The end of computing as we know it? Linux on the USB stick...

Hi, first happy new year to everybody here.
I was playing a bit with the USB memory stick, more intended as a backup,
but since it is bootable.. I have a kernel image on it.....
How about porting Knoppix to the USB memory stick?
The one I have is only 128 MB, but 1 GB will arrive shortly I am sure.
This way you just take your OS to wherever you go, along with all you
programs and work (spreadsheets, source code, whatever).
Just stick it in and reboot.
VERY high level of security too.
And, since Linux will mount almost any file system, you can access
all data present at all drives (if not encrypted).
This must be a bit shocking to the Redmonders......
Just copy my stick hehe.

On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 15:14:03 +0000, Jan Panteltje wrote:

I was playing a bit with the USB memory stick, more intended as a backup,
but since it is bootable.. I have a kernel image on it.....
How about porting Knoppix to the USB memory stick?
The one I have is only 128 MB, but 1 GB will arrive shortly I am sure.
This way you just take your OS to wherever you go, along with all you
programs and work (spreadsheets, source code, whatever).
Just stick it in and reboot.
VERY high level of security too.
And, since Linux will mount almost any file system, you can access
all data present at all drives (if not encrypted).

There are already quite a few Linux "distros" made to work on a USB pen
drive/memory stick. Try a google search. The CDROM distro you mention,
Knoppix, can save it's settings to a home directory on a USB stick.

The main problem seems to be that the motherboard support for USB booting
seems to be spotty.

--
Beauty and harmony are as necessary to you as the very breath of life.

On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 16:12:49 -0500, Douglas Bollinger
wrote:

On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 15:14:03 +0000, Jan Panteltje wrote:

I was playing a bit with the USB memory stick, more intended as a backup,
but since it is bootable.. I have a kernel image on it.....
How about porting Knoppix to the USB memory stick?
The one I have is only 128 MB, but 1 GB will arrive shortly I am sure.
This way you just take your OS to wherever you go, along with all you
programs and work (spreadsheets, source code, whatever).
Just stick it in and reboot.
VERY high level of security too.
And, since Linux will mount almost any file system, you can access
all data present at all drives (if not encrypted).

There are already quite a few Linux "distros" made to work on a USB pen
drive/memory stick. Try a google search. The CDROM distro you mention,
Knoppix, can save it's settings to a home directory on a USB stick.

The main problem seems to be that the motherboard support for USB booting
seems to be spotty.

Yep some recent BIOSs will only work with the USB drive "seen" as a ZIP,
others want to see it as a hard disk. I had this problem recently with a
Thinkpad which wanted to see it as a hard disk to be able to boot from it.
Solved it using AEFDISK from www.aefdisk.com and diddling the device type.
Don't recall the details but there were several posts on this I turned up
from a Usenet search at Google.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

On a sunny day (Fri, 02 Jan 2004 05:45:53 -0500) it happened George Macdonald
wrote in
:

On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 16:12:49 -0500, Douglas Bollinger
wrote:

On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 15:14:03 +0000, Jan Panteltje wrote:

I was playing a bit with the USB memory stick, more intended as a backup,
but since it is bootable.. I have a kernel image on it.....
How about porting Knoppix to the USB memory stick?
The one I have is only 128 MB, but 1 GB will arrive shortly I am sure.
This way you just take your OS to wherever you go, along with all you
programs and work (spreadsheets, source code, whatever).
Just stick it in and reboot.
VERY high level of security too.
And, since Linux will mount almost any file system, you can access
all data present at all drives (if not encrypted).

There are already quite a few Linux "distros" made to work on a USB pen
drive/memory stick. Try a google search. The CDROM distro you mention,
Knoppix, can save it's settings to a home directory on a USB stick.

The main problem seems to be that the motherboard support for USB booting
seems to be spotty.

Yep some recent BIOSs will only work with the USB drive "seen" as a ZIP,
others want to see it as a hard disk. I had this problem recently with a
Thinkpad which wanted to see it as a hard disk to be able to boot from it.
Solved it using AEFDISK from www.aefdisk.com and diddling the device type.
Don't recall the details but there were several posts on this I turned up
from a Usenet search at Google.

Rgds, George Macdonald

Yep, I have a Tyan mobo and boot the stick as USB-ZIP.
http://www.8ung.at/spblinux/
has a small Linux (less then 10 MB) I have that working now.
Only in console though.
JP