- I'm a Linux PC! - Ben Lingenfelter
There are several methods of turning a regular USB Flash or "pen" drive into a bootable drive running a Linux OS platform, and there are lots of advantages to doing so. First, it's like carrying a pocket-sized personal computer. Second, booting from it essentially changes every different computer into the same one.
How to Install Linux OS onto Your USB Flash Drive
One way to make USB drives bootable is the "old-fashioned" way, by downloading the ISO, burning to CD/DVD, booting from the CD/DVD, and then installing to the USB drive. This method works well, and some distributions (distros) make it easy, notable Puppy Linux. Another way is to use Linux Live USB Creator.
This open source (naturally) software provides an easy-to-use GUI and supplies 20+ distros to use. It also has a lot of other options, such as installing to hard drive. The last method is to use unetbootin.
Unetbootin works much like LiLi, giving a choice of many linux distros for USB, also offering the option to install on hard drive or USB. Its GUI is more barebones that LiLi's, but it's fast and works on both PC's and Linux OS's. It operates without a hitch, and makes USB drives bootable in a matter of minutes.
Which Linux Distros Are Best for USB Pen Drives
There are legions of linux distros that claim to work best on flash drives. Some claim to be so bare bones that they'll even work on old, 512 mb drives. In today's world, although interesting, that's a little too little. When 2-4 gb (even 16 gb) flash drives are available for so little, there's little reason to use the tiniest drives.
That said, many of the best distros will fit easily on a 1 gb flash drive. Most of the major distros like Ubuntu, Debian, Mandriva, Knoppix, Fedora, and OpenSuse, for example; but the distros that focus or target the more minimalistic, small-sized hard drives seem to offer a better fit. Some market toward flash drive downloads almost exclusively. Some of these are ones like Puppy LInux, Damn Small Linux (DSL), Slax, and xPUD.
Puppy Linux on the Flash Stick
Installing Puppy Linux on a flash drive is a wonderful experience using either unetbootin or using the ISO on DVD. If using the latter, Puppy offers users an icon (among many icons) on the desktop called "install." After double-clicking, it takes a few steps, after choosing to install on a USB, to finish installation to a pen drive.
Once finished and rebooted, the new flash drive version of Puppy Linux works smoothly and quickly, obviously intended for use on smaller-sized drives. Instead of larger, more full-featured software, Puppy uses many smaller, less-known programs like Seamonkey Browser and Abiword Word Processor.
Damn Small Linux on a Pen Drive
DSL on a flash drive is another good choice. In fact, DSL even sells pre-loaded flash drives on its website, although for the price ($65), it makes more sense to buy the flash drive separately. DSL is definitely small, and it loads with some unfamiliar software. Those used to Openoffice.org (Oos) get the "Ted" word processor, and the "Slag" spreadsheet instead. Instead of Firefox, they get "Dillo," which is smaller.
DSL has an industrial look, and has a clean default desktop with only five icons. It comes standard with a technical panel docked on the right side that shows CPU information, drives, and network activity, not pretty but very functional.
xPUD Linux on a Flash Drive
xPUD offers a download streamlined for USB, but unetbootin makes the install even easier, as it really does for all of these distros. The finished product is different, it's interface definitely a surprise for those used to icon-based interfaces and "desktop" environments.
xPUD had more of a tab-oriented environment, much like its homepage. It's small, too, and very, very speedy. xPUD redefines the term "slim" in a good way, and exemplifies the kind of system that ought to be used on a portable flash drive. The software applications provided are few, with the obvious intent being to do most work online. xPud is like a mini netbook. Out of the Box (ootb) xPUD immediately finds and uses the wireless functionality of any machine it's plugged into, and it recognizes and uses wireless cards that others struggle with. This is an excellent little OS.
Slax Linux on a USB Drive
Installing Slax works a little differently than for some of the other distros. Instead of downloading and ISO and burning, etc., Slax is downloaded as a tar.gz and then extracted into the flash drive. After that, a file inside the extraction has to be executed through the terminal. The "learning curve" is a bit steeper here than for some of the other distros. Still, the finished product is smooth, and Slax is an offered distro on unetbootin, so installing Slax is not a problem.
Slax has an attractive desktop, starting with just two icons by default, "Home" and "System." It openly displays KDE symbols everywhere and uses many "K" software such as Konqueror, Kopete (IM), and Kmail. It's small and fast, and it's a slimly beautiful system.
Other Linux Distros for USB [updated!]
- Moo Linux: Moo Linux (moolux.org) is a fresh KDE-based USB distro that works well. It can't be installed with unetbootin, but the documentation provided with the .ZIP download is clear and easy.
- PCLinuxOS is another flash drive choice that offers a KDE platform. The easiest way to install it to a flash drive is with the Live DVD. There's a command in the file menu that specifically offers "Make Live USB" and it works.
- Jolicloud (jolicloud.com) is in its pre-beta stage, but provides clear instructions to put the OS on a USB key. It's a lot like Ubuntu's Netbook Remix; Jolicloud is fast and really smooth.
- Knoppix 6.2 makes a strong bid for "best USB install." It's fantastic.
- GoblinX is a Slackware-based distro that runs well on flash drives.
Which is the Best Linux Distro for USB Flash Drives
Ultimately, the best distribution comes down to personal preference. All the distros listed here work well. Using unetbootin, the installation is seamless, and the finished product can be personalized by adding software according to taste and desire. Icon-based desktop platforms are still the rule, as seen with Slax, Puppy, and DSL, but the tab-based xPUD makes a strong case for change.
The other issue users need to pay attention to is hardware. Many computers have extra hardware that is incompatible with the linux operating system. The best example is the Broadcom B43xx wireless card. There are distributions that work, even on flash drives, but many more will not.
Functionality per user is the strongest case for any PC, even little ones like flash drives, and the best part of it is that if one doesn't work, re-formatting and trying another is five minutes away. And although these four distros certainly make a strong case for "leading the pack," there are still lots more than can be tried. Unetbootin makes it a little addictive. Be careful.
Ben Lingenfelter - As an intinerant writer, I've found freedom to write and learn about a variety of topics. That fits me perfectly. I've been an English ...
