Linux from usb pendrive

How to Install Linux OS on USB Drive and Run it On Any PC

Ever thought of using any computer which is not yours, with all your personal stuff and configuration? It is possible with any Linux distribution. Yes! You can use your own, customized Linux OS on any machine with just a USB drive.

This tutorial is all about installing Latest Linux OS on your pen-drive ( fully reconfigurable personalized OS, NOT just a Live USB ), customize it, and use it on any PC you have access to. Here I am using Lubuntu 18.04 Bionic beaver for this tutorial (but, you can use any Linux distribution). So let’s gets started.

Requirements:

1. One Pendrive 4GB or More (Let’s call it as Main USB drive/Pendrive).
2. One more Pen drive or DVD disk to use as bootable Linux installation media.
3. Linux OS ISO file, for example Lubuntu 18.04.
4. One PC (Warning: Disconnect internal hard drives to prevent boot record alteration).

Important: While this procedure will not cause loss of data, some users have experienced changes to their internal drive’s bootup behavior depending on Linux distributions selected. To prevent any possibility of this occurrence, you may wish to disconnect your hard drive before continuing with the USB install portion of the tutorial.”

TIP: Use 32 bit Linux OS to make it compatible with any available PC.

That’s it! Go, and collect all of these. It’s time to do something new.

Step 1: Create Bootable Linux Installation Media

Use your Linux ISO image file to create a bootable USB installation media. You can use any software like Unetbootin, Gnome Disk Utility, Yumi Multi Boot, xboot, Live USB Creator, etc. to create bootable USB with the help of ISO image file.

Alternatively, you can use DVD disk by writing that ISO image to it (but that is the old school method).

Step 2: Create Partitions On Main USB Drive

You have to make two partitions on your Main USB drive using Gparted or Gnome Disk Utility, etc.

• The root partition of format ext4 of size according to your use.
• Optionally you can use the rest of the space as a FAT partition for using it as a normal USB drive.

I am having 16GB USB drive and I have created one root partition of 5GB and using rest 11GB as normal FAT partition. So my 16 GB USB drive is converted to 11GB drive for normal use on any PC. Sounds good.

This step you can do while installing Linux also, but it will be very complex while installing Operating Systems like Arch Linux.

Main USB Drive Partitions

Once you have created required partitions on the Main USB drive. Now take a deep breath because it’s time to go for Linux installation section.

Step 3: Install Linux on USB Drive

1. First, boot Linux OS (Lubuntu 18.04) from your bootable installation media and launch installation application from a live session. Live session of Lubuntu 18.04 will look like this.

Lubuntu Live Boot

2. Installer welcome screen will appear, select Language there and hit Continue.

Select Lubuntu Installation Language

3. Select Keyboard Layout and continue…

Select Lubuntu Keyboard Layout

4. Select Wifi internet if you want to update Lubuntu while installation. I will skip it.

Select Wifi to Update Lubuntu

5. Select Installation Type and Third-party installation as per your choice and go to next..

Select Lubuntu Software Updates

6. Here select Something Else Option (It is Mandatory) and go to next…

Select Lubuntu Installation Type

7. This is an Important step, here you need to find out where your Main USB drive is mounted.

Find Main USB Drive

In my case /dev/sda are an internal hard disk of the PC and I am using /dev/sdb is USB Lubuntu Installation media from where this live session is booted.

And /dev/sdc is my Main USB drive where I want to install my Linux system and where I have made two partitions in step number 2. If you have skipped step 2, you can also make partitions in this window.

First, change the mount point of the first partition on this Main USB drive to ROOT (i.e. “ / ” ). And as shown in the second red square select bootloader installation device as the Main USB drive.

In my case it is /dev/sdc . This is the most important step in this tutorial. If it is not done correctly your system will boot only on the current PC you are using, which is exactly opposite of your motivation to follow this tutorial.

Once it is completed, double-check it and hit continue. You will get a small window showing devices and drive which will be affected.

