- Installing to a USB Flash Drive
- From DSL Wiki
- Contents
- Introduction
- Requirements
- Tutorials
- Common Post-Install Questions
- References
- Damn small linux compact flash install
- Damn small linux compact flash install
- How to Install Damn Small Linux On a USB?
- Steps to Install DSL in a USB Drive
- Install Damn Small Linux to a Flash Drive in Windows
- USB Boot Damn Small Linux Desktop
Installing to a USB Flash Drive
From DSL Wiki
Contents
Introduction
It’s cool to carry your whole OS in your pocket, so the kids install DSL to a USB Flash Drive for booting from a USB port.
A USB Flash Drive is not the same as a USB Hard Drive. Installing to an external USB Hard Drive does work, but some external enclosure hardware won’t like being used as a boot source. Your mileage may vary.
Requirements
If you’re going to install to a USB drive, you’ll need:
- A USB drive of 128 MB or larger. 512 MB is preferable, 64 MB will work in a pinch.
- A working operating system and an internet connection.
- If you’re going to boot the USB drive (not just run it from within another OS), then you need to make sure your BIOS can boot from USB. Check your BIOS setup screen, and pop in a USB stick at the next boot to try it out.
Finally, you’re probably going to wipe your USB Drive, so BACK UP YOUR DATA. Enough said.
Tutorials
There are actually lots of how-tos/walkthroughs for installing DSL to a USB Flash Drive. All those tutorials are filed according to the source operating system. Basically, pick your current operating system. You’ll probably want to do one of these:
If you have figured out another way of installing DSL to a stick, add your knowledge where you see fit.
Common Post-Install Questions
I installed everything, but my computer keeps booting from my hard drive!
- Really old computer BIOSes may or may not support boot-from-USB (pre-2000 or so). Read the section on USB Booting, and read about Your BIOS and You. Also, check that your bootloader (GRUB or Syslinux) config files are set up right.
I just about finished installing, but then GRUB wouldn’t install. @#%!
- First, read the GRUB page. Some users have mentioned that grub-install whines about the —no-floppy argument. Try going without it, try going with it, try using sudo , try unplugging and replacing your USB stick. If your system auto-mounts the USB stick, try it with the stick both mounted and unmounted. You’ll probably find a way to make it work.
Why is it that DSL installed to USB won’t finish booting after conversion from .iso?
- It appears that the KNOPPIX file is hard-wired to seek for CD-ROM and not USB drive. Use the embedded iso instead.
Why does the from-within-Linux method require FAT16, but the Windows method works with FAT32? Could I just leave and reuse an existing FAT32 USB partition using the Linux syslinux version?
- This is because of Syslinux and what it can/can’t do. Either method should work, but some users have found FAT16 works more reliably than FAT32. Although the current version of Syslinux (any version 3.00 or greater) should work with FAT32, that was not always the case. If you’re using an old version of Syslinux, make sure it supports FAT32.
Why don’t my keyboard and/or usb mouse work when I enter X windows?
- Could be a BIOS problem. Try to enable ‘USB device emulation’ or ‘legacy USB’ in your BIOS setup.
References
This page (Installing to a USB Flash Drive) was written by a bunch of contributors over the years, and it got really big. The current version breaks up all that content, but the original page and its history can still be accessed here.
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Damn small linux compact flash install
Before you get started remember that you are installing DSL at your own risk. I would still call this install experimental, so back up your data first!
How to install:
1. Create a app. 250-300MB Linux partition with cfdisk or fdisk (e.g. /dev/hda1, /dev/sda2)
2. Boot into DSL by using you CD and enter the terminal.
3. Execute «dsl-hdinstall» by typing «sudo -u root dsl-hdinstall» (without the quotes)
and enter the just created partition (e.g. /dev/hda1, /dev/sda2)
This will make a ext2 file system and copies the CD contents to it.
A couple of specific changes are made after that (see end of script)
4. Execute «mkliloboot» by typing «sudo -u root mkliloboot» (without the quotes)
Enter the partition that your install is on. This will create an «initrd» with the needed modules and will setup «LILO».
