[SOLVED] Installing Slackware onto usb stick

deadalus.globalnode · 02-15-2010, 04:30 PM

Hello,
I am wanting to install Slackware on a usb stick so that I can boot from it and use Slackware on different computers. I was wondering if I can do the standard install procedure, using the usb stick as the install drive. If I can than are there any pitfalls I should watch out for?

Peacedog · 02-15-2010, 09:15 PM

Hi deadalus.globalnode, Welcome to LQ. Have a look here, it's documented.

http://wiki.alienbase.nl/doku.php?id=slackware:usbboot

Good luck. ;-)

deadalus.globalnode · 02-17-2010, 10:19 AM

Thank you. I wonder why I couldn't find it on Google. Any way I appreciate the help.

SCerovec · 02-17-2010, 04:05 PM

Or try Slax?

Rupa · 02-17-2010, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peacedog

Hi deadalus.globalnode, Welcome to LQ. Have a look here, it's documented.

http://wiki.alienbase.nl/doku.php?id=slackware:usbboot

Good luck. ;-)

This is about installing FROM an usb device, not TO usb. (And the complexity of the how-to is totally absurd by the way. To install slackware FROM usb device you just have to copy kernels/hugesmp.s/bzImage and isolinux/initrd.img to the already existing fat filesystem on your stick. Then make it bootable with syslinux. Done.)

You can install slackware TO an usb device just like you install it on any other hard drive. The only pitfall is, that the slackware standard for naming devices in /etc/fstab is the tradiotional unix way (/dev/sdN). So if it's sdb on one computer it could be sdf on another one. To solve this issue use labels or uuids to identify the partitions.

deadalus.globalnode · 02-18-2010, 12:21 PM

Do you know where I could find documentation or a tutorial on using labels or uuids?

bgeddy · 02-18-2010, 12:53 PM

Check man for the following :

Code:

fstab , lilo.conf, vol_id, e2_label

Personally I find it easier using UUID rather than LABEL for these operations (even though the strings are longer) as it doesn't seem the swap partitions can be labelled - hence the fstab entries for swap partitions which may change are messed up. Using UUID fixes this.

titopoquito · 02-18-2010, 01:17 PM

http://linuxconfig.dyndns.org/lazy/L...vable_USB_disk

lazardo · 02-19-2010, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bgeddy

Check man for the following :

Code:

fstab , lilo.conf, vol_id, e2_label

Personally I find it easier using UUID rather than LABEL for these operations (even though the strings are longer) as it doesn't seem the swap partitions can be labelled - hence the fstab entries for swap partitions which may change are messed up. Using UUID fixes this.

Code:

bash-3.1# mkswap -L 2nd_SWAP /dev/sda8
Setting up swapspace version 1, size = 10490408 KiB
LABEL=2nd_SWAP, UUID=223ddafe-da6a-4045-abc2-77fa45059ec3
bash-3.1# swapon -v -L 2nd_SWAP
swapon on /dev/sda8
bash-3.1# cat /proc/swaps
Filename				Type		Size	Used	Priority
/dev/sda5                               partition	5253212	0	-1
/dev/sda8                               partition	10490404	0	-2

Cheers,
Emilio