Creating a Persistent USB Drive from EndlessOS

#1

Please attach the EndlessInstaller log file for any install- and uninstall-related problems.
Above not necessary as my problem is something I do not think you have addressed yet.
My friend’s computer has Windows XP installed so therefore your Windows installer program will not work to allow keeping Windows XP while running EndlessOS on the same disk. The Endless USB live stick I have created works well but of course nothing is persistent when operating in this mode. I was hoping to install EndlessOS permanently on another USB stick as I have done for many regular Linux distros but your installer does not allow for that as it refuses to recognize another USB stick as an available hard drive.
Previously I had installed EndlessOS on an empty USB HDD with no problems at all as it did recognize the HDD as available for use and I let it use the whole disk.
In other Linux distros during the install setup they allow you to boot into GParted and setup a USB /dev/sdb drive to accept a full regular install including swap file and root partition (and other partitions if desired).
Is there any way to install to a separate USB stick on a permanent basis? I had really sold my friend on the Endless OS but as things stand I will have to revert to either a Linux dual boot or use a permanent USB stick. My friend wants to keep Windows XP only to update their GPS - not for regular use.

Sorry to be so long-winded on my first post but I thought this was something that many others would find useful - a genuine portable EndlessOS. I am guessing some updates might be a problem?

1 Like
#2

Bump.

Seems like you should be able to manually install to a bootloader to a boot partition on the usb stick.

If you go that route, you’ll need to create a an EFI (“esp”) partition and then add bootloader such as grub or systemd-boot to that. https://web.archive.org/web/20181023080705/https://blobfolio.com/2018/06/replace-grub2-with-systemd-boot-on-ubuntu-18-04/ which points out how to replace grub with systemd-boot might give you an idea of how to add systemd-boot which is probably a bit less complicated from scratch.

#3

Thanks for reply to my request - good things come to those that wait!
However, in the interval, I decided that with the price of small SSDs dropping so low I would use an external 128GB SSD mounted in a USB3 HD enclosure instead of USB stick; total cost around CAD 50.00. Works well even on the USB2 port which is all that is available.
Only problem I experienced was in getting Endlessos installed onto SSD, as I got an error message after Trial install onto laptop (tried twice with same result). However when I tried a direct install it worked first time. I have heard that this can occur with other Linux distros.
Thanks for the continued development of this very different Linux distro - I look forward to trying the new Flatpak based apps - eases your development load and puts you more in the mainstream with consistent updates.
I will be following your progress with interest.

#4

If you want to create a persistent live USB stick from the Endless Installer for Windows, launch the installer, hold Control and click the “advanced options” link. This will give you options for a live USB and a reformatter USB.

On Endless, you can use eos-download-image to fetch an appropriate raw disk image, and eos-write-image to write it to a USB stick.

#5

Thanks for the second suggestion on creating a persistent live USB stick for Endless OS.

I read the link in the first suggestion and figured the whole procedure was somewhat convoluted.

I am not clear if in the second suggestion the first paragraph is one option (in Windows use Endless Installer to create reformatted USB pulling image from Endless online [is USB produced bootable and persistent?]) and second paragraph option is from a terminal in Endless OS [again is USB produced bootable and persistent?]. Will try these options even though my immediate concern was solved using external SSD rather than USB as explained in my earlier post.

Thanks again.

#6