Installed pclos 2010 to usb thumb drive

[Was_Just19]

Are there any real benefits from a normal install on a pendrive in relation to making a live pendrive? I mean, a couple of years ago 8 GB was a lot; today 16 GB isn't.

I'm asking because when I stumbled over this thread I was just going to do a remaster for a live pendrive, but just installing PCLinuxOS on it normally would be faster and less bothersome.

I would suggest the opposite .....  a live install is a much quicker operation to perform, and likely simpler. Of course I guess it depends on what method you use to create the live install.

Advantages/disadvantages in use are I think peculiar to each of us.

I like to have more than one version of PCLOS on a 4GB flash stick so that I can select KDE, LXDE or OpenBox depending on the hardware it is to be used on. It is also very useful to be able to demonstrate the different DEs when I find a victim someone interested. I usually have Parted Magic on the stick also.

Most cheap flash sticks I believe still have a wear problem ...  number of writes is limited before failure. No doubt this has improved greatly in the last couple of years. Nonetheless it is advisable to ensure unnecessary writes are not performed on the stick.
This is very important with a full install whereas a live install is mostly read-only.

For me also, the live install is more suitable because I may want to update the OS from a new ISO ....  just means copying the files to the stick, nothing else .....  or I might want to take one of my remasters and use that on a flash stick. I can easily swop OSs about.

I also like to do new installs from a flash stick ....  they are much quicker and more certain. It by-passes the difficulties that can arise with optical media being read correctly.

So I guess the choice is dependant on how you use the mobile OS and whether you might want some versatility or not.

That is how I see it .......  which is of course just one view ...... 

[Bald Brick]

Are there any real benefits from a normal install on a pendrive in relation to making a live pendrive? I mean, a couple of years ago 8 GB was a lot; today 16 GB isn't.

I'm asking because when I stumbled over this thread I was just going to do a remaster for a live pendrive, but just installing PCLinuxOS on it normally would be faster and less bothersome.

I would suggest the opposite .....  a live install is a much quicker operation to perform, and likely simpler. Of course I guess it depends on what method you use to create the live install.

Advantages/disadvantages in use are I think peculiar to each of us.

I like to have more than one version of PCLOS on a 4GB flash stick so that I can select KDE, LXDE or OpenBox depending on the hardware it is to be used on. It is also very useful to be able to demonstrate the different DEs when I find a victim someone interested. I usually have Parted Magic on the stick also.

Most cheap flash sticks I believe still have a wear problem ...  number of writes is limited before failure. No doubt this has improved greatly in the last couple of years. Nonetheless it is advisable to ensure unnecessary writes are not performed on the stick.
This is very important with a full install whereas a live install is mostly read-only.

For me also, the live install is more suitable because I may want to update the OS from a new ISO ....  just means copying the files to the stick, nothing else .....  or I might want to take one of my remasters and use that on a flash stick. I can easily swop OSs about.

I also like to do new installs from a flash stick ....  they are much quicker and more certain. It by-passes the difficulties that can arise with optical media being read correctly.

So I guess the choice is dependant on how you use the mobile OS and whether you might want some versatility or not.

That is how I see it .......  which is of course just one view ...... 

Thanks, JohnBoy,

What makes a live install a bit more bothersome isn't the method of installing but simply the fact that I have to decide what should be on my remastered .iso before I create it. With a normal install I could just update the install and add what I need afterwards. But you've convinced me: I'll stick with a live install.

[Was_Just19]

Thanks, JohnBoy,

What makes a live install a bit more bothersome isn't the method of installing but simply the fact that I have to decide what should be on my remastered .iso before I create it. With a normal install I could just update the install and add what I need afterwards. But you've convinced me: I'll stick with a live install.

You can do a live install from original ISO and add applications and such .......  if you use persistence.
I know things works well for minor changes, but would have no idea if it would work well for something like the recent big update to KDE. In such a case using the files from an updated ISO would be preferable I think.

