Hi,

Have an Old 64 Bit PC with 1GB RAM.

Have successfully made a Full Ubuntu 16.04 32 Bit "Live Boot" USB Drive.

2 Questions:
1. Do All based Distros offer "Live Boot"?

Am especially interested in LXLE 16.04.2 64 Bit and Xenialpup 7.5 64 Bit.

2. Is it possible to make a Ubuntu 16.04 64 Bit "Live Boot" USB Drive using a Windows XP or 7 32 Bit PC? Tried but got Error Message.

Thanks

Ken

Many distributions do support live boot. The main reason is to allow you to try them out before installing.

I know this wasn't part of your question, but additionally some options allow you to create a small section on the drive to save information across reboots so you don't always have to start from scratch. It is called persistence.

LXLE appears to support live boot from a web search I performed. I've never used that distribution.

You can best create a bootable USB using a program like unetbootin, and I realized the problem is "inside out", because what I'm next going to say is that the best way to create a bootable USB for Linux is to do this within Linux. Suggest you try unetbootin as an option and see if this works for you.

What did you try to use? And what error message did you get?

Hi rtmistler,

Thanks for your fast response.

"...the best way to create a bootable USB for Linux is to do this within Linux. Suggest you try unetbootin as an option and see if this works for you." I normally use Windows so am not comfortable with Linux.

This started because I inherited a messed up Acer AMD PC with unusable Windows 7. Tried to use Hiren's 15.2 USB Drive but would not boot. Found out was due to "Secure Boot" (SB).

Googled and found Ubuntu 16.04 will work with (SB). Also found "How To Create A UEFI Bootable Ubuntu USB Drive Using Windows" by Gary Newell. Did everything as he said. First tried a 64 Bit ISO and got Error (Do not remember exact words). Fortunately when tried the 32 Bit ISO it Worked!!!

Before posting these questions searched for light versions of Ubuntu 16.04 and found Xenialpup 7.5 http://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux...ialpup-7.5.htm It mentions "Puppylinux boots from cd, usb, sdcard or network access. A Hard Drive is not required!" OK

Also found LXLE 16.04.2 but very little info. The wiki says " LXLE is a lightweight distro, with a focus on visual aesthetics,[1] that works well on both old and new hardware.[3]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LXLE_Linux Am not concerned with aesthetics only speed. "live Boot"(lb)? why I am wondering if all Ubuntu distros have (lb)

Does Linux have anything comparable to Hiren's 15.2?

Thanks again!

Ken

Unetbootin has three different versions, one for Linux, one for windows and one for macs. If all you have is windows, download the windows version and try it. LXLE is another distribution based on Ubuntu. If you are not interested in 'visual asthetics' but rather speed, you might try Lubuntu, another Ubuntu derivative or something like AntiX.

Not specifically as a disk, however there are various ISO images which can be programmed to a CD or USB and then live booted and they contain similar tools. In fact most of them do contain tools for disk diagnostics, partitioning, and formatting, and also you'd be able to attach to the internet and download to install additional tools if they didn't happen to be on the distro you'd chosen.

Rather hard to understand exactly what you're looking for since you also said that you're not comfortable with Linux so I'm trying to figure out what your issue is.

Secondly you seem to be asking also if Ubuntu 64-bit can run on a 32-bit machine, and meanwhile you've gotten a 32-bit version operating. So, I say use that, use tools like gparted, fdisk, and mkfs to do your disk operations. However what are you really trying to do? Get a system booted and running a desktop? Fix a windows boot? Get data off of a Windows partition?

Hi yancek,

Thanks for the AntiX tip!

Checked website https://antixlinux.com/the-most-exte...on-the-planet/

Saw "The antiX distro provides legacy, 64-bit UEFI, and 32-bit UEFI live bootloaders...on the live-usb we also offer an "F8 Save" feature that saves your choices across reboots" which may be what I want.

Also the CPU and RAM minimums seem lower than the Ubuntu lite distros. http://antix.mepis.org/index.php?title=Main_Page Am I correct?


To give you a better idea of what I am trying to do: Would like to setup a Beginners Audio/Video only 64 Bit PC.

At this time I have 2 64 Bit PCs the oldest is a P4 with 2 GB RAM (DDR2) and WinXP the other is an AMD AMD Athlon II X2 220 with 4 GB RAM (DDR3) and Win 7.

Both Win OSes are 32 Bit which is why I asked if there is anyway I can make a 64 Bit Live Boot USB Drive on a 32 Bit Windows PC. Tried once but Failed. Do not know if it was because of me or if not possible.

Ken

You can run 64-bit versions of Linux on 64-bit processors. I read too much into you saying 32-bit Windows. You have 64-bit machines, therefore you can run 64-bit versions of any operating system.

