Install Ubuntu Server directly to USB

Is there a program(s) that would allow me to install Ubuntu Server directly to a USB flash drive instead of to the HDD of the computer from which I'm booting?

programs ubuntu server flashdrive install linux

asked Jan 05 at 13:18

Cube
26●12●12●17

edited Jan 08 at 18:45

Fogarty ♦♦
11.7k●12●27●38

5 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

Whenever I've needed to quickly install a Linux OS to a flash drive I've always used an open-source program called UNetbootin. It's fast, it's quick, and it's free. Personally that's a huge win for me. It's also great if you have to install Linux distros to multiple drives in a short amount of time.

Try it out, if you get confused there are great instructions on how to use it spread all around the web.

As @ryebread761 asks Are you trying to make a bootable USB drive or do you want run it exactly as a usual OS with all the info stored on the USB drive?

answered Jan 05 at 13:54

Zbob750
2.6k●6●13●38

edited Jan 05 at 14:32

Are you looking to make a bootable live USB or actually install the OS as you would on HDD?

answered Jan 05 at 14:07

ryebread761
7.5k●216●241●322

I would be trying to install it directly to a USB flash drive as I would an HDD. I would be using it as though it were a bootable live USB the regular way, with all of it installed to the flash dive rather than the HDD.

(Jan 06 at 11:37) Cube

0	I would use Lili. It makes it pretty painless. http://www.linuxliveusb.com/ answered Jan 05 at 15:12 ClosetFuturist 1.7k●6●14●27

0	Used it for years and it's reccomended by Ubuntu themselves. http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/#button answered Jan 06 at 11:43 Cameron 1.8k●103●127●134

As I have discovered, there are two ways to accomplish this. The first way would require me to have 2 USB flash drives, one with the Ubuntu Server 12.04 installer, and the other just blank for the actual install. Seeing as that I only have one USB, the second way would use VMWare. By using VMWare I would set up a virtual machine that uses the Ubuntu ISO and connect my USB so that when it asks me what drive to install it to than I can install it directly to my flash drive instead of the virtual machine, then power off the virtual machine and the physical machine and boot it from my USB flash drive.

answered Jan 06 at 11:48

Cube
26●12●12●17

Couldn't you also use a CD and USB?

(Jan 06 at 13:59) ryebread761

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