You might like to play with a script for installing Live PCLOS on removable devices ...  whether flash stick or USB connected HDD .
It is available here if you want to try it ...
http://mypclinuxos.com/forum/index.php?topic=2779.msg25128#msg25128

These also refer to such doings
http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,74878.0.html

http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,74879.msg645113.html#msg645113

Hope those links are some help if not to you then to someone else reading the thread. 

regards.

[mike200]

  Hello again, I haven't been using my pclos thumbdrive linux for a while. I plugged in the drive today, booted and decided to add the relatime option in fstab recommended by john boy. Unfortunately, the system fails to boot properly with this option enabled. Is the relatime option supported in pclos 2010? I had to reedit fstab and remove relatime by booting from a live cd before I could get  the system to work properly again.

[Was_Just19]

Code:

UUID=9dc6a34a-8a6f-4cd6-9ba0-46a24b2907fc / ext4 defaults,relatime 1 1

Code:

2.6.32.12-pclos1.bfs

My installed OS uses it so yes it is supported ......  but I guess it might depend on what version of PCLOS and what kernel you are using.

[mike200]

  I am using pclos 2010 lxde edition.This is my fstab file edited for relatime mounting:

 # Entry for /dev/sdb1 :
UUID=554cf36e-2e30-4687-bd03-23a2ebe1f186 / ext4, relatime defaults 1 1
none /proc proc defaults 0 0
none /dev/pts devpts defaults 0 0

  The boot would hang on the splash screen.Using safe mode, I can see everything proceeding normally until the error message "cannot open log file /var/log/prcsys.log" appears.It attempts to write a backup file but fails.
The boot finally hangs with the message "can't open socket /var/run/acpid.socket : address already in use"

[Was_Just19]

Code:

UUID=554cf36e-2e30-4687-bd03-23a2ebe1f186 / [b]ext4, relatime defaults[/b] 1 1

the above is misformed

it should be

UUID=554cf36e-2e30-4687-bd03-23a2ebe1f186   /    ext4    relatime,defaults   1  1

I do not know if that is the cause or not.
Presumably you have the install fully updated ....

[mike200]

 I edited the file exactly  as given,..... and it works!  I seem to have misread the instruction in the original  post, and consequently mistyped the line. Thanks again, john boy, for your patient assistance. I am new to Linux, and am still learning a lot of the basic things. One of them is be very careful when editing fstab and other system files, even a small typo can kill the system.
  I had the entire system upgrade done online, I did not anticipate it would take as long as it did (almost two hours, and I have a high speed cable modem connection).It seems that the iso image available for download may already be extremely out of date, judging from the fact that several hundred files were found to be in need of upgrade
  I now have a piggyback linux install attached to my desktop machine; I find that piggybacking (multiple boot placing the other os(es) on an external USB hard drive or flash drive, and having Grub provide access to either the external os or the internal Windows os),  is an elegant way of supporting multiple operating systems on one machine, without the danger of damaging or destroying the original Windows system. I do not have to remove my flashdrive, and the system behaves exactly like any other multiple boot installation..

[Was_Just19]

Glad to see you got it working.  

Yes indeed Linux will do as you tell it ....  even if that means breaking the install. This is the reason that users are continually warned about both running as root and editing files in the OS. One learns to be careful when doing so .....  and it is adviseable to make a backup copy of the file you are editing first. This allows you to put it back (using another OS like a liveCD) if your edits do not work.

On the matter of the updates ...... yes there have been a serious number of updates recently. These have mostly been due to the new versions of KDE being released. A lot of applications and such were also updated to corresspond so it has indeed resulted in a very large update for everyone.
The alternative of course is not to update our version of KDE .....  which is unthinkable  

I suspect there will be a new ISO next month which will be up to date and mean that new installs will not require such a large update.

The situation is of course a result of being a 'rolling' release ......  everything is continually updated. I much prefer this to installing every six months ....  or attempting to do a massive update every six months.

Regarding your set up for multiple booting .......  yes, with the BIOS set to boot from USB, and the Grub entry on the USB drive including an entry for the internal OS, it doesn't matter if the USB drive is connected or not. It does indeed work well. The USB will boot if attached and the internal disk if not.

Enjoy!

and most of all

Have Fun!!!!