lubuntu-qa team mailing list archive

[Jonathan Marsden <jmarsden@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Different people use bootable USB sticks and Linux in different ways.
If you want to teach and advise the Lubuntu community about use of USB
sticks, it would be good to first learn about and test several of those
ways, and understand their advantages and disadvantages, so we can then
recommend the most appropriate approach for different specific needs.

On 04/06/2013 10:28 AM, Ali Linx (amjjawad) wrote:

> The method that I sent and wanted to share it with those who haven't 
> heard about it nor used it before, is to create a LiveUSB and quite 
> honestly, I have no idea if that is a 'persistence' or not?

No, it is not.  Using dd gets you the equivalent of the one ISO image
that you copy, no more and no less.  One USB stick, one ISO image.  If
that is what you want, great, you are done, stop, no need for any other
software tools to create your "LiveUSB" for Lubuntu.

Some USB sticks are now a lot larger than Lubuntu ISO images.  You now
see 16GB, 32GB, 64GB... there are even 256GB USB sticks, although they
are pricey, and I have never seen or used one.  32GB sticks are now
inexpensive, down to around US$15 online, so a good space vs cost
tradeoff for many users.  64GB for around US$30 is also worth
considering if you have a use for the extra space.  [I know this is
US-centric, costs will be different elsewhere.]

Clearly, using a whole 32GB or 64GB USB stick for just one 700MB ISO
(which is what your dd method does) can be considered somewhat wasteful.
 Using "the rest" of the space on the USB stick for a persistent
filesystem, to store an installed and configured Lubuntu machine, is
very useful for some people.  Creating multiboot USB sticks (so one USB
stick can contain many different ISO images, and provide a menu allowing
a user to choose which one to boot) is useful in other, different,
situations.  You could theoretically fit over 90 different 700MB ISO
images on one 64GB USB stick -- but that would be a really *long* boot
menu :)

Jonathan