8. Make sure that the device and drives shown on this window are of your Main USB drive, which is in my case /dev/sdc . Hit continue…

Write Partition Changes to Disk

9. Now select your Region and hit Continue…

Select Lubuntu Region

10. Add username, password, and hostname, etc…

Create a Lubuntu User

11. Let the installation finish.

Lubuntu Installation

12. After completing installation hit restart and remove your installation media and press Enter.

Lubuntu Installation Completes

13. Congratulations, you have successfully installed your own Linux OS on your pen drive to use it on any PC. Now you can connect a USB drive to any PC and start your system on that PC by simply selecting boot from USB option while booting.

Step 4: Customize the Lubuntu System

Now it’s time for fun. Just boot your system on any PC and start customizing. You can install any software you want. You can change Themes, Icon themes, install docker.

You can add and store your online accounts on it. Install/modify/customize whatever you want. All the changes will be permanent. They will not change or reset after rebooting or booting on other PCs.

The following figure shows my customized Lubuntu 18.04.

Lubuntu Running on USB Drive

The main advantage of this method is you can use your personal stuff, your online accounts securely on any PC. You can even do secure online transactions as well on any available PC.

I hope it will be helpful for you, if you have questions regarding this article, please feel free to ask in the comment section below.

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Use a Floppy to Boot USB Pendrive Linux

Last updated: March 22, 2011

If you have a system that does not support booting from a USB device, but do have a floppy drive, you can try to boot Pendrive Linux from a USB flash drive using a Grub Boot floppy disk. When using a Boot floppy with a Grub boot loader, Grub locates the USB partition and then attempts to boot loading vmlinuz and initrd.gz from the USB device.

This tutorial no longer works or serves any purpose as the version of pendrivelinux it refers to is obsolete!

This tutorial assumes your using the Pendrive Linux version located HERE and your USB flash drive contains a Volume label of PDL .

Pendrive Linux USB Boot Floppy Requirements:

• Linux CD/USB or installed OS
• Floppy drive/Floppy disk
• Your Pendrive Linux USB flash drive

Creating a Boot Floppy to Boot Pendrive Linux from a USB device:

1. Insert a blank floppy disk
2. Open a terminal and type sudo su
3. Type wget https://www.pendrivelinux.com/downloads/pdlfloppy.img.gz
4. Type gzip -dc pdlfloppy.img.gz | dd of=/dev/fd0
5. Reboot your PC and set your system BIOS or Boot Menu to boot from floppy
6. From the floppy booted Grub Menu select a boot option:

Pendrivelinux (hd0,0) if the PC has no other ATA/USB/SCSI drives

Pendrivelinux (hd1,0) if the PC has other ATA/USB/SCSI drives

Troubleshooting Notes: If you still can’t boot, try the following:

1. press C at the Grub Menu
2. Type find /casper/vmlinuz and make a note of which drive is displayed
3. Press Esc and then Press e
4. Press e again to edit the root (hd0,0) line
5. Change the line to reflect the drive displayed in step 2
6. Press Enter, then Enter again to boot

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Boot and Run Linux from a USB Flash Drive

Boot from USB and take your favorite Portable Linux Desktop with you!
Make a Linux Bootable USB to Boot and Run Linux from a USB Flash Drive.
Recommended YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator Updated: September 29, 2021
Legacy Classic Universal USB Installer – UUI Updated: August 29, 2021

Easily install your favorite Linux operating system to a bootable USB flash drive. Take your portable Linux with you to run from any computer that can boot from a USB device. You can also Boot Multiple ISO files from a flash drive by using tools like YUMI to create a MultibootUSB. Multibooting allows you to store, boot and then run several Live Linux Operating Systems, Windows installers, diagnostic utilities, antivirus scanners, penetration testing, backup tools, and more, all from the same device. Resulting in your very own custom USB bootable diagnostic tool kit that will fit in your pocket.

Helping You Make Linux Boot from USB since 2006

Pendrivelinux provides simplified information to make it easy for anyone to install, USB boot, and then run their favorite Distros and tools from a flash drive.

