Category:Live USB

This page, and the notion that we should have a category for Live USB projects, is under discussion on the SoaS list. There is a Sugar Labs Decision Panel commissioned to review this topic. Join the conversation on the mailing list, if you would like to participate or know more.

This directory of Live USB Sugar distribution efforts. Sugar Labs has worked most, for both development and deployment, with Sugar on a Stick. People are, of course, encouraged and free to work on whatever they would like!

See Project Principles and Sugar on a Stick/Resources for a description of the technical and educational goals of the project.

Note: Each of these projects should probably have its own page marked with the Category:Live USB category, but for now here is a list.

• Sebastian Dziallas calls the current iteration of Sugar on a Stick, Blueberry [1][2]; the name of the overall project is Sugar on a Stick.

Look at:Sugar on a Stick creation kit[3]

FEDORA based Live USB's

Cautions with using Live USB's

• Wait for delayed writes to the USB to finish (up to 15 sec) before pulling it out of PC. If writes do not complete you will corrupt the USB and it will not boot.
• If you do a yum update on a small USB you can overload the Persitent Overlay. [4]"Fedora 10 adds the 'reset_overlay' option that you can pass on the kernel command line which helps to recover."[5]
• Use a larger USB:(4GB or even 8GB), if you plan to do updates or install new programs.
• Use zyx-liveinstaller [6] for soas-v2-Blueberry or liveinst command for Fedora based USB's in terminal to make a non-live USB. It will require about 2x as large USB as they create a "real file system" as the file structure will not be compressed. These non-live USB installs are more robust in use.

Fedora Notes on How to Create a Live USB from a LiveCD

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FedoraLiveCD/USBHowTo 

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_to_create_and_use_a_Live_CD

liveusb-creator from command line in terminal

(using Fedora 12)

a- Open terminal and type: liveusb-creator --reset-mbr

b- Move slider "Persistent Storage ( )MB" - to set size of USB Persistence file

c- Select correct "Target Device" (the USB you want to use)

d- OPTIONAL: To find your USB enter command "mount" in terminal. look for /dev/sd(x) with description of your USB

e- select the .iso file you plan to use "Use existing Live CD"

f- select "Create Live USB"

use livecd-iso-to-disk script to write a live USB

(using Fedora 12)

takes a downloaded soas.iso file and writes it directly to a USB stick

a- Download script: [7]to your Desktop

b- right click on script file and change properties to allow executing file as a program.

c- Place the soas .iso you want to use to write the USB on your Desktop.

d- enter command "mount" in terminal. look for /dev/sd(x) with description of your USB. Use this in the script.

Hints:

1-) Use text editor to write script and be sure it is correct. Then copy-paste into the terminal.(safer)

(--overlay-size-mb 800 sets size of persistence file.)

• delete this command if you want a non-persistent USB

2-) use "--overlay-size-mb 300" for 2GB USB

$ su -c "livecd-iso-to-disk  --format --reset-mbr --overlay-size-mb 800 /home/xxx/Desktop/soas-i386-20100208.16.iso /dev/sdb"
Password: 
Verifying image...
/home/xxx/Desktop/soas-i386-20100208.16.iso:   44687aba6b97248baf4416851a433e75
Fragment sums: dfd2916ccb45fa174cf96685e7fdee526f45ce58ad199d63a57ae8fd6b45
Fragment count: 20
Checking: 100.0%
The media check is complete, the result is: PASS.
It is OK to use this media.
WARNING: THIS WILL DESTROY ANY DATA ON /dev/sdb!!!
Press Enter to continue or ctrl-c to abort
Warning: The kernel was unable to re-read the partition table on /dev/sdb (Device or resource busy).
This means Linux won't know anything about the modifications you made until  you reboot.  You should reboot your computer before doing anything with /dev/sdb.
Waiting for devices to settle...
mkdosfs 3.0.1 (23 Nov 2008)
Copying live image to USB stick
Updating boot config file
Installing boot loader
USB stick set up as live image!
$ 

Make a Soas-v2-Blueberry Installer USB (with liveusb-creator installed)

• boot from Blueberry CD[8]
• insert 4GB USB Target formatted fat16 or [ext2,3]
• in sugar terminal: zyx-liveinstaller

( Note: the rest of this procedure will not work for a script created live USB [9] as CD and USB's do not show up on sugar frame

ie: USB and CD devices are not mounted-so:zyx-liveinsaller must be used)

