Self-starting USB flash drive

[frostymalt]

OK, here's what I'd like
A portable drive that, when plugged into a computer's USB port, self-starts an instance of a Linux OS on the main computer without reboot.
ADDITIONALLY, I'd like to be able to drag-and drop files between the portable drive and the main computer.
My questions:
1) Can I do this? How?
2) What distribution of Linux is able to do this most reliably?

 

[captain-sensible]

Not sure i'm clear on this. if you have a Linux OS on the main computer then you just boot this up & you don't need an USB to do that ;its surplus to requirements. if you mean use boot menu to boot an OS on the USB stick thats another story ?

 

[frostymalt]

Sorry for the confusion. No Linux on the main computer. I'm looking to plug a flash drive with a Linux OS into a running machine and start the flash's OS on the Windows/Mac machine without rebooting.

 

[atanere]

1) Can I do this?

To the best of my knowledge: NO. You can't "run an instance" of Linux, as if it were a simple program. It is a full-fledged operating system, just like Windows or MacOS. You can boot on the USB and dedicate full system resources to it, or you can install Linux in a virtual machine and give it partial system resources. There is one other option to run Ubuntu within Windows, called Wubiuefi, but I have no experience with that. Still, none of these will do as you ask.

If you boot on a Linux USB, you can transfer files between it and a Windows system installed on the hard drive, but there are sometimes steps you must take. For one, you would have to "mount" the Windows partition... Linux will not usually do that automatically. If Windows is version 8 or 10, you may need to disable hibernation. These later versions will frequently go into hibernation when you tell it to shut down, so it is actually not shutting down at all.... and Linux will refuse to mount Windows left in this state (for your own protection).

Cheers

 

[arochester]

I tried writing a reply but @atanere has said most of it.

Does the main computer belong to you - or is it somebody else's? Is that why you don't want to reboot?

Could you not SSH into a Windows computer from a Linux computer e.g. https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/remote-connect-windows-pc-raspberry-pi/

 

[frostymalt]

I tried writing a reply but @atanere has said most of it.

Does the main computer belong to you - or is it somebody else's? Is that why you don't want to reboot?

Could you not SSH into a Windows computer from a Linux computer e.g. https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/remote-connect-windows-pc-raspberry-pi/

The computer is not mine. I want to be able to "plug-in" and run Linux alternative programs side-by-side with native Windows X programs as a way to show that Linux OS is compatible for file management. I thought one "easy" way to do this was via WINE on a Linux distro, so the same file could be run as a concrete example.
Let me look at your link(s) and I'll try to understand more. THANKS @arochester @atanere for your quick, diligent reply.

 

[frostymalt]

The computer is not mine. I want to be able to "plug-in" and run Linux alternative programs side-by-side with native Windows X programs as a way to show that Linux OS is compatible for file management. I thought one "easy" way to do this was via WINE on a Linux distro, so the same file could be run as a concrete example.
Let me look at your link(s) and I'll try to understand more. THANKS @arochester @atanere for your quick, diligent reply.

"Could you not SSH into a Windows computer from a Linux computer e.g. https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/remote-connect-windows-pc-raspberry-pi/"
The SSH won't be ideal as I'll need to modify remote protocol settings on the users machine. That seems potentially intrusive for my purposes, and exactly what I'm trying not to present: an extensive process that doesn't focus on the purpose of the exercise.

 

[frostymalt]

To the best of my knowledge: NO. You can't "run an instance" of Linux, as if it were a simple program. It is a full-fledged operating system, just like Windows or MacOS. You can boot on the USB and dedicate full system resources to it, or you can install Linux in a virtual machine and give it partial system resources. There is one other option to run Ubuntu within Windows, called Wubiuefi, but I have no experience with that. Still, none of these will do as you ask.

If you boot on a Linux USB, you can transfer files between it and a Windows system installed on the hard drive, but there are sometimes steps you must take. For one, you would have to "mount" the Windows partition... Linux will not usually do that automatically. If Windows is version 8 or 10, you may need to disable hibernation. These later versions will frequently go into hibernation when you tell it to shut down, so it is actually not shutting down at all.... and Linux will refuse to mount Windows left in this state (for your own protection).

Cheers

That Wubiuefi at https://github.com/hakuna-m/wubiuefi/wiki is definitely above my pay grade. I can barely parse the concept, let alone the jargon.
I do understand in your response that I could, "...install Linux in a virtual machine and give it partial system resources." That sounds like the best alternative available. I'll look for a tutorial on that process and hope in doesn't involve statements like, "The new location for the Ubuntu entry is the UEFI boot menu. This menu is part of the UEFI firmware, a replacement for legacy BIOS. The new EFI boot loader files are located in EFI/ubuntu/wubildr on EFI partition...It loads grubx64.efi if there is no Secure Boot problem. grubx64.efi is a customized GRUB 2 loader which is similar to \ubuntu\winboot\wubildr of the old boot loader for legacy BIOS."

 

[atanere]

That Wubiuefi at https://github.com/hakuna-m/wubiuefi/wiki is definitely above my pay grade. I can barely parse the concept, let alone the jargon.
I do understand in your response that I could, "...install Linux in a virtual machine and give it partial system resources." That sounds like the best alternative available. I'll look for a tutorial on that process and hope in doesn't involve statements like, "The new location for the Ubuntu entry is the UEFI boot menu. This menu is part of the UEFI firmware, a replacement for legacy BIOS. The new EFI boot loader files are located in EFI/ubuntu/wubildr on EFI partition...It loads grubx64.efi if there is no Secure Boot problem. grubx64.efi is a customized GRUB 2 loader which is similar to \ubuntu\winboot\wubildr of the old boot loader for legacy BIOS."

Lol... I think that is why I stay away from Wubi too!

It seems like a virtual machine will be your best method. There are several free ones... VirtualBox is the only one that I have any experience with (but only a little more than Wubi). As you are pondering "file compatibility"... keep in mind that it is the application, not the operating system, that is often in control ... and some applications can run in both Windows and Linux.

For example, Firefox web browser makes native versions for both Windows and Linux, and it will open web pages (which are HTML files) easily in either system, and they should look the same. There may be some small differences, but basically the same anyway. VLC media player runs both in Linux and Windows. And many other programs too, including LibreOffice.

Using Wine in Linux, in my opinion, should be rather a last-ditch hope when other things won't work. Take Microsoft Office, for example. Some versions (especially older versions) can run in Linux under Wine... but there may still be trouble issues (with things like macros, or others). But Linux has its own application, LibreOffice, that can open most Microsoft Office files... doc and xls. It can work with docx and xlsx files too (the newer Microsoft formats), but again, there can be trouble issues at times (especially with macros). If you create a new file with LibreOffice, you can "save as" to a Microsoft format to share with Windows users, and most of the time it will work fine.

But there is no perfect solution to the differences that you may run up against... Linux is not Windows, and LibreOffice is not Microsoft Office. If you have highly specialized needs (Autocad drawings, Photoshop formatted images, Microsoft Access databases, or others)... then the problems are even harder, or impossible. Things like Turbo Tax will not run in Linux, not even under Wine, in my experience. But I have run an old version of Quicken (checkbook program) under Wine for years, but I am now switching to a different program, Homebank, that runs in Linux for me, and Windows for my wife.

So, if your needs are fairly simple, you have a better chance of success than if your have very complicated files to work with.

Cheers

 

[frostymalt]

Thanks for your time, and your guidance @atanere