C.S.Cameron's questions

Every issue of Ubuntu LTS since 8.04, I have made a Full install of Ubuntu to USB flash drive, and recorded each step. Ubuntu installation method has changed since those days.

This has been intended to make a guide/check list for users wishing to create Full install Ubuntu family bootable drives that ares up to date for each generation.

For 22.04 these instructions should work for both creating and running the drive booted from either BIOS or UEFI.

The question is:

How to Create a Full Install of Ubuntu 22.04 to USB device with Step by Step instructions that work in either BIOS or UEFI.

I would like to set up Canonical hosted Ubuntu Base image for arm on my Android phone.

I need a simple step by step answer on how to get started.

I would like to be able to use Ubuntu to run apps on my phone, without rooting it.

See this question for app installation.

I am not ready to move on from Ubuntu 16.04 quite yet, However I want to keep my OS secure.

How do I activate Extended Security Maintenance, (ESM)?

I have installed Ubuntu on a 32GB USB and set it up like I want, Installing some programs and removing others. I have added custom wallpaper and splash screen.

How can I duplicate my modified OS and GMail it using Google Drive, (10GB limit), to friends and family for Christmas?

It should be able to run on any modern x86-64 computer that meets Ubuntu hardware specifications. It should be uninstallable using Rufus, Etcher, mkusb and Gnome-Disks. I would also like to be able to install it from a USB stick.

I have heard of and tried Remastersys, ISORespin, Ubuntu Customization Kit and Systemback, but now these all seem to be abandoned now.

Sometimes I work in VirtualBox and would like to be able to distribute the OS's I create there also.

I need a method of creating a Full install USB that boots both BIOS and UEFI.

Full install USB's have advantages over Persistent USB's as shown here: Running live usb on 2 different PC's

I want to be able to carry my customized Ubuntu 20.04 OS around with me and boot it off any x86-64 computer that meets Ubuntu minimum spec's.

I have seen a few methods of creating a Full install USB, but they are either not simple or do not boot BIOS and UEFI. The use of an image file seems like the best method.

How can I install Ubuntu if I only have a 512MB USB stick and do not want to use Mini CD ISO,

I have a Windows 10 computer and will be using Something else for the installation.

The creator of mkusb has released an Template Image for creating BIOS/UEFI boot partitions on a USB.

How can I use this image to boot ISO files from a USB?

Ubuntu 20.04 has made it easy to encrypt a bootable USB. This is good because USB flash drives are very easy to misplace. This can be a disaster if the disk contains an open email account or banking details.

When creating an encrypted drive of 20.04 with Ubiquity, the only way I see to guarantee not overwriting the internal drive. is to unplug it or use "Something else". Using "Something else" can get complicated and take a lot of time, and one thing easier to loose than a flash drive or micro SD card, is laptop screws.

How can I install encrypted 20.04 to a USB without unpluging the internal drive or using "Something else", and be sure that I will not overwrite the internal drive?

Persistent USB's used to be very slow compared to an installed system.

Nowadays Persistent USB's using 18.04 almost seem to be catching up to installed systems in speed, except perhaps when saving data.

I would like to benchmark Persistent USB 2 drives, (including toram), vs Persistent USB 3 drives vs Full install USB 3 drives vs Ubuntu installed on HDD and SSD with 18.04 and 20.04 versions.

So far I have made several runs using Unixbench software and the results looked very close when there is lots of RAM.

My question is what benchmark software would give the most useful comparison between USB, HDD and SDD speeds when using Ubuntu on them,?

I have just noticed that casper-rw persistent files are not working with Ubuntu 20.04 when booted from an ISO file.

Persistent partitions are again working, however persistent partitions do not work with "persistent-path" and only one persistent partition is allowed per USB drive.

This means that a multiboot, multipersistence USB drive is no longer possible using ISO files.

I have also just tested BIOS and UEFI boot modes of a Persistent UNetbootin USB drive and persistence does not seem to be working with Syslinux either.

Hopefully someone will point out where I am making an error, or show how to fix this problem.

Reference: How do I boot an ISO file from my drive using grub2 on UEFI machines?

Bug Report: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/1877222

Every issue of Ubuntu LTS since 8.04, I have made a Full install of Ubuntu to USB flash drive, and recorded each step..

This has been intended to make a guide/check list for users wishing to create Full install bootable flash drives.

Previously the procedure worked for BIOS boot if created in BIOS and for UEFI boot if created in UEFI.

This year for 20.04 the instructions should work for both creating and running the drive booted from either BIOS or UEFI.

