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Surely you use Linux on your PC, why else read a Linux magazine like this one. Although we love our own machines and have tweaked them to our liking, sometimes we have to -inevitably- use another computer. Either at the office or at a friend’s house, we have to use what they have… something non-Linux. But wait, what if you could carry your own Linux distro with you! I don't mean a live CD. How about a USB! Well this article will tell you how to solve this problem.
There are two ways to create a Linux distro on a USB flash drive. Before we start, make sure you have at least a 4GB USB stick. Let's start with the easy way, for Debian/Ubuntu based distros only:
Download and install Gparted. Run Gparted and select your USB.
Right-click the partition and select “format to” then click on Fat32, and Apply, then wait until it finishes. (You may have to unmount it, to do this right-click the partition and select unmount.)
Run Startup disk creator. (It usually comes pre-installed with Linux.)
Select your ISO and set your Reserved space to maximum. (Reserved space means you will be able to save files to your USB Stick. On a 4GB USB it will give you 2GB of Reserved space. On an 8GB USB it will give you 4GB of Reserved space).
Click on Make Startup Disk, and go fetch yourself some coffee, it may take as long as 30 minutes to complete the process.
If you want to be more technical about your USB follow these steps. This is the hard way (Most distros will work, including RedHat/Fedora based distros).
Download and install Gparted.
Run Gparted and select your USB. (Make sure your USB is formatted Fat32).
Left click the partition, and select Resize/Move (You may have to unmount it, to do this right-click the partition and select unmount).
Select how much space you want for saving files. Make sure the distro at least has 4GB for your Linux OS.
Left click on the Unallocated Partition, and on the new partition button.
Select the formatting to ntfs, then click add. (If you want, you can rename your partition).
Click apply, and wait until it finishes. Then remove your USB, then reinsert the USB.
Run UNetbootin, and select your ISO or choose one from the list of Linux distros.
Click OK to proceed.
If you don't have Unetbootin, you can download it from http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/#install.
What now? Well, now you can show off your USB at the office, at school, or at your friend’s house. You can also then customize your Linux distro of your choice from your USB… making your USB your PC.
Here is a list of my favorite USB Linux distros:
Kiwi 10.08 Puppy Linux Vector Linux Bodhi Linux DSL