I'm trying to create a multiboot usb thumb drive through XBOOT. I'm not asking for help creating one - Pendrivelinux & 2 threads I found here address that - what I'm trying to do is find multiple small versions of linux that I can use for various means, recovery being a big one.

So...yea...call me stupid, but I need help.

(If this need to be moved to another board, like general, I understand.)

Puppy Linux
SliTaz Linux
Tiny Core Linux
System Rescue CD

Google them, you shall find them.

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Much thanks, lucmove. I'm downloading them right now. Your comment has been rated helpful.

While I was waiting for a response, I went looking for small versions via search. Damn Small Linux, Ubuntu, Xubuntu, and something called Mint popped up. Are any of those worth looking up & adding to the list?

I am not quite sure, but if my memory serves, Damn Small Linux is no longer active. They haven't released a new version in a long time and probably will never release another one. The guy who headed that project now heads Tiny Core.

Ubuntu and Mint are not small. They're not huge, but they are definitely not in the "small" league. Xubuntu is supposed to be smaller than Ubuntu because it uses XFCE, a relatively small window manager instead of the default Ubuntu one, but neither XFCE nor the whole Xubuntu is that small either. Probably not what you want.

Tiny Core is probably the smallest thing you can ever find with a graphical environment.

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I just remembered another one: Slax.

If you want to do "recovery", I recommend Puppy or Slax. You can customize them to your heart's content and those customizations will remain the next time you reboot. So you can install all the tools you need, customize your shell, scripts, alias etc. So you always have a very nice and comfortable environment to do your recovery stuff.

System Rescue CD is supposed to have all the tools you need for recovery, but I find it a lot, lot harder to customize.

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Much thanks. I think I'll grab Puppy, but which would be better: Slacko Puppy (slackware) or Lucid Puppy (Ubuntu Puppy)?

Also, with Slax, when I go to the "get slax" page and select either one (ISO or tar), I get taken to another site (Speedy share) and it says I have to sign up & get premium to download it. Would it be better to do the "Build Slax" option, and, if so, what modules would you suggest I add...if any?

(I ask because I also intend to use Slax for security, but many of the modules say they haven't been verified & aren't recommended until they get reviewed...which can be several days to months.)

I THINK Lucid Puppy is better because you have the entire Ubuntu Lucid repository at your disposal. That is a very large number of packages. I don't think Slax has that many packages, but I could be wrong.

I just checked your report about Speedyshare, well, I wasn't aware of that. I just tested Slax once many years ago, I am not familiar with it or its site. In any case, Puppy is probably a much better option than Slax.

I use Hirem's Boot CD which has quite a few tools already built-in. For an xboot USB drive, I use Parted Magic, Knoppix, Kaspersky or Avira's antivirus boot CD, Clonezilla, Rescatux, G-parted, and System Rescue CD. Yes, some of those tools overlap, but it's better to have it and not need it...

Slacko Puppy is not based on Slax, it is based on Slackware. Since Slackware packages are normally created from source by the user (or a script) the amount of packages for Slackware logically has to be larger than for Ubuntu.

Regarding Slax, Distrowatch states Slax as dormant, I would recommend to use Porteus instead.

May wish to add in ultimate boot cd and maybe make a bartspe just in case too.