BajaNomad - Carry an entire PC operating system in your pocket

Carry an entire PC operating system in your pocket

arrowhead - 2-7-2010 at 02:24 AM

I thought I'd pass on some fairly new technology for computers that make it easy to carry an entire back-up PC operating system around with you on a $10 4GB USB memory stick...and it's FREE.

I have an entire computer operating system on this USB stick that I bought at Frys for $10.

Most of you know there is an alternate to the Microsoft Windows operating system called Linux. Newer versions of Linux have all the functionality and look of Windows. They have the Firefox browser, a Microsoft Office clone called Open Office, a mail system that works and acts just like Microsoft Office Outlook and which includes a contact list, a media player, photo editor, games and utilities. Unlike Windows, the newer versions of Linux will boot off of a USB memory stick and operate a PC without using the PC's hard drive. Most new PC's sold in the last two years or so will boot-up off of a USB memory stick. Older PC's may have a BIOS upgrade that will allow this.

When you boot-up a PC, watch the first screen that flashes on. You will see a screen that says something like:

Setup = Fxx
Boot menu = Fxx

Press the Boot Menu function key during the boot-up, and a menu will show with all the devices the PC will boot from; usually hard drive, CD, USB and Network. Place the USB memory stick in the USB port, select the boot from USB menu and the PC will ignore the hard drive and use the system in the USB memory stick to boot up. You don't even need the drivers specific to the PC you are using. They are all in the Ubuntu kernel. You can export your browser bookmarks and mail program contact list from your current PC and import them into Firefox and the Linux mail program. You don't have to reenter them all. So, with the bootable USB memory stick, you can walk into any internet cafe, reboot a computer with your USB memory stick, and have your own desktop system, just like what you have at home. When you leave, you take it all with you. Nothing gets written to the PC's hard drive.

It used to be technically difficult to create a bootable USB stick, and get the operating system on it, but not any more. A program called "unetbootin" will do all the work. You can get the program here:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/unetbootin/

Download the program. It runs on Windows. When it is running it will have a menu of which system you want to install on your USB stick. The newest and best is "Ubuntu Version 9.10". Just look for the highest version number of Ubuntu, as it is constantly being updated. When you select that, it will download the image file of the Ubuntu system from the internet (may take a while it is 700Mb) and install it on the USB stick and make the USB stick bootable. If you want to learn more about the Ubuntu version of Linux you can read about it here:

http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu

The operating system will take up about 2Gb of the USB memory stick so you have another 2Gb available to back-up your files and carry them around with you. For instance, you can scan all your important documents, like passport, FM3/2, bank statements, etc. and save them on the USB memory stick.

As an added benefit, if the hard drive on your PC crashes (usually from a corrupt boot record) and will not boot, you should still be able to boot from the USB stick. Ubuntu has a windows-like file manager program that sees your hard drive. As long as your hard drive is still spinning, even though it has corrupt sectors, you can transfer files from the hard drive to the USB and save them. Ubuntu also offers an option to install the system on your PC's hard drive, if you want to. It will also make clone bootable USB memory sticks.

Bob and Susan - 2-7-2010 at 06:20 AM

isn't this the REAL linux :tumble:

k-rico - 2-7-2010 at 06:46 AM

Thanks. I have an old Sony VAIO laptop (good computer) with a bad boot sector. I'll bring it back to life.

shari - 2-7-2010 at 08:03 AM

do you have to have Linux for this to work? Can I do this with XP pro?

mulegejim - 2-7-2010 at 10:20 AM

Arrowhead, excellent post - thank you for the information. Also, Firefox has some great add-ons that are very good. Have you checked out Xmarks or Weave, you may find them of some use? Jim

DENNIS - 2-7-2010 at 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by soulpatch
It is my intent to NEVER purchase another Microsoft product.

Not with Vista anyway.

Woooosh - 2-7-2010 at 10:58 AM

Thanks. I like that USB stick option too. I have several 2TB portable drives for my HP desktop PC that I use keep complete Windows 7 PC back-ups on. I recently switched from IE to Monzilla Firefox for most internet browsing with no regrets.

My brother-in-law works for Sun Micro-systems, but I've never really been a fan enough to switch to their OS. and Open Office. I should give it a try- but I have way too much money invested in Bill Gates and his Microsoft and Office programs. So long as he and Melinda keep giving away $Billions to make the world better- I don't mind. I look at it like a charitable contribution with a free software gift.

DENNIS - 2-7-2010 at 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh
I have several 2TB portable drives for my HP desktop PC that I use keep complete Windows 7 PC back-ups on.

Several? You could store the entire Library Of Congress on one. :lol:

bajalou - 2-7-2010 at 11:09 AM

Thanks for the info. I've been thinking of doing just what you explained for some time now but haven't got around to it. I was looking at a different Linux version, made just for these portable drives, leaving more space for your data. It is Puppy Linux, designed for portability.

http://www.puppylinux.com/

I now keep all my sensitive data (financial records etc) on a memory stick. The stick includes Firefox Portable web browser so I don't have to use the one on the computer. There are a lot of common programs designed for "portability", not registering anything in your Windows registry but having all the essential components fo the programs.

Have used Open Office for spreadsheets, etc for a couple years with no regrets on leaving th MS products. You can save (or open) documents in many formats, MS Word, Excell, Work Perfect, and on and on.

Lots of great alternatives. And not too complicated to set up and use these days.

A lot of libraries will not let you plug anything into their computers so this doesn't work there.

[Edited on 2-7-2010 by bajalou]

arrowhead - 2-7-2010 at 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
do you have to have Linux for this to work? Can I do this with XP pro?

The program that makes the bootable USB memory stick runs on windows.

