Comments on: Install Ubuntu from USB

By: JVB

JVB — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:29:50 +0000

It works like a charm with Ubuntu 8.04.

Im gonna try it out with Kubuntu 8.04 aswell, since i prefere KDE.

=D hope it will help

By: JVB

JVB — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:50:03 +0000

I had the same problem as you, I have googled arround ofcourse and found this http://www.teamteabag.com/2008/03/07/install-ubuntu-804-hardy-heron-from-usb/
I dont know if it works yet but im working on it =)

By: johnraff

johnraff — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:31:39 +0000

I’ve just discovered unetbootin:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=427540
which lets you install from the net without a CD, USB or anything.
Just tried it off a Win98 partition (it works from Linux too) to install Gutsy and it worked like a charm!

There are versions for other distros too, including Arch.

By: shankargopal

shankargopal — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:23:39 +0000

the method that I’ve used to install Elive, PCLinuxOS and other distros (though not Ubuntu yet) is in outline as follows:

1. Get SLAX or another LiveCD / small distro (I personally rely on Puppy as my main desktop) that has QEMU; SLAX Kill Bill comes with it pre-installed. Boot into that either from USB drive, or if that doesn’t work, using WinGRUB or GRUB4DOS from your HDD partition to boot files from your USB.

2. Unmount all your hard drive partitions - you must do this or QEMU could corrupt your file system. Keep your pen drive mounted.

3. Start QEMU from within the distro, setting it to boot up by treating the Ubuntu ISO image file as a CD drive and asking it to treat the real hard drive as the virtual hard drive (see QEMU documentation to see how to do this). Also, make sure you give QEMU a command line option to limit the amount of memory it uses.

4. Run the installer, etc. It will be slow but it should be ok. Probably best to partition your hard drive beforehand using some other tool. Of course, don’t let it install GRUB or LILO.

5. Adjust GRUB’s menu file to include Ubuntu’s partition and reboot.

6. You should have everything running fine. However you will probably have to tweak the video settings, since they would be based on the QEMU virtual machine’s video card rather than your actual one.

HOpe this would work!

By: K.Mandla

K.Mandla — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 04:21:00 +0000

Thanks, I had seen that a long time ago and I think I tried to get it working. But I don’t have a machine that will true-boot from USB now, so I’m more or less out of the loop for USB boots. If anything else works for anyone, please let us know.

By: Pascal Cretain

Pascal Cretain — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:45:53 +0000

With my DVD Drive Dead, I spent several sleepless nights trying to install Ubuntu from USB and finally managed to do it as follows.: First, follow the instructions from http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2007/09/21/usb-ubuntu-704-persistent-install/
You might have to improvise a bit if one or the other step doesn’t work (for instance i encountered a problem when trying to format a USB partition under ext2 - error message was ‘bad revision’ but ultimately the guide works and includes all you need to do to boot Ubuntu from USB. Next, with Ubuntu running from USB, just follow the Ubiquity Install guide to get it to sit on your HDD but keep in mind that when trying to partition the HDD a strange problem that’s somehow related to the Swap Space comes up, preventing the installer from continuing. If you partition your drive manually withouth the Linux-Swap partition and just click through the warnings it will work for you - you can then add the swap space later on. Hope this helps.

Peace,
Pascal

By: yo anon

yo anon — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 01:02:29 +0000

um ok anon thanks for actually telling us the new link location

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:41:30 +0000

I’ve been using the guide Lanzaa talks about for more than two years. It works like a charm, you’re able to use the method with iso and the method without (using an internet connection). Sadly the link is dead today, but debian still hosts it.

By: brucehohl

brucehohl — Wed, 30 May 2007 11:28:59 +0000

Have you tried this method:
http://learn.clemsonlinux.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Install_from_USB_drive

By: W MacFadzen

W MacFadzen — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:44:24 +0000

for what it’s worth

slackware linux 10.1 will install from usb CD (ISO) but I have a problem installing to a 4G CF disk , 2G cards work fine.

Kernal is 2.4

tried Ubuntu for the latest Kernal for 4G support. your right it doesnt load from USB CD but a look at the slackware distrib might help you work through it. I have not done that yet