I have to re-enter my rather long password each time I boot up. Is there any way I can avoid this please?.

I assume you are running Mint.

If you are running a live USB version without persistence then nothing is saved upon shutdown.

I've never tried this but to add persistence you would need to create a second partition using ext2 as the file system type and set the Label to casper-rw.

You can also install Mint to the USB drive as a regular installation instead of a live version.

That sounds beyond this noob. I created the USB Linux Mint 17.2 using UNetbootin and was unaware of the term persistence.

But I am learning fast and I guess that is what makes Linux interesting.

A live version even though it was installed on a USB drive runs from memory. Some live versions have the capability of saving settings and installed programs to a file or partition and that is called persistence.

Space used to preserve files across reboots is shown when you open unetbootin. See the second image at the unetbootin home page below. Since Mint is derived from Ubuntu, this works for Mint. This just creates a file up to a maximum of 4GB. If you want more, you need to create a casper-rw partition with a Linux filesystem.

http://unetbootin.github.io/

Unetbootin is a good newbie way to start learning. While the persistence file (casper) is a good way to make it appear that you are saving data there is a slight downside to this. The original data is in a compressed file. Things that may need to be updated can't be properly updated. These compressed files have an advantage in speed.

Your next step may be to create a usb drive that has linux installed just as if it were a real hard drive. It would act and function like a normal hard drive on many modern systems. You should buy a very fast usb flash drive for a normal install.

I'd look in to puppy Linux and all of the little puppies that came out of it. their is many to pick from, 32bit to 64bit that where created just for this type of usage.

Thanks for that advice. In my ignorance I thought using Unetbootin would install Linux Mint onto the USB drive and it would act as you describe. Quite a learning curve for this old-timer.

What would be the advantage as I am quite happy with Linux Mint at present.

not one lousy bit forget I suggest it...
viva la MINT

figure out a work around if you cannot get persistent to work. a file with your password on it that you can get to so all you have to do is copy paste it instead of having to write out out every time perhaps.

LOL. That is a possible solution or I could stop being lazy and just type in my password whilst I am trying out linux.

Not necessarily an advantage (that's up to you to decide), but here's what makes Puppy different:

Puppy runs entirely out of RAM. In fact, once booted, you can remove the USB stick altogether and run with NO disks attached! This makes it run much faster than other distros as well. When you shutdown/reboot, Puppy gives you the option to save an image of RAM, including any changes you made (like storing the WiFi password). Next time you boot, it picks up where you left off. You can choose not to save as well, in which case all your changes go away. You can decide whether to save/not save for every session. Puppy can also be installed in the conventional way to a hard disk like all other distros, but its uniqueness is in the run-from-RAM functionality.

if you're just trying out, then burn another one and try whats next on the list, you have not even scratch the surface ... keep going ...

http://distrowatch.com/

That sounds interesting and I will give it a try. Thanks.

I will do as you suggest. I am enjoying the new challenge of Linux.