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user2840685
Asked: 2020-04-12 13:13:10 +0800 CST

Issue creating live Ubuntu USB drive with persistent storage using Rufus

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I am trying to create a live Ubuntu 18.04 USB drive (16 GB) with persistent storage (1 GB) using Rufus 3.9.1624. I ran Rufus with the following settings. However, upon booting up the USB drive, I get the following screen, showing BusyBox and a initramfs prompt. I even tried using a different USB but got the same problem. But if I disable persistent storage, then it works (I also tried using a lower amount of persistent storage i.e. 100 MB). Is there anything else that needs to be configured to get it to work with persistent storage?

boot live-usb usb rufus

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    If you perform a quick search, you will find numerous posts with the error:

    mount: mounting /cow on /root failed: Invalid argument
overlay mount failed

    This is due to the fact that Ubuntu 18.04 has a MAJOR BUG that prevents it from mounting a persistent partition residing on the same drive, and this bug was only fixed in Ubuntu 19.10. So you must either:

    • Use Ubuntu 19.10 if you want to add peristence in Rufus, or
    • Disable persistence altogether

    Next time, please try to perform a search for the error message you get, as you should have found existing questions with the answer you seek.

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  2. Persistent Partitions 18.04

    From 14.04 to 18.04 persistent partitions did not work with Syslinux bootable USB's unless the casper-rw partition was on a seperate drive.

    Mkusb, https://help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb, uses Grub2 for booting and Persistent partitions do work.

    It is possible to download and install mkusb to your Live Rufus drive and use it to install Persistent Ubuntu on a second USB. It is also possible to install Persistent Ubuntu to the Live Rufus drive it was booted from. Can a Persistent Ubuntu install be made to the pendrive it was booted from?

    Change Live USB to Persistent USB

    It is also possible to change a Rufus Live USB to a Persistent USB using a casper-rw file: Can I convert a live Ubuntu USB to one with persistent memory? Size is limited to 4GB (or 8GB adding a home-rw file).

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