• USB Boot Creators
• USB Emulation
• USB Boot From Windows
• USB Boot From Linux

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Universal USB Installer – Easy as 1 2 3

Last updated: August 29, 2021

Universal USB Installer aka UUI is a Live Linux Bootable USB Creator. It allows users to make a USB Boot from a Linux distribution, Windows Installer, Windows To Go, Antivirus Scanner, Disk Cloning Software or any other System Tool that can be put on a flash drive. The software is easy to use; Simply choose your distribution from the list, browse to the ISO file, select your target flash drive, and then click Create. Once finished, you should have a ready to run Bootable Flash Drive containing the operating system or tool you selected.

Unlike tools which simply use the DD (Copy and Convert) command to directly Burn ISO to USB, the Universal USB Installer includes several other methods that natively allow you to continue using your flash drive for storage purposes, whilst including a “Try via DD” option. The DD method of copying, also known as D ata D estroyer works by overwriting the entire file system, making the USB device appear as a CD/DVD which is limited to the size of the ISO file. However, it may be possible to Recover Lost USB flash drive space and then create an exFAT partition for continued storage purposes. Another key feature of UUI is Persistence storage, where available. This Persistent feature allows you to save some changes and then restore them on subsequent boots. Ubuntu based Casper Persistence works with FAT32 or NTFS formatted drives. A larger than 4GB casper-rw or persistent option is also possible when the USB drive is formatted with an NTFS filesystem.

NOTE : If you are wanting to add multiple Live Linux Distributions, System Diagnostic Tools, Antivirus Utilities, and Windows Installers, you should use the YUMI Multiboot USB Software, instead. It can help you Boot Multiple ISO files from one flash drive.

Universal USB Installer (UUI)

Download Universal USB Installer (UUI)

August 29, 2021 Universal-USB-Installer-2.0.0.7.exe: Added Wipe option to reformat and restore a USB flash drive. Included a Try via DD option. Updated Archbang and Archlinux to use dd rawwrite method. Updated AmogOS download link.

• Requirements
• Changes
• Supported Distros
• FAQ

Requirements to Create a Live Bootable USB Flash Drive

IMPORTANT : UUI only shows USB drives detected by Windows as removable media. See the best recommended Fast Flash Drives .

Your flash drive must be Fat32/NTFS formatted, otherwise Syslinux will fail to install an MBR ( M aster B oot R ecord), and as a result the device will NOT Boot.

Additionally, the Windows to Go option requires an NTFS formatted device with 20GB free disk space to hold the virtual disk. See FAQ for more info.

• Universal-USB-Installer-2.0.0.7.exe to make the Bootable USB.
• Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 Operating System to run UUI.
• Greater than 2GB *Fat32 or NTFS Formatted Flash Drive. MBR partition table.
• Computer with a BIOS that can boot from USB.
• Your Favorite Linux ISO File.

Feel free to inform me of unlisted Live Linux distributions or version revisions, and I will do my best to update the UUI tool to support them.

Universal USB Installer Changelog

The following Changelog outlines any recent changes made to the software. Only the latest revisions are listed.

8/29/21 – Version 2.0.7: Added Wipe option to reformat and restore a USB flash drive. Included a Try via DD option. Updated Archbang and Archlinux to use dd rawwrite method. Updated AmogOS download link.

8/4/21 – Version 2.0.6: Updated AmogOS with persistence download link.

7/23/21 – Version 2.0.5: Updated to support AmogOS and HDClone.

5/4/21 – Version 2.0.4: Re-enabled the ability to run from earlier versions of Windows. Moved checkpoint to simply prevent NTFS format option from appearing on systems prior to Windows 8.

4/26/21 – Version 2.0.0.3a: quick revision to disallow (Disk 0) from being displayed.

4/26/21 – Version 2.0.0.3: Set to show Local Drives in addition to USB Drives. Included a confirmation prompt before proceeding to format a drive. Implemented a checkpoint to prevent running from Operating Systems prior to Windows 8.

4/16/21 – Version 2.0.0.2: Performed general cleanup of unused code. Fixed the broken Debian Live entry. Removed the Wipe option. Also switched to list only removable USB media. Note that devices listed as local (fixed) disks will no longer be detected.

