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Thread: Linux persistent mode

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    Funking Prink! Raz316's Avatar
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    Linux persistent mode

    I think this is what I'm after, but I figured I'll ask here as well.

    I want to make a usb based install of mythbuntu that acts as if it's running from a normal harddrive and not as a liveCD style environment. (ie it reads from and writes to the usb stick as it pleases).

    Now I've seen the word persistent used alot and it describes a system that lets you "keep settings", that's just a newblood friendly way of saying the installation has write access to the drive its on, right?

    Cheers!

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    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    i think (no promises, as per usual) if you just plug in your usb drive, and run the normal installer, then you should simply be able to pick and install onto that drive. no custom gubbins required.

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    Funking Prink! Raz316's Avatar
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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    Cheers Hex, I read similar actually, but kinda got thrown by the extra detail mentioned with this persistent mode stuff.

    I'll give it a go tonight (might unplug the HDD just to be safe....)

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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    Quote Originally Posted by Raz316 View Post
    Cheers Hex, I read similar actually, but kinda got thrown by the extra detail mentioned with this persistent mode stuff.

    I'll give it a go tonight (might unplug the HDD just to be safe....)
    good idea I accidentally install Grub boot component on my internal HDD when trying to do this myself.

    If you want to dual boot it might be easier to use wubi? does the latest mythbuntu have wubi?

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    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    i think "persistent mode", by the way, is loading the OS off a CD, but using a flash drive to store "persistent" info like config files.

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    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    Quote Originally Posted by directhex View Post
    i think "persistent mode", by the way, is loading the OS off a CD, but using a flash drive to store "persistent" info like config files.
    Indeed.

    The early flash usb sticks where bad at writes. Many awsome little distro's like DSL (Damn Small Linux, always worth a play, works nicely on mini-itx's, just not as nicely as NT4) have this idea of persisting.

    Normally you'd copy the slow flash into RAM, and work with this copy, but the problem is what happens when you want to change a setting?

    Obviously the proper awnser is to design a decent driver that caches enough of the data in RAM, whilst understanding flash, dosen't re-write the same bits again and again (this kills flash memory, thou newer stuff is 1000s of times more resliant).

    The write wearing is another reason why the idea of taking a snapshot and 'persisting' it back. As its only going to be once in a blue moon. Obviously the proper awnser is some kind of advanced flash driver like NT has had for the last 10+ years. However this isn't really a problem anymore because things have moved on in the flash world.
    throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)

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    The late but legendary peterb - Onward and Upward peterb's Avatar
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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    Quote Originally Posted by directhex View Post
    i think "persistent mode", by the way, is loading the OS off a CD, but using a flash drive to store "persistent" info like config files.
    And user data too. Knoppix (and I'm sure other distros) allows a user to create a home directory (optionally encrypted) on a flash drive. Decryption of the data is done during boot up, and it remains decrypted until the system is stopped. (Perfect if you want to be ultra careful about on-line banking for example - although if you are ultra ultra careful, you might want to consider whether or not the passwords should be stored there, as they are readable when the drive is mounted)

    Quote Originally Posted by TheAnimus View Post
    Obviously the proper awnser is some kind of advanced flash driver like NT has had for the last 10+ years. However this isn't really a problem anymore because things have moved on in the flash world.
    The OS doesn't really need to know what the storage medium is - just the interface. Even the humblest USB stick has a controller in it that takes care of ddistributing the data evenly over the memory to even out wear and mapp out defective cells as they wear out. As far as the OS is concerned - it's 'just a drive'. (Which is what I think you meant in the last bit of the quote.)
    Last edited by peterb; 29-04-2008 at 03:34 PM.
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    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    indeed, didn't really explain it well thou did I....

    but in the olden days of using CF via an IDE adapter say, you had to rely on the OS to not wear out the flash with writes. Hence why things like DSL still hark back to this outmoded idea.
    throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)

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    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    there are non-FAT32 filesystems which spread data, for use on "dumb" flash drives

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    Funking Prink! Raz316's Avatar
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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    haha, I borked the install and did indeed screw the MBR up (why I was too lazy to unplug the drive I'll never know).

    My windows CD is back home so I couldn't fix the mbr from that. My mythbuntu livecd could connect to the internet, but couldnt find my-sys through apt-get (even though universe was able). My ubuntu liveCD couldn't connect to the net using my wireless dongle.

    Luckily I was able to bridge my connection from my eeepc (even though it wasn't a crossover cable, it still worked, how cool's that? ).

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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    Newer network controllers are fully aware with the crossover thing and will detect and change to work

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    Funking Prink! Raz316's Avatar
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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    too right it is! I'm gonna use it as a wireless device for my xbox360.

    Right im giving this usb install another go (being sure to change where the boot loader goes this time... ahem)

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    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
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    Re: Linux persistent mode

    Quote Originally Posted by directhex View Post
    there are non-FAT32 filesystems which spread data, for use on "dumb" flash drives
    even newer systems can sit inbetween if the physical device is properly abstracted. I belive this is what the EWF does

    Using Compact Flash (CF) with the Enhanced Write Filter (EWF)
    throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)

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