You can also make a USB stick bootable to Windows XP, but it is not the same as having an entire portable PC system on a USB stick. People make a bootable XP USB stick to get back into their computer and run some utilities if their hard drive crashes. Windows is a proprietary system and it is designed to prevent cloning. However, if that is all you want, you can do the same thing with the installation CD disk that comes with Windows XP. The XP installation CD is bootable, and you just need to select "Boot From CD" on the first screen.

Also, windows does not support this, and you'll never know when it will stop working. As an example, Windows makes the XBox game system. All the peripherals that attach to it are also Microsoft products...and very expense. Some clever company made a plug-in memory card for the XBox that fits into the XBox's slot to increase its storage capacity. They sold it for a lot less than the Microsoft memory card. Microsoft turned around and wrote an operating system update that "killed" that memory card. The Xbox's automatically update when they are connected to the internet, just like your PC.

BajaNomad - 2-7-2010 at 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajalou
Thanks for the info. I've been thinking of doing just what you explained for some time now but haven't got around to it. I was looking at a different Linux version, made just for these portable drives, leaving more space for your data. It is Puppy Linux, designed for portability.

http://www.puppylinux.com/

I now keep all my sensitive data (financial records etc) on a memory stick. The stick includes Firefox Portable web browser so I don't have to use the one on the computer. There are a lot of common programs designed for "portability", not registering anything in your Windows registry but having all the essential components fo the programs.

Have used Open Office for spreadsheets, etc for a couple years with no regrets on leaving th MS products. You can save (or open) documents in many formats, MS Word, Excell, Work Perfect, and on and on.

Lots of great alternatives. And not too complicated to set up and use these days.

A lot of libraries will not let you plug anything into their computers so this doesn't work there.

[Edited on 2-7-2010 by bajalou]

Lou, Puppy Linux is excellent in regards to portable solutions. It also runs well on older systems (Pentium II, etc).

I'm actually connecting on a system right now that's running Puppy on a Live CD. This system's HDD was going sour this week (new HDD is sitting on my desk, but not installed yet). As mentioned, you run via USB or CD, and can copy files off the HDD to a USB flash drive or portable HDD.

The Ubuntu mentioned above is for newer systems. My favorite "flavor" of Ubuntu is Linux Mint though. Great Windows alternative. If you just browse the web, use Office-type software for docs, spreadsheets, presentations, etc, PDF, Linux makes great sense. GIMP is a satisfactory alternative to Photoshop.

One release that has (slightly) lower system requirements than Ubuntu, but still runs OpenOffice, etc., is PCLinuxOS.

My other favorite release for older Pentium II systems is AntiX - a stripped version of Mepis Linux - itself another strong Windows alternative/replacement. Use Puppy for portability, and AntiX if you're loading it to boot from HDD.

-
Doug

[Edited on 2-7-2010 by BajaNomad]

BajaNomad - 2-7-2010 at 01:15 PM

btw... for many of you that this sounds interesting, but you wouldn't want to "jump ship" just yet to something you're not familiar with...

Most/many of the Linux distributions are available (via free download) as a "Live CD". You simply download the .iso, then burn it to CD/DVD as a disc image. From there, you simply put the CD disc in your drive and boot from the drive.

You'll be running a "real-time" live Linux distribution - and won't be touching the HDD. So, you can play around, connect to the Internet, etc, then you can shut down the system, remove the CD, and turn your machine back on unchanged from before trying the Linux CD.

This also allows you a fairly good look at which Linux version supports and runs well on your particular system.

Summary of my recommendations - with links:

For newer systems:
- Linux Mint; (Ubuntu derived; use main release); http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php
- PCLinuxOS; (try the KDE Desktop); http://pclinuxos.com/?page_id=180
- Mepis Linux; https://www.mepis.org/mirrors

For older systems:
- AntiX; (Mepis derived); http://antix.mepis.org
- Puppy Linux; http://puppylinux.org

Read more:
http://www.distrowatch.com

[Edited on 2-7-2010 by BajaNomad]

BajaNomad - 2-7-2010 at 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh
My brother-in-law works for Sun Micro-systems, but I've never really been a fan enough to switch to their OS.

A) Sun no longer exists. It was swallowed by Oracle in a merger about a week and a half ago. Some Sun employees have an uncertain future. Hope your relative is not one of them.

B) Are you referring to the Solaris O/S? (or OpenSolaris?)... very technically oriented, and not yet ready for the mass-market IMHO. Linux O/S versions are much better suited to the mass-market at this time. OpenSolaris has lots of potential, but a long way to go yet, again IMHO.

noproblemo2 - 2-7-2010 at 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by soulpatch
That is cool. Next time this POS Windows Vista dumps all my stuff. Again. I will try this.
I REALLY don't like to have to restore all my stuff from back up on a regular basis.
It is my intent to NEVER purchase another Microsoft product.
Of course, that may be like trying to never purchase Chinese products.

Vista is a pain in the rear mine came with it and I raised heck with them, they finally told me that they were sending me Windows 7 for free, which I much prefer.

tjBill - 2-23-2010 at 11:02 PM

I downloaded linux ubuntu on a USB stick and its working great on my dell laptop.

Ubuntu is especially helpfull because my laptop lacks sufficient memory for Windows Vista or 7.

Tried it on my work laptop (gateway) but it didn't work because gateway laptops, like many laptops, does not use standard drivers. :no:

arrowhead - 2-24-2010 at 12:57 AM

For the Gateway computer, try using one of the "lighter" Linux systems for older computers that Doug mentioned above in this thread, like puppy linux. It is more likely the problem is not enough memory in the Gateway for the Ubuntu to load.

[Edited on 2-24-2010 by arrowhead]