Putting multiple Distros on a usb stick?

[Crow550]

Is YUMI (Your Universal Multiboot Installer) http://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multiboot-usb-creator/ the one to go for? What other tools do this and how do they stack up?

When running Linux off a usb stick does it have to be in Fat32 and not in a Linux native file system? Would it make much of a speed difference anyways?

Or should I use something like LinuxLive USB Creator: http://www.linuxliveusb.com/ which runs them in a virtual box in Windows?

I was thinking if I find a Distro I really like I might keep it on my usb stick or dual boot on my HDD. Haven't really decided yet.

 

[VinDSL]

If I don't care about persistence (or don't want persistence - for online banking or whatever), I just use dd, and copy a Live-CD iso to a USB thumb drive.

If it's something I care about, and want persistence, I use the Startup Disk Creator in Ubuntu. Nothing could be more simple!

I'm currently running Peppermint Two on a bootable 16 GB USB drive. It's formatted with ext4. You're not supposed to use ext4, but it boots on most PCs (some USB ports don't see it). ext2/ext3 would probably be the way to go.

On smaller USB drives ( =< 4 GB ) I just use fat32.

 

[Crow550]

For now I just wanna load various Distros on a USB stick and try it out and then use the one I like most. I also was looking for a way to show some friends various Distros and such too.

I wouldn't mind finding one to stick on a usb drive just to mess with.

 

[ScoobMaster]

I use YUMI and it works very well. I keep a couple of Distros and several tools (like Gparted, Parted magic, and some Antivirus rescue images) on a 4Gb USB stick as my "emergency rescue kit".

FYI, one Distro that works VERY well on a USB stick (and has a small lightweight footprint that is fast to boot) is Peppermint. There is a link to it from the YUMI page at pendrivelinux.

 

[lxskllr]

You could do a real install of one distro, then install VirtualBox, and run the rest as virtual machines.

I use EXT4 if I don't need any interaction with Windows. My Debian USB is EXT4, but my TinyCore stick is FAT32 because I also have Windows portable apps on that drive.

 

[Crow550]

So leave it Fat32 if your just trying out multiple Distros then when you find one you like then format it in EXT4 for improved performance?

 

[lxskllr]

So leave it Fat32 if your just trying out multiple Distros then when you find one you like then format it in EXT4 for improved performance?

I think any performance gains by using FAT32 would be minimal. I'd just use that for easy reading from within Windows. Some people say a journaling file system increases wear on flash media, and it does, but not to the extent some imply. I haven't killed any yet, and I use EXT4 on all my GNU/Linux only systems. It adds robustness to the file system, and you're less likely to get unrecoverable corruption like you can with FAT32. Probably not the biggest deal booting live CDs, but you still want it to work when you load it, even if there isn't important data to lose.

 

[iGas]

I'm trying to get Mint 12 to install on a 3TB USB drive and it is a pain in the arse. It seems as if I can't get the USB to be a boot partition even those it is a Primary partition (ext3, ext4, and NTFS are a no go). And then there is 2TB limitation. It look like GParted is not working on this dive as well.

 

[lxskllr]

I'm trying to get Mint 12 to install on a 3TB USB drive and it is a pain in the arse. It seems as if I can't get the USB to be a boot partition even those it is a Primary partition (ext3, ext4, and NTFS are a no go). And then there is 2TB limitation. It look like GParted is not working on this dive as well.

Large drives are a PITA. Try fedora. I just went through this with someone on another forum. Ubuntu wouldn't install, but fedora did right away. I don't pretend to understand the reason it sucks, but it's the drive size that's the problem.

 

[iGas]

Large drives are a PITA. Try fedora. I just went through this with someone on another forum. Ubuntu wouldn't install, but fedora did right away. I don't pretend to understand the reason it sucks, but it's the drive size that's the problem.

Thanks. I'll try the dark art as you suggested. I haven't touch RH since I left IT 8 years ago.

 

[lxskllr]

Thanks. I'll try the dark art as you suggested. I haven't touch RH since I left IT 8 years ago.

You may find a Debian base that works, but I never got that far. Me, and someone else were trying to help a n00b get Ubuntu installed, and it wasn't working. He next tried fedora, and it went without problem. As I said, I don't completely understand the issue, as all my drives are far below 3tb, so I never looked it up, but it's a drive size thing. Debian sid may work since it's pretty new. You'll have to deal increased update frequency, but that isn't so bad, and the rolling release is nice.