The question is:

How to Create a Full Install of Ubuntu to USB device with Step by Step instructions that work in either BIOS or UEFI.

This question is asked often in Ask Ubuntu, sometimes with few hints about the situation.

Please provide a list of possible reasons to help troubleshoot the problem.

This question is asked often in Ask Ubuntu, sometimes with few hints about the situation.

There are many reasons a persistent USB might not boot

BIOS

• USB not set as first hard drive in BIOS

• Problems with BIOS or UEFI boot partitions or files.

• Secure Boot not turned off

• Drive not compatible with computers BIOS or UEFI boot mode

• Incorrect partition table

• Out of date BIOS/UEFI firmware

• Junk in volatile memory

GRUB

• Incorrect root partition in grub

• Incorrect path to ISO in grub

• Incorrect persistent-path, (if used), in grub

• Grub menuentry structure not suiting OS

• Incorrect file type for vmlinuz and initrd (.efi and .lz)

• The word "persistent missing from grub.cfg, txt.cfg, syslinux.cfg or text.cfg

PERSISTENCE (CASPER-RW & HOME-RW)

• Persistence partition is not ext file system

• Persistence file not on FAT filesystem

• Persistence file/partition reused from different version

• Persistence file full of data, or file update attempted

HARDWARE

• Corrupted flash drive

• Bad flash drive

• Not enough RAM to run Ubuntu

• Bad or incorrect USB socket

• Incompatible computer CPU

• Incompatible computer GPU

• Computer does not meet minimum specs, lighter version of 'Buntu required

• Motherboard voltage irregularities

• Motherboard BIOS limitation with multiple USB devices

• Computer does not boot USB's. Plop boot manager required.

SOFTWARE

• Bad MD5SUM / Corrupt ISO file

• Modified or corrupted ISO9660 partition

• USB removed from computer before ISO file is completely copied

• Out of date Boot drive creation tool

• User inexperienced with boot procedure

Please let me know of any reasons I have missed.

An up-vote for any currently valid original reason not on the list, A green check for best original list additions

Ubuntu 18.04 Full Disk Encryption now works on Full install flash drives.

The ability to separately encrypt home directory / home partition has been eliminated.

How to make an Encrypted BIOS/UEFI Flash Drive with different passwords for home and system using a script?

How can I make a mouse cursor look like a bug, ant, cockroach, bat or something else scary. (but not so scary that someone would smash the screen).

I have made a Full install bootable USB flash drive.

I would like to use it to install Ubuntu to a friends computer.

Can I install the Ubiquity installer to this flash drive?

How?

My wife's old computer is an Atom Mini ITX motherboard stuffed into a Chinese cooky tin. She runs Ubuntu from a USB3 external drive, (plugged into the USB2 ports).

When we travel, she plugs the bootable external drive into whatever computer is available and she is happy.

For her birthday I bought her a new Gigabyte Brix with plenty of USB3 ports and an i7 processor.

I want to do a setup that uses the Brix SSD for "/" and continues to use the home directory on the bootable external drive.

I do not want to have to sync home folders before and after traveling, just unplug the external drive and go, with everything already up to date.

What is the safest way to make such a setup?

A virus has corrupted my desktop's hard drive. How can I remove the remnants of Windows and install Ubuntu on it?

I have only a working mobile phone and one 4GB USB drive. The 4GB drive has vacation photos on it. I have no friends to borrow things from. What to do? Step by step please, any terminal commands should be familiar to a Ubuntu user.

This question is loosely based on Is extracting a ISO file to USB the same method as creating a bootable USB? which was deemed off topic by the DPP.

A person has a computer with no HDD but 16GB RAM and USB3 port.

Also has 16GB USB3 pendrive with Ubuntu Live on it, (Non persistent).

The computer is then started with the pendrive using toram.

The pendrive is then removed and reinserted while the O/S is running.

Is the O/S that is running in RAM able to do a "Full" install to the pendrive?

This was asked in:

Can I install Ubuntu onto a USB flash drive using the SAME flash drive?

However for some reason this unique question was marked as "Duplicate".

My question is:

Can anybody point me to a documented case of a flash drive dying from running Ubuntu?

People talk about the dangers and urge cautions, but I have researched on the internet and asked on Ubuntu Forms and have never found a single case of a (name brand) flash drive failure due to running Linux.

They say lifespan is 10000 to 100000 writes and up. With wear leveling this seems to work out to years or decades of normal use.

I am talking about Persistent and Full installs as there is no writing to disk with a Live install.