For the fun of it: how big is your distro installation?

[osprey]

As I said: just for the fun of it to compare distro sizes and I'm not talking about the DVD installer, I'm talking about the size of your entire system that you're currently using. Or the size of the whole root, if you will.
A few minutes ago mine became the smallest I've ever had: 15.9 GB. Only last year it used to be nearly 50 GB.

The small system whose df output is below, is minios, which is an entire linux system on a usb ... a live disk with persistence, which means that one can use it from the booted up usb like an ordinary desktop installation, saving files, updating and upgrading.

It's based on debian trixie (stable) and thus has all the debian tools available for managing the system. What's not in the initial install can be downloaded.

Briefly, it runs an xfce desktop, comes in 3 versions: standard, toolbox and ultra, and is basically a portable linux system "in your pocket" that can be started on any machine that allows one to boot from a usb. It operates totally in RAM and writes to the usb.

The standard version which is shown below was written to a 16G usb but only takes up 6.5G. I haven't configured the rest of the usb beyond the 6.5G to work with yet ... a little learning task.

Once booted up, it found the network for updating and upgrading. Runs firefox-esr for browsing by default.

$ df -h
Filesystem      Size  Used  Avail Use% Mounted on
 
tmpfs           7.8G   84M  7.7G   2%  /run/initramfs
/dev/sdb1       797M  797M     0 100%  /run/initramfs/memory/data
/dev/sdb2       6.5G  411M  5.8G   7%  /run/initramfs/memory/data/minios/changes
 
<snip>
 
overlay         6.5G  411M  5.8G   7%  /
tmpfs           3.9G  1.5M  3.9G   1%  /run
tmpfs           3.9G  8.0K  3.9G   1%   /tmp
devtmpfs        4.0M     0  4.0M   0%  /dev
tmpfs           3.9G     0  3.9G   0%  /dev/shm
efivarfs        256K   43K  209K  17%  /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
tmpfs           5.0M     0  5.0M   0%  /run/lock
tmpfs           791M   60K  791M   1%  /run/user/1000
tmpfs           1.0M     0  1.0M   0%  /run/credentials/[email protected]
tmpfs           1.0M     0  1.0M   0%  /run/credentials/systemd-journald.service

It's available here: https://minios.dev , with lots of docs which were very useful.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

By the looks if most people never delete their package managers' cache...

I never run apt clean to delete all cache but apt autoclean

In any case for SSD's all that matters is 20% free space for performance reasons, otherwise having a lot of stuff isn't a problem.
Although having a lot of programs installed is not recommended for security reasons, because it means more CVE's on you system.

 

[rado84]

I never run apt clean to delete all cache but apt autoclean

In any case for SSD's all that matters is 20% free space for performance reasons, otherwise having a lot of stuff isn't a problem.
Although having a lot of programs installed is not recommended for security reasons, because it means more CVE's on you system.

I've tried both and both are a joke - there's always something left with the auto commands. I prefer my method:

alias sc="sudo rm -rv ~/.cache /.ccache /var/cache/apt/* /tmp/* "

and voila - not a trace from the downloaded apt cache.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

~/.cache

This is probably a bad idea, first it has nothing to do with apt cache and secondly many other programs store cache there including logs and what not that is program specific.

Clearing this cache is OK only for specific program you have problems with.

/tmp

Here is what this directory is for:

/tmp

• Temporary files, typically cleared on reboot
• Applications use this directory to store temporary files
• Even users can use this directory to store temporary files
• Many of these files are critical for presently running programs and removing them may affect a system crash

And

~/.ccache

This is probably compiler cache, I don't have it.

 

[Deleted member 210773]

minios, which is an entire linux system on a usb ... a live disk with persistence, which means that one can use it from the booted up usb like an ordinary desktop installation, saving files, updating and upgrading.

It's based on debian trixie (stable) and thus has all the debian tools available for managing the system. What's not in the initial install can be downloaded.

Briefly, it runs an xfce desktop, comes in 3 versions: standard, toolbox and ultra, and is basically a portable linux system "in your pocket" that can be started on any machine that allows one to boot from a usb. It operates totally in RAM and writes to the usb.

The standard version which is shown below was written to a 16G usb but only takes up 6.5G. I haven't configured the rest of the usb beyond the 6.5G to work with yet ... a little learning task.

Interesting distribution. What is the difference between the Standard and Ultra editions? I read about it, but I didn't quite understand.

 

[osprey]

Interesting distribution. What is the difference between the Standard and Ultra editions? I read about it, but I didn't quite understand.

The descriptive statement in the docs on minios ultra edition is:

MiniOS Ultra is the most comprehensive version of MiniOS, combining all features and tools from the Standard and Toolbox editions, plus additional software for development, multimedia, and advanced networking. Ideal for users who want a complete portable workstation with everything ready out of the box.

