@Alexzee :-
I managed to run Puppy Linux from usb just had difficulty getting the Wifi working.
Our member
@MikeWalsh is very good with Puppy Linux.
Heh. I hesitate to describe myself as "very good" (more of a 'bumbler', really!).....but my 'take' is that ya can't help but pick up at least SOME of the ins & outs of using
any OS after more than a decade of doing so.
As for the wifi? It was more than likely a firmware issue. The up-to-date kernels WILL contain the drivers, but without those all-important firmware 'blobs' they still won't play ball.....and this is one way in which Puppy cuts down its ISO size, by reducing the amount of firmware blobs supplied OOTB. If we supplied 'blobs' for every driver supported in a modern kernel, it could easily add another GB to the download size.
If any user needs firmware for a recent chipset, they only have to ask on the forum. We've a couple of members that specialise in wifi stuff, who will often whip you up a custom package in under 24 hours. We also have a 'huge' fdrv available (the read-only package in the modular Puppy 'frugal' install that contains firmware only).....this is around 4-5 times the size of the 'standard' one.
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@secureuser :-
Hello guys!
Can you recommend a Linux distribution that works well from a USB stick?
I would like a specific distribution for USB.
(Lately I use MiniOS but it gives me a lot of problems)
I quote from m'colleague
@Brickwizard :-
First be aware running Linux from a persistent installation to a pen-drive will shorten its life,
you can run any distribution from a pen drive, some that may be considered a best fit are'..
Porteus
Anti-x
Linux Lite
Tails
and the ubiquitous Puppy
As m'colleague says above, the mentioned distros run very well from a pen-drive. Do bear in mind the initial statement, however.....which I will back-up by a quote from a recent post of my own:-
My "recommendation" would be to install Linux to - and run it from - an external HDD or SSD (but not a flash drive). Running a 'full' OS install from a flash drive is the quickest way to wreck it, due to the constant read/write operations going on all the time in the background. The NAND flash memory used in thumb drives does have a limited number of read/writes before the "cells" start to break-down.
An external USB 3.0 HDD or SSD has far greater tolerance for this kind of thing, being designed for it in the first place. And the type of NAND used in SSDs is usually far higher quality than that of a flash drive.
There's NAND.....and then there's NAND. That used in SSDs is usually of far higher quality, and will handle sustained, continuous reads/writes all day long. That used in a pen-drive is usually somewhat lower quality, and is mainly intended for the occasional read/write operation (which is how they were always meant to be used), i.e., data transfer from one location to another. What used to be known as the "sneakernet"!
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Puppy (and Porteus, too) get around this in a unique way. Because they're so small, and because of the 'frugal' install method (and use of 'layered' filesystems & 'read-only' frugal 'system' packages), their initrd creates a 'virtual' file-system in RAM, into which the contents of the read-only packages are decompressed, copied to & merged together via the use of aufs (latterly overlayfs).
Puppy runs IN RAM for the duration of the session, and only saves back to the drive (in what we call a 'savefolder') at session's end. This only contains 'changes', or differences between one session and the next, controlled by the use of what are called 'whiteout' files.
Yah, it all sounds highly technical & overly complicated.....but the end result, as far as the average user is concerned, is a cohesive, standard-appearing Linux distro. This modularity & technical makeup does, however, enable 'our Pup' to install to - and boot from! - some of the most unlikely of devices.
Despite many people's blunt dismissal of Puppy as nothing more than a 'toy', we've had some extremely clever & competent past AND present community members who've contributed a LOT of highly-effective system fixes, patches and re-jigs over the years.....to the benefit of all.
Sorry for being long-winded, guys, but I felt a more in-depth explanation was indicated at this stage...
Mike.