• launch partitioner

/boot  ext4  200
/      ext   balance
make changes

• exit partitioner (hit X in right top corner of window)

select root (/)How to Create 
select boot (/boot)
No swap hit next
install
wait until finished

• exit
• in sugar terminal:

su -
yum install liveusb-creator
22 files will download and install
22MB
wait until finished

• exit sugar (f3) shutdown

---

• boot new USB
• insert second 2 GB USB Target formatted fat16 or [ext2,3]
• Insert CD with desired soas.iso into PC
• in sugar terminal: liveusb-creator --reset-mbr
• graphical Fedora Live USB Creator starts:

Note: Do not use <Download Fedora> as you will fill up your USB Stick and ruin it <Use existing Live CD> <Browse>

(select from CD the .iso file)

Target Device /dev/sd(x)1 note: be sure it is correct for your USB

Set Persistent storage

(Move slider Bar) note: Max is 800 MB for 2GB USB

Press:<Create Live USB>

Verfying ISO MD5 checksum (CD will spin up)
Passed
Extracting Live Image to USB Device
Creating 809 MB persistent overlay
Installing bootloader
Complete (0.03.38)

---

wait until finished

• exit
• exit sugar (f3)/ shutdown

---

• remove 4GB Installer USB
• remove CD from CD Drive
• boot new USB

Note: you can insert another USB, select it and Create another USB. This process can be repeated for multiple "virgin" copies.

I have tested this with soas-2-blueberry.iso, soas-testing-day-13-02-10.iso, and soas-i386-20100216.21.iso files

How to sugarize liveusb-creator to run it from your Soas USB [10]

---

Other distributions Live USB's

• • openSUSE-Sugar-Live [11] (dd to USB/SD)+(2nd partition for persistence)[12] [13], works well (11/04/2009)
  • openSUSE-Edu-live-Li-f-e (Server) [14] with Sugar (dd to 8GB USB/SD)+(2nd partition for persistence)Script to automatically make 2nd partition:[15][16]
  • F11-Live-Edu F12:[17] F11:[18] (dd to USB/SD [no persistence] or liveinst from root terminal [persistent]) Live USB of Gnome and Sugar Desktops
  • Trisquel-Edu [19] (Live USB) [20] Trisquel 2.2
  • Trisquel On A Sugar Toast, Trisquel-Sugar [21] Download: [22] script for USB with persistence: [23] Trisequel 3.0, see notes.
  • Unetbootin [24] windows and linux live usb creator[25]
  • Ubuntu-Sugar-Remix [26].iso burned to CD can be installed to USB or imported into Virtualbox with ovf file and then transfer vdi HD to a stick.Downloads:[27]

Notes

1. F12 and opensuse-edu now distribute a dual mode live.iso of Sugar-Desktop which boots into sugar as a CD or can be used to dd write to a USB/SD "stick". (Persistence is a work in progress on these.) Sugar on a Stick/Linux/openSUSE, [28], [29], [30]
2. Sugar from multiple distros is available [31] as a VMware Player or Virtualbox "Appliance", which can be stored on a USB/SD "Stick", and thus is transportable with (persistence) from PC to PC.
3. There are "full installs" (non-compressed file structure) of Sugar, Sugar+Gnome, and Sugar+KDE on larger (4-GB+) USB Sticks, which are available for download [32] in compressed form, which can be expanded and written to a bootable USB/SD device with a dd command in several minutes.
4. most liveo F12 distros can be installed as a "full install" to USB/SD. This requires a 4GB USB/SD for soas04 or 8GB USB/SD for Gnome-sugar [33] Use command "livinst" in root terminal. These are a normal install with Persistence.

Trisquel notes

from Rubén Rodríguez Pérez on SoaS list:

• Trisquel-Edu (Live USB)
• Trisquel-Sugar 3.0 RC (has usb-creator available as command in terminal for persistent USB)

I will further explain the differences:

1. We are including the Sugar packages in both our 2.2 LTS version (where you can find the Trisquel Edu edition), and in our new 3.0 STS version. All our live Sugar images will be based on the STS one, as it will provide better hardware support.
2. Trisquel Edu, which is a GNOME based educational system, can run Sugar as an alternate environment, or serve it via LTSP. The Edu edition (like the Pro one) is only available in the 2.2 LTS version of the distro. It will be the recommended version for large Sugar-on-Trisquel deployments.