Installation of ExTiX 16.5 to a USB
stick
(To perform the installations you must be root)
NEWS
The ExTiX ISO is now a ISO-hybrid,
which means that it can very easily be transferred (copied) to a
USB pen drive. You can then even run ExTiX from the USB stick and
save all your system changes on the stick. I.e. you will enjoy persistence!
Use UNetbootin
for that - see below.
A) "Normal" installation without
persistence
ExTiX can be installed/transferred to a USB stick directly
from the ISO file. It might be good to use this method if your
computer lacks a CD/DVD drive, or if you just prefer to run
Linux systems from a USB stick.This is the way to perform the
installation:
1. Boot up a Linux system (Ubuntu or...) and
download the ISO file extix-16.5-64bit-lxqt-isoh-nvidia-1430mb-161012.iso
2. Open up a terminal and cd to the folder where the ISO file is
3. Insert a USB stick and make sure which name it was given
(/dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1 or ...)
4. Run the installation command cp
extix-16.5-64bit-lxqt-isoh-nvidia-1430mb-161012.iso /dev/sdb
5. Then run the command sync
Done!
B) Use mkusb - tool to create boot drives
The mkusb tool in Linux and Win32DiskImager in Windows
use the direct method of copying/flashing/cloning the ISO file
to a USB stick. Read
about mkusb...
You can avoid mistakes (using method A) above)
by using mkusb instead.
NOTE: If you want to install mkusb in ExTiX
16.5 you’ll have to change the first line in /etc/lsb-release to
“DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu”.
NOTE1: Do not use /dev/sda. (You
will then delete the partition on which you probably have a
Windows system).
NOTE2: You shall not write /dev/sdb1
(which is easy to believe).
After following the instruction A) 1 - 5 or B):
Restart your computer with the USB stick in place and change the
BIOS so that the
computer in the first place is booting from the USB stick.
NOTE3: If the above described methods
doesn't work for you, you should try with another USB stick.
(Another brand). All different versions of SanDisk
are known to work very well. See also below.
Error messages when running from USB
Common error message when trying to run ExTiX from an USB stick: (initramfs)
mount: mounting /dev/loop0 on //filesystem.squashfs failed:
Invalid argument. Can not mount /dev/loop0
(/cdrom/casper/filesystem.squashfs) on //filesystem.squashfs
Solution: Try with another USB stick (another
brand). NOTE:
It appears that not all USB sticks are suitable for topical
purposes. I.e.
they can not be made bootable. I
myself have experience of brands Kingston DataTraveler,
SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0 and Sony Micro Vault. The
first two works (for me). You
shall not use USB sticks of older model. They
may work, but mostly bad. If
you - after the installation of ExTiX to the USB stick - get
different error messages (see above) when you try to run the
system from the stick it is often because the stick is not
"good enough". It can also help to format the stick in advance
and/or create a new partition table on the stick. Use GParted
(installed in ExTiX) for that.
Alternative in Windows
You can as an alternative to the above
mentioned commands use Linux
Live USB creator (LiLi) in Windows. When using it it will
look like this. Persistence
can't be enabled though. Be sure to
go to OPTIONS and choose/force "Recognized
Linux" as Ubuntu 16.04 before starting the installation.
You can also use UNetbootin
in Windows or Linux. See a picture
how it looks before the installation starts in Windows 8.1/10. NOTE:
You must replace syslinux.cfg
in the root of the stick with this
file. (Also so you can enjoy persistence and run ExTiX in
RAM). There's other ways to do it, but using UNetbootin is the
best/safest way. I. e. if you want to install ExTiX to a USB
stick in Windows. However, if you want to install ExTiX to hard
drive you will have to run the system from a dvd disc during
installation or install ExTiX to USB the way I describe in
paragraph A) and B).
If you use Startup
Disk Creator in Linux to transfer ExTiX to USB it is
possible to install ExTiX to hard drive later on from the USB
stick.
exton /161012