3/19/21 – Version 2.0.0.1: Fixed Zorin persistence feature. Updated to support newer Clonezilla and OpenSUSE. Also removed old distros that are no longer in development.

12/3/20 – Version 2.0.0.0: Recompiled the tool using the newer Nullsoft Scriptable Install System Version 3.06.1.

USB Bootable Distributions and Tools

The Universal USB Installer (UUI) might be used to make a USB Boot from the following Live Linux Operating Systems, Windows Installers, System Tools, and Antivirus Utilities.

— Ubuntu 32/64 Bit —

• Ubuntu Live Desktop
• Xubuntu Live Desktop
• Kubuntu Live Desktop
• Lubuntu Live Desktop
• Edubuntu Live Desktop
• *Ubuntu Live Server Installer
• Blackbuntu

— Linux Mint 32/64 Bit —

• Linux Mint

— Debian Live/Netinst 32/64 Bit —

• Debian Netinst
• *Debian Live

— Backtrack/Kali Versions —

• Kali Linux
• Backtrack

— Fedora 32/64 Bit —

• Fedora Desktop

— OpenSUSE 32/64 Bit —

• OpenSUSE 32bit
• *OpenSUSE 64bit

— Puppy Linux Based —

• Fatdog64
• Lighthouse Puppy
• Lucid Puppy
• Precise Puppy
• Puppy Arcade
• Puppy 4.3.1
• Racy Puppy
• Slacko Puppy
• Wary Puppy

— Linux Distros for Kids —

• DouDouLinux
• Qimo 4 Kids 2.0
• Sugar on a Stick

— Other Distros Alphabetical —

• amogOS
• AOMEI (Disk Cloning and Backup Tool)
• Acronis Rescue CD
• Android
• AntiX
• Antergos
• ArchBang
• ArchLinux
• ArtistX
• Aurora
• BackBox
• Baltix Linux
• BCCD
• BlehOS
• Bodhi
• Boot Repair Disk
• Carmedia
• CentOS
• Chakra
• Clonezilla
• Crunchbang
• DBAN 2.2.X
• Deft Linux
• Deepin Linux
• DRBL
• DSL 4.4.10
• Dreamlinux
• Dynebolic
• EASUS Disk Copy
• EasyPeasy
• Elementary OS
• Elementary Unleashed
• Feather Linux
• Finnix
• Fuduntu
• Fusion Linux
• Gamedrift
• Gentoo
• GEEXBOX
• gNewSense
• GRML
• gOS gadgets
• GParted
• Jolicloud
• Kiwi
• KNOPPIX
• Kororaa
• KXStudio
• Leeenux
• Liberte
• LinHES
• Linux XP Like
• LPS
• Macbuntu
• Mandriva One 2011
• Matriux
• MCNLive Toronto
• Meego
• MicroCore
• Netrunner
• Ophcrack
• OSGeo Live
• Pardus
• PartedMagic
• PCLinuxOS
• Pear OS
• Peppermint
• PING
• Pinguy OS
• Plasma active
• PLoP Linux
• Porteus
• Redo Backup
• Rescatux
• RIP Linux
• Runt Linux
• Sabayon Linux
• SalineOS
• Satux
• Simply MEPIS
• SLAX
• SliTaZ
• Sn0wL1nuX
• SolusOS
• System Rescue CD
• Tails
• Terralinux
• TinyCore
• Trisquel
• Uberstudent
• Ultimate Boot CD
• Ultimate Edition
• WifiWay
• WifiSlax
• xPUD
• XBMC
• XBMCbuntu
• StartOS
• wattOS R5
• Zenwalk Live
• Zorin OS

— Live Antivirus Rescue CDs —

• AOSS (Malware Scanner)
• AVG Rescue CD
• Avira Antivir Rescue Disk
• Bitdefender Rescue CD
• Comodo Rescue Disk
• DrWeb LiveCD
• F-Secure Rescue CD
• G DATA Antivirus
• Kaspersky Rescue Disk
• Panda Safe CD
• Trinity Rescue Kit

— Other Software —

• Falcon 4 Boot CD
• Hiren’s Boot CD
• Kon-Boot
• Sergei Strelec

— Windows to Go + Windows Installers —

• Windows to Go (on VHD)
• **Windows 7/8/10 Installer

— Try to use an Unsupported ISO —

• Try Unlisted Linux ISO

More Live Linux Distributions will be added as time permits. Feel free to contact me to submit recommendations.