That's on the page here: https://minios.dev/docs/?lang=en#!./About-MiniOS.md

The packages in the ultra edition are shown here: https://minios.dev/docs/?lang=en#!././Packages.md

Basically, the ultra edition covers all bases. Firstly is a small desktop system with text editor, word processing (libreoffice), browsing (firefox), multimedia (vlc), file manager (thunar, mc), image apps (gimp, ristretto) and lots more. There's a surprisingly large number of packages really to cover the desktop field.

Secondly, in addition are a large number of tools for networking and system repair and recovery which can be used to work on troubleshooting other systems. The live minios can boot to RAM, mount drives of other systems and has heaps of tools to analyse issues (hdparm, smartmontools etc.), partitioning tools and tools to effect repairs. One could describe it as "pocket linux desktop and toolbox". There are other specialist live disks such as systemrescue that contain heaps of tools for repair and recovery, but minios has tried to additionally put together a relatively sophisticated desktop with those tools in the ultra version.

 

[Deleted member 210773]

The descriptive statement in the docs on minios ultra edition is:


That's on the page here: https://minios.dev/docs/?lang=en#!./About-MiniOS.md

The packages in the ultra edition are shown here: https://minios.dev/docs/?lang=en#!././Packages.md

Basically, the ultra edition covers all bases. Firstly is a small desktop system with text editor, word processing (libreoffice), browsing (firefox), multimedia (vlc), file manager (thunar, mc), image apps (gimp, ristretto) and lots more. There's a surprisingly large number of packages really to cover the desktop field.

Secondly, in addition are a large number of tools for networking and system repair and recovery which can be used to work on troubleshooting other systems. The live minios can boot to RAM, mount drives of other systems and has heaps of tools to analyse issues (hdparm, smartmontools etc.), partitioning tools and tools to effect repairs. One could describe it as "pocket linux desktop and toolbox". There are other specialist live disks such as systemrescue that contain heaps of tools for repair and recovery, but minios has tried to additionally put together a relatively sophisticated desktop with those tools in the ultra version.

Thank you very much for your detailed and comprehensive explanation. I think the Ultra edition is the most suitable for me, because it has everything I need already installed.
One last question please, how many GB of USB storage is recommended for MiniOS Ultra?

 

[osprey]

Thank you very much for your detailed and comprehensive explanation. I think the Ultra edition is the most suitable for me, because it has everything I need already installed.
One last question please, how many GB of USB storage is recommended for MiniOS Ultra?

Just to check it out, I installed the minios ultra on a 16GB usb and it shows up as the following:

# fdisk -l /dev/sdb
Disk /dev/sdb: 14.32 GiB, 15376318464 bytes, 30031872 sectors
Disk model: Cruzer Spark
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x3a5a053b
 
Device     Boot   Start      End  Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1  *         64  3482207  3482144  1.7G 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2       3482208 30031871 26549664 12.7G 83 Linux

The total size of the usb is showing as 14.32GiB (about 16GB), with minios having created 2 partitions.
The first partition /dev/sdb1 which is 1.7G looks to be the minios operating system where the bootloader and the kernel reside.

The second partition of 12.7G has 1.1G used by system files with other files that are available for user configuration. The size is shown in the following output after usb's second partition was mounted to check what's in it:

# mount /dev/sdb2 /mounts/usb1/
# cd /mounts/usb1
# ls
1  lost+found  session.conf
# du -sh .
1.1G    .  <------ Only 1.1G of 12.7G is used by the system

The results indicate that the user has about 11.6G available for their data on this 16G usb. That's a good start, and one can always mount a second usb to a computer to have extra space for files if they are using the minios as an on-going desktop, for example, a 64G usb would make a significant difference if the user had a lot of data requirements.

Note that all of the above figures were found after the minios ultra was booted up and had the basic configurations done as recommended in the docs. I hope the above helps with your query

 

[Deleted member 210773]

Just to check it out, I installed the minios ultra on a 16GB usb and it shows up as the following:

# fdisk -l /dev/sdb
Disk /dev/sdb: 14.32 GiB, 15376318464 bytes, 30031872 sectors
Disk model: Cruzer Spark
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x3a5a053b
 
Device     Boot   Start      End  Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1  *         64  3482207  3482144  1.7G 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2       3482208 30031871 26549664 12.7G 83 Linux

The total size of the usb is showing as 14.5GiB (about 16GB), with minios having created 2 partitions.
The first partition /dev/sdb1 which is 1.7G looks to be the minios operating system where the bootloader and the kernel reside.

