Category:Live USB

This is a 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.

• 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.

Sugar on a Stick creation kit

http://people.sugarlabs.org/sdz/creation-kit/

Customization-guide

http://people.sugarlabs.org/sdz/customization-guide/

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 Persistent Overlay. [3]"Fedora 10 adds the 'reset_overlay' option that you can pass on the kernel command line which helps to recover."[4]
• Use a larger USB (4GB or even 8GB), if you plan to do updates or install new programs.
• If you use a 1GB USB, do not (i) install large updates or activities or (ii) download large files. The 300MB overlay will quickly fill up (e.g., within an hour), and your USB will become corrupted (i.e., unbootable) without any warning. Also, check your Journal free space frequently.
• Use zyx-liveinstaller [5] 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.
• f13 based soas-v3 nightly composes (Mirrabelle) will not install with either livinst (Crashes with bug) or zyx-liveinstaller (no longer present on .iso) Hint: use: livecd-iso-to-disk or liveusb-creator to create a USB
• notes on ext3 / ext4 file systems:[6] (It looks like ext3 formatting may be more robust in a USB)
• Discussion on causes of failure [7] delayed writes [8]

dd command from terminal (non-persistent)

You will not be able to store anything on this USB. (It will be new each time you start it.)

[root@localhost Desktop]# dd  if=soas-i386-20100329.19.iso of=/dev/sd(*)
954368+0 records in
954368+0 records out
488636416 bytes (489 MB) copied, 128.247 s, 3.8 MB/s
[root@localhost Desktop]# 

• NOTE Important to get name of USB device correct VERY DANGEROUS IF WRONG
• type "mount" in terminal and look for /dev/sd(*) ie: sda,sdb,sdc.....
• It will disappear the next time you remove the target USB and enter the command again.

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: [9]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[10]
• insert 4GB USB Target formatted fat16 or [ext2,3]
• in sugar terminal: zyx-liveinstaller

Note 1: the rest of this procedure will not work for a script created live USB [11] as CD and USB's do not show up on sugar frame.

Note 2: from terminal in sugar: yum install gvfs this fixes problem in mounting of CD and USB's in some soas versions. (from tomeu)

IF - USB and CD devices are not mounted in the bottom of the sugar frame when inserted; zyx-liveinstaller must be used

NOTE: zyx-liveinstaller is NO LONGER AVAILABLE in F13 Mirabelle (v2.5?)

• 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

http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Category_talk:Live_USB

Alternate ex3 File Structured, non-live, blueberry USB

A very stable alternate 4GB blueberry stick

use dd command in terminal to write to 4GB USB Download[12]Details and How-To:[13]

Note1: you may get a "not enough room on device" message when you dd this .img to a 4GB USB but but the .img is really only 3GB is size and should work.

Note2: liveusb-creator will NOT work in this USB as this in not a live system.

Note3: This is modified version of bernie's soas-2-blueberry-direct-2GB.img [14]

f13 Soas stick that writes live USB's

Link:[15]

soas-i386-20100328 (Mirabelle)2GB-USB.img with liveusb-creator installed

• f13 Nightly composes (for testing only) preinstalled USB.img

http://people.sugarlabs.org/Tgillard/f13-installer-2GB-USB.img.tar.gz

• works well as way to make more live usb's from running USB, read .txt file on this link for instructions.

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

Other distributions Live USB's

• • openSUSE-Sugar-Live [16] (dd to USB/SD)+(2nd partition for persistence)[17] [18], works well (11/04/2009)
  • openSUSE-Edu-live-Li-f-e (Server) [19] with Sugar (dd to 8GB USB/SD)+(2nd partition for persistence)Script to automatically make 2nd partition:[20][21]
  • F11-Live-Edu F12:[22] F11:[23] (dd to USB/SD [no persistence] or liveinst from root terminal [persistent]) Live USB of Gnome and Sugar Desktops
  • Trisquel-Edu [24] (Live USB) [25] Trisquel 2.2
  • Trisquel On A Sugar Toast, Trisquel-Sugar [26] Download: [27] script for USB with persistence: [28] Trisequel 3.0, see notes.
  • Unetbootin [29] windows and linux live usb creator[30]
  • Ubuntu-Sugar-Remix [31].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:[32]

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, [33], [34], [35]
2. Sugar from multiple distros is available [36] 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 [37] 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 [38] 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.