The issue as already identified may be UEFI BIOS and secure boot. If you have a bootable media, CD, DVD, or USB with 64-bit Linux on it, and you can get it so that it boots to live media, then you can choose to do a full install onto your hard drive of that Linux, if this is your preference.

Hi rtmistler,

"you seem to be asking also if Ubuntu 64-bit can run on a 32-bit machine" No as mentioned to yancek would like to make a 64 Bit Live Boot USB Drive on a 32 Bit Windows PC.



"Rather hard to understand exactly what you're looking for since you also said that you're not comfortable with Linux so I'm trying to figure out what your issue is." I not comfortable with Linux "command based user interface"

A while ago made a Debian 64 Bit install on a HDD but at that time felt the "Learning Curve" was too Steep so shelved Linux and the HDD. Got it out recently but had forgotten Root Username/Password.

Will say I have done this before with Windows and have used Hirens to retrieve.

Then Googled using "how to change forgotten root password in Debian" and found a number of sites such as "How to Reset debian Root Password" http://www.debianadmin.com/how-to-re...-password.html

Tried to follow instructions
"Boot to the GRUB menu. Then, press <e> (for edit) before Linux has a chance to boot.

Using your keyboard arrow keys, move the cursor down a line or so, and press <e> (for edit) again, you should now be on the kernel line, and press <End> to go out to the very end of that line. Now hit the spacebar once, if necessary, to add a space, and then add one of the folllowing:

init=/bin/bash

or

init=/bin/sh

Then press <Enter>, and you're back at the kernel line, press <b> (for boot) and the computer will proceed to boot to a root prompt.

At this point, the root file system is still mounted read-only, so enter the following command:

mount -n -o remount,rw /

Then type:

passwd

Enter your new password. Retype if asked to confirm.
Then restart the machine by typing:

reboot"

but did Not work!

Think I made either a typo or no space etc (with Windows I can copy/paste).

Do you know of a GUI or easier way for beginners to change forgotten Linux Root passwords?

Ken

Hey Ken,

I would run a 32-bit OS on the P4 with 2GB RAM. Even if the hardware really is 64-bit, you will get none of the advantage given the small amount of memory and the OS might actually run slower than a 32-bit version.

... and yes you can create an installation medium (CD, USB) for a 64-bit OS on a 32-bit system.

Cheers.

There are three basic types of live boot.

One is a hybrid image that can be dd'd to a usb. Usually used to boot and install with.

Two is an iso file that can be placed on a usb drive with some program like rufus, live usb creator or others. May also have ability for persistence. Common way many new users might use. www.pendrivelinux.com for ideas.

Three is to install to usb like you'd install to a hard drive. I tend to do this.


Also many distro's are live but don't really mention it anymore.

It is possible to build your own live distro. Some web pages have clues and some have programs to build one.

Welcome back (2014?), KenithO
This link has some options for your task.
chroot is the usual way, from the CLI.
Best wishes

Reset passwd from cyberciti(dot)biz

Hi Rickkkk,

Thanks for the 32 Bit suggestion considering the low memory these PCs have.

Since want to make it an Audio/Video only PC, any recommendations as to tests to check if 32 Bit is faster than 64 Bit?

Also any suggestions concerning "how to make a 64 Bit Bootable "Live Linux OS" USB Drive on a 32-bit system?

Ken

Hi jefro,

Thanks for the "There are three basic types of live boot." clarification.

"Two is an iso file that can be placed on a usb drive with some program like rufus, live usb creator or others." This is the one I am most interested in. Plus for my Acer AMD 64 Bit PC need to be able to boot with "Secure Boot" because have not found a way to disable it.

"Also many distro's are live but don't really mention it anymore." Noticed that when was reading some of the distros that use Ubuntu.

"It is possible to build your own live distro. Some web pages have clues and some have programs to build one." At present would not even consider but would consider eliminating Unused Features and Apps if easy to do (have made various Windows Lite in past...XPlite and 2000lite v1.9 http://www.litepc.com/)

Ken

Hi Ken,

Concerning speed tests, I wouldn't bother. The main advantage of running a 64-bit OS is being able to address and use more than 4 GB of RAM. The P4 system only has 2 GB, easily addressable by a 32-bit OS, which will by *slightly* lighter than its 64-bit counterpart. The biggest difference-maker in terms of performance will be the GUI you choose. On a old, limited system like that one, pick the lightest Desktop Environment you can find (LXDE is my go-to) or step down to a simple window manager (Joe's Window Manager, or JWM, has always been a favourite of mine for light systems).

To make your bootable media, just go about it the usual way (there are various methods - the distro you are going to use probably has suggestions on their web page). The 32 or 64 bit OS thing doesn't matter when you're just creating a bootable install drive. It will obviously matter once you actually use it to boot a computer - then you'll have to make sure your on 64-bit hardware, which is not a problem for your 2 systems.

Cheer - hope this helps - let us know how things go.