Choose HP Firmware Flash Package - click Next, click Finish.

Now extract the content of the dsl-embedded.zip file directly onto your flash disk (F: in my case) overwriting all files(!!).

Done! Your DamnSmallLinux on USB is ready Reboot and try it!!

NOTE: This method would not work for me using DSL v3.3 with a Sandisk Cruizer Titanium USB drive.

Convert .iso to USB installation

With the guide from [1] you can install the .iso contents non-destructiveley onto a USB partition. Leave out all the partitioning or formating stuff to prepare an existing and used USB drive for DSL booting:
Note: All path names are examples! Please adapt or you may corrupt existing partitions or files.

Mount USB drive, with e.g. mount /dev/sda1 /flash - can be either FAT16 or FAT32!

Mount ISO image, with e.g. mount /tmp/dsl-3.2.iso /tmp/iso -o loop

Copy all contents from ISO to USB drive: cp -vr /tmp/iso/* /flash/

Rename and move syslinux files to root directory: mv /flash/boot/isolinux/* /flash/

Rename isolinux.cfg: mv /flash/isolinux.cfg /flash/syslinux.cfg

Unmount USB drive: umount /flash

Install syslinux: syslinux /dev/sda1 and eventually set the MBR boot flag for this partition (with fdisk).

but it runs in windows properly using qemu inbuilt in usb... but give the damn same error with all the methods while booting directly after bios. :-(

Mission Impossible == Failure.

gx_saurav said:
Change of plans

After infra_red_dude's advice, I have decided that I will not install Linux on my pen drive, it can really hamper the life of the USB Drive this way.

I have a 40 GB external HD which has one 25 GB FAT32 partition & one 13 GB FAT32 Partition. I have decided that I will install some sort of Linux in that 13 GB partition & leave the rest of 25 GB partition for file storage.

As said, I m right now downloading PCLinuxOS MiniMe CD

hey dude since ur not using usb... then why download mini version of pclinuxos... download the full version, i mean complete cd its around 700 MB thats it.

Re: Operation damn small linux on USB... Mission Impossible

^^^ I am still using USB. External USB Harddisk

I don't know whats the problem. I made a bootable CD of PCLinuxOS then I unplugged my real harddisk (just in case) & plugged my External HD via USB. Now I booted in PCLinuxOS & told it to install to a USB Disk as well as Hard disk & tried giving the path of my external HD, guess what...no external HD at /dev/sda1

Then I tried using the method given at pendrivelinux.com. It said "Cannot find kernel Image", so I wrote vmlinuz which ended up giving a BSOD

Any help? How do I boot from USB

Here's a link that might help!

reading that right now