Setup is now done. 😉
**One thing that can trip up the install script is if you download Firebird before running it. So, do an install from a fresh boot, and then download Firebird after you do the HD install**
Good luck!
Thank you Peter Sieg for the install script!
Notes on using apt-get:
DSL is based on Debian, so it is possible to use apt-get after a hard drive install once the dpkg database is restored.
The way to do this is to download the compressed dpkg file from here and move it to ‘/var/lib/’, then uncompress it:
tar zxvf dpkg.tar.gz
After that just ‘apt-get update’ and then Apt should be fully functional.
If you have net access, type ‘sudo dpkg-restore’ in your term window.
Now for the warning:
Damn Small is not derived purely from Debian, if you ‘apt-get install’ the wrong application you may break something, for instance, the X servers.
If you want an easy and compact way to get Debian on your hard drive check out Bonzai
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Damn small linux compact flash install
Damn Small Linux is a very versatile 50MB mini desktop oriented Linux distribution.
Damn Small is small enough and smart enough to do the following things:
- Boot from a business card CD as a live linux distribution (LiveCD)
- Boot from a USB pen drive
- Boot from within a host operating system (that’s right, it can run *inside* Windows)
- Run very nicely from an IDE Compact Flash drive via a method we call «frugal install»
- Transform into a Debian OS with a traditional hard drive install
- Run light enough to power a 486DX with 16MB of Ram
- Run fully in RAM with as little as 128MB (you will be amazed at how fast your computer can be!)
- Modularly grow — DSL is highly extendable without the need to customize
DSL was originally developed as an experiment to see how many usable desktop applications can fit inside a 50MB live CD. It was at first just a personal tool/toy. But over time Damn Small Linux grew into a community project with thousands of development hours put into refinements including a fully automated remote and local application installation system and a very versatile backup and restore system which may be used with any writable media including a USB device, floppy disk, or a hard drive.
DSL has a nearly complete desktop, and a tiny core of command line tools. All applications have been chosen for the best balance of functionality, size and speed. Damn Small also has the ability to act as an SSH/FTP/HTTPD server right off of a live CD. In our quest to save space and have a fully functional desktop we’ve made many GUI administration tools which are fast yet still easy to use. What does DSL have?
XMMS (MP3, CD Music, and MPEG), FTP client, Dillo web browser, Netrik web browser, FireFox, spreadsheet, Sylpheed email, spellcheck (US English), a word-processor (Ted), three editors (Beaver, Vim, and Nano [Pico clone]), graphics editing and viewing (Xpaint, and xzgv), Xpdf (PDF Viewer), emelFM (file manager), Naim (AIM, ICQ, IRC), VNCviwer, Rdesktop, SSH/SCP server and client, DHCP client, PPP, PPPoE (ADSL), a web server, calculator, generic and GhostScript printer support, NFS, Fluxbox and JWM window managers, games, system monitoring apps, a host of command line tools, USB support, and pcmcia support, some wireless support.
Curious about who we are? Check out the contributors page.
3.x Supports Application launching from limited icons. Application centric. Menu driven.
Current 3.x version 3.4.12, screenshots: 1 2 Older Screenshots
4.x Supports Drag-N-Drop, Folder/Document centric. Many icons. Can be run menuless.
Current 4.x version: 4.4.10, screenshots: 1 2
Current Release Candidate: 4.11.RC2,
Get The Official Damn Small Linux Book.
| Applications | see what we packed inside. |
| Packages | what DSL is made of |
| Download | a list of various download sites |
| Notes | our answer to a changelog |
| Off Site | links of interest elsewhere |
| Milestones | DSL accomplishments |
| FAQ | have questions? look here first! |
| Wiki | community knowledge |
| New Forums | real time community knowledge |
| Mini-ITX Store | mini computers and components |
| DSL on a CD | business card, 80mm, or full size |
| DSL on usb pen | Bootable USB Pen Drives |
| Income Guide | independent developers should read this! |
| DSL-N project | Bigger than Damn Small |
| DSL At Work | Doing things with DSL |
| DSL Market | If you are buying anything at all, use our links to fund the project! |
| Donate | where we ask for your help |
| The Wall of Appreciation to those who help | |
| or scroll down for DSL Goodies info | |
