USB flash drive boot
 

I have a 2GB usb flash drive and I wanted to boot a linux distro from it. My dilemma is that I'm having a hard time balancing size with quality.

I've been going the virtual route so far in my linux studies but the variety with hardware is so limited. If I had a bigger flash drive it wouldn't be a concern but I need to make do with what I have.

So what's a good learning distro that has good features but can be installed onto a 2GB flash drive? I'm sure there is more than one but I'd like to get some different input from more seasoned users.

ah
there are so many good but small distro's

what are the likely computer specs you will be booting it on?
ram, etc?

what distros have caught your eye or features you liked?

what use will the distro have besides learning linux?
web browsing, games, etc?

Wow, I actually forgot to put specs on that post :/

I'm using a 1.6GHz Intel dual core with 2GB RAM and an ATI Mobility Radeon X1300. My main goal is to learn the server side of Linux. X would be nice but I want to concentrate more on command line administration so it's not such a big deal.

Pretty much all of my learning so far has been based on CentOS 5. I've also enjoyed working with Slackware even though it seems to be much harder to use. I mostly want to stay away from the distributions that hold your hand through every task, which CentOS seems to do. It seems that those are the more bloated ones anyway.

Debian will easily fit on a 2GB-stick. If you deselect desktop-environment during installation you will end with less than 500MB. After installing a window-manager and a few gui-apps you are still under 1GB. If you choose to install xfce4 and xfce4-goodies and some further apps you "should" be somewhere between 1 and 1.5GB. For all of that i have choosen the absolute maximum. I would say it does pretty much of handholding, as long you want it to (still, like you say, other distros seem to offer much more of hand-holding). For me its nice and easy.
As you already know Slackware that would be the first way to go, or not?

Go to pendrivelinux.com. Almost every major distro can be put on that. Remember most live cd's use a compressed filesystem. That filesystem may hold up to 2G per cd. So you can hold maybe up to 4g on that flash.

Linux on Small USB
 

Linux on a small flash drive is a cool and nice way to use and extend the life of your older flash drives, but consider purchasing larger flash drives also. You can buy larger for less than (some people spend on) lunch. Linux Distros like Puppy can be installed and work OK on a little as 128 meg (yes-MEG). I do not know where you are located, but one company in Ohio is Microcenter, which "lost-leaders" their own brand of flash drives (which are guaranteed forever - unlike other brands I have owned that were much more expensive). You can buy 4 gig flash drives for under $8.00 there and the 16 Gig (recommended for almost any single Distro and you can often even load multiple ones on the same drive) for under $30.00. Most Distros I have installed usually comfortably install on 4-8 gig drives, but you want room to grow and udpate. Should you need help for install options, there are many videos on how to install Linux flash drives on youtube such as one tool in general which works about half the time is a program called Unetbootin. Good luck.

These are some great ideas...thank you all so much. I'm looking forward to testing them out.

hey smyrnian
thats not really true; not really harder, you will see if you use Slackwre, it is actually easier to use than most...
it doesn't get in your way or do things behind the scenes as buntu's do...

you can try Slackware-derivatives as LiveUSB

SalixOS is Slackware Based XFCE4
http://www.salixos.org/wiki/index.php/Home

Fathom's Slax remix is Slackware Current and runs like Slax KDE
http://www.slax.org/forum.php?action...parentID=62815

and my own nFluxOS SC current Fluxbox
http://multidistro.com/NFLUXNEW/SQ4/slack.html

all those have persistent usb, etc, and they'll all 3 fit on your usb too!