USB Linux

Spookymikal

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2007/09/21/usb-ubuntu-704-persistent-install/

so i know way less about linux than i should to be trying this.

suppose i follow these instructions.

anyone know the likelyhood that they'll work? what about fucking up my flash drive? if something goes wrong, can i format it and recover its file transfering abilities?

what kind of problems might i run into along the way?

halp!

Bowen

You should be okay with it. I see no problems arise that you can't just say "to hell with this" and use it as your file storage again. The only thing is you make sure you don't have any other hard drives plugged in for when it loads your bootloader, because it'll mess shit up.

Spookymikal

bowen wrote: »

You should be okay with it. I see no problems arise that you can't just say "to hell with this" and use it as your file storage again. The only thing is you make sure you don't have any other hard drives plugged in for when it loads your bootloader, because it'll mess shit up.

wait, so i should unplug my IDE hard drive before booting? Or only when i'm setting all this up the first time?

Artreus

First time, so you don't accidentally overwrite your Master boot record for windows. I have done that a few times.

There should be some distros out there that pretty much hold your hand during installation. I think puppylinux is another small one.

Go to http://www.distrowatch.com for basically any distro out there.

Willeth

You could always use a LiveCD and boot from CD. I have one on hand just in case my Windows box goes tits up and I need to recover stuff. It works exactly the same as it would if you had it installed and there's no worry about overwriting anything if you're careful.

Bowen

Spookymikal wrote: »

bowen wrote: »

You should be okay with it. I see no problems arise that you can't just say "to hell with this" and use it as your file storage again. The only thing is you make sure you don't have any other hard drives plugged in for when it loads your bootloader, because it'll mess shit up.

wait, so i should unplug my IDE hard drive before booting? Or only when i'm setting all this up the first time?

Only while setting it up the first time. After that you should be fine.

I posted this in the linux thread in the Technology Tavern, which may be better suited for you for a follow through. I didn't read your link so I don't know if it gave you the instructions on removing all HDDs before proceeding with the install.