The second partition of 12.7G has 1.1G used by system files with other files that are available for user configuration. The size is shown in the following output after usb's second partition was mounted to check what's in it:

# mount /dev/sdb2 /mounts/usb1/
# cd /mounts/usb1
# ls
1  lost+found  session.conf
# du -sh .
1.1G    .  <------ Only 1.1G of 12.7G is used by the system

The results indicate that the user has about 11.6G available for their data on this 16G usb. That's a good start, and one can always mount a second usb to a computer to have extra space for files if they are using the minios as an on-going desktop, for example, a 64G usb would make a significant difference if the user had a lot of data requirements.

Note that all of the above figures were found after the minios ultra was booted up and had the basic configurations done as recommended in the docs. I hope the above helps with your query

Thank you, I prefer to have everything on a single USB stick so I can use Mini OS Ultra like any other operating system, so I would like more persistent storage.

So I'm undecided whether to use a 32 GB or 64 GB USB stick, what do you think?

 

[osprey]

Thank you, I prefer to have everything on a single USB stick so I can use Mini OS Ultra like any other operating system, so I would like more persistent storage.

So I'm undecided whether to use a 32 GB or 64 GB USB stick, what do you think?

Certainly either size would be fine in the first instance. If you plan on it being a long term operating system in use, then the larger would likely be preferable since usage may "grow" into it. The quality of the usb may make a difference ... better quality should last longer and be more reliable. In the past usbs often weren't very robust for repeated use, but electronics have improved though I can't say more on that.

On the matter of using a second usb, in my case I use a 4-port hub of the sort seen here: https://www.amazon.com.au/stores/UGREEN/page/60BFE2B8-4D29-4D14-BFE9-31CEDC331885 so the live disk runs from one port and the other ports are available for other usbs if needed. Using this hardware means that one only needs to use a single usb socket on the computer. Not all hubs work though, so one needs to be aware of that if this route is taken.

 

[Deleted member 210773]

Thank you very much,
I prefer to have everything on one USB (including persistent storage)
I'm curious to know what MiniOS is like when I start it from the flash drive.

 

[ron.alan]

26.24 GiB, Devuan 5. I do have a handful of files in my home folder. I should go through them and either delete them or move them to my other physical drive.

 

[Deleted member 210773]

Thank you very much,
I prefer to have everything on one USB (including persistent storage)
I'm curious to know what MiniOS is like when I start it from the flash drive.

I think a 128GB USB should be fine for my needs

 

[The Duck]

Here's my distro installation on a 40 GB mechanical hard disk drive.

 

[wizardfromoz]

Showoff, lol, and that compact distro, with Australian windmill and galvanised iron water tank in the background, is brought to us by the wizard of Puppy-related distros, Barry Kauler.

Oi, oi, oi

 

[The Duck]

Showoff, lol, and that compact distro, with Australian windmill and galvanised iron water tank in the background, is brought to us by the wizard of Puppy-related distros, Barry Kauler.

Oi, oi, oi

Can't go wrong with Barry Kauler distros.

 

[dos2unix]

I have installed Linux on 10GB drives. But it is very very tight. Updates were impossible and the home directory was very small.
16GB is doable, but I wouldn't recommend it. 32GB is usually pretty comfortable for the distros and packages I install.

If you want VMs, multiple users, a dev environment, etc... honestly I wouldn't go smaller than 64GB.
But you can buy 256GB and 512GB drives pretty cheap these days. Even a 1TB drive can be had for less than $100.00

On my main system, just the OS is about 85GB. If I count my home directory.. with all the VMs, pictures, mp3s, etc... it's around 340GB.

 

[KGIII]

I cleaned up a bunch of junk, and I'm now just using 180 GB.

I should clean up more than that. Much of what's on this computer is used to help others, with a goodly amount of the software being things I've installed just to look into stuff. There are also a bunch of .iso files.

 

[The Duck]

I have installed Linux on 10GB drives. But it is very very tight. Updates were impossible and the home directory was very small.
16GB is doable, but I wouldn't recommend it. 32GB is usually pretty comfortable for the distros and packages I install.

If you want VMs, multiple users, a dev environment, etc... honestly I wouldn't go smaller than 64GB.
But you can buy 256GB and 512GB drives pretty cheap these days. Even a 1TB drive can be had for less than $100.00

On my main system, just the OS is about 85GB. If I count my home directory.. with all the VMs, pictures, mp3s, etc... it's around 340GB.

If I ran mainstream Linux I'd have a larger HDD.

My daily drivers are Easy OS and Puppy Linux distros so I don't need big HDDs.

Easy OS and Puppy Linux loads into ram and runs from ram I don't see any gain for my use for an SSD don't care about boot times.

 

[The Duck]

with Australian windmill and galvanised iron water tank in the background,

@wizardfromoz

My grandfather's farm had a windmill that ran a water pump and an iron tank similar to the one shown in the screenshot.

When the community went on city water supply we used to swim in it.

The windmill and pump still works and the water is used for watering small areas on the farm.

The good old days.