Universal USB Installer Troubleshooting, Issues, Bugs

The Windows to Go option does require the USB drive be NTFS formatted and have 20GB+ free space to hold the virtual disk. Most of the flash drives found at local department stores won’t be fast enough. You will need a very fast solid state flash drive. When Windows boots from the USB for the first time, it will go through the setup process and then reboot. You will need to boot using your Windows to Go flash drive a second time to finalize the setup process. And then finally boot into your full Portable Windows.

The tool expects the Volume Label of your USB drive to be UUI in order for OpenSUSE, CentOS and a few other distributions to boot. It does attempt to automatically create this Label, but may fail. So make sure it remains UUI in order to allow those distributions to boot.

Persistence feature is currently broken with Newer Debian based distributions. This is due to upstream changes. In that Debian now requires a rename of the persistent block file and label from live-rw to persistence . In addition, it must house a persistence.conf file containing the text / Union. I plan to make all of the necessary changes and then provide a fix as time allows.

If you’re using Universal-USB-Installer-2.0.0.7.exe and you still receive Insane primary (MBR) partition notices,

Insane primary (MBR) partition. Can’t find myself on the drive I booted from

Your USB drive may be improperly formatted, contains more than one partition or MBR, or your BIOS is not properly detecting the USB drive. In which case your firmware probably needs to be updated. You can also try to Format and Restore a USB Drive .

An Error (1) occurred while executing syslinux

If you encounter a message stating;

An error (1) occurred while executing syslinux. Your USB drive won’t be bootable.

The most likely cause is that your USB drive is formatted as exFAT or some other unsupported format. You’ll need to reformat as fat32 (currently preferred) or NTFS.

My PC wont Boot from my Flash Drive, but supports USB boot!

Older flash drives shipped USB-FDD formatted and some systems will not boot USB-FDD. However, I have found that most systems can boot USB-ZIP, and or USB-HDD. If you are having a hard time getting your BIOS to detect your flash drive, reformat it. Then try again to see if your BIOS can detect and boot from it.

OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES :

• If you’re running a Windows Vista or 7 Installer from your USB, after the first reboot, remove the flash drive and let the pc complete from the hard disk.
• When browsing for an ISO, UUI will only display ISO Files that match what the tool is asking for. For example, if you chose to install ubuntu-20.10- Desktop -i386, the tool might not display your ubuntu-20.10- Server -i386.iso because you have not selected the server variant. However, you can force all ISO files to be shown by clicking the Show All ISOs box.

Auto Detection : If you also run Universal USB Installer from the same directory containing an installable ISO, the UUI script will auto detect the ISO and bypass step 2.

* Although you can use an NTFS formatted USB, Ubuntu based “persistence” features will only work with a Fat16 or Fat32 formatted drive. Additionally some Linux Distributions will not boot from an NTFS formatted USB.

Again, Universal USB Installer does not support booting from multiple Linux distributions. Only one distribution can be installed per USB drive. However the YUMI Multiboot USB Creator can be used to create a Multi System USB Boot Device.

To try an ISO that isn’t listed, simply choose one of the the last three options in Step 1. I recommend “Try Unlisted Linux ISO (GRUB)” because it seems to be the most successful. Feel free to inform me of unlisted “Linux ISOs” you get to work via these options, so I can add them to the supported list.

OpenSUSE DVD and other ISOs with a single file that exceed 4GB will not work due to the Fat32 file size limitation.

The Universal USB Installer will NOT currently work from within Linux using WINE due to drive detection and privilege issues. I plan to revisit this issue when I find the time.

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