A single flash drive for both PC and Mac

[ob1]

Hi,
Is there an easy way to install Porteus on a single flash drive that works for both a PC and a Mac?
To complicate things further - the PC is a 32 bit machine and the Mac is 64 bit.
And for the record - I'm not a tech geek just a plain user.

[Ed_P]

Welcome to Porteus ob1.

32 bit programs run on 64 bit machines and FAT32 is recognized by just about every system. So, format the flash drive as FAT32. Install a 32 bit version of Porteus to the flash drive, basically open the ISO and copy everything to the formatted flash drive. Then you have to run one of the 2 installer programs in the /boot folder.

[ob1]

Thank you Ed_P.
Is there a tutorial or video that go into detail on the installation process? That would be very helpful for a non-techie like myself.

[Ed_P]

Is there a tutorial or video that go into detail on the installation process?

Yes, in the Porteus ISO is a file named /USB_INSTALLATION.txt. Check it out.

[ob1]

I formated a 64gb USB 3.0 flash drive with FAT32.

Then I went to porteus.org, under "download" I clicked on "Desktop Edition" and ended up in a forum post:
Porteus-v5.0 is released!
where there's a link to the mirror page:
http://porteus.org/porteus-mirrors.html

I need a 32 bit version of Porteus but I'm not sure how to continue from here.

[Ed_P]

Click on one of the mirror links, one you normally use or one that is closest to where you are. You will then see:

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Index of /sites/dl.porteus.org/
Icon  Name                    Last modified      Size  
[PARENTDIR] Parent Directory                             -   
[DIR] i486/                   2016-04-10 02:06    -   
[DIR] i586/                   2021-07-06 23:48    -   
[DIR] x86_64/                 2019-11-03 12:15    -   

Click on the i586/ link.

Then click on the Porteus-v5.0/ link.

Then click on the Porteus iso whose desktop appeals to you.

[ob1]

Thank you. I got the XFCE one.
When I double click the ISO file, MX Linux launches the "MX Live USB Maker". I don't see the file named /USB_INSTALLATION.txt
Also, I know I should do something with either the md5sums.txt or sha256sums.txt, but I don't know what.

[Ed_P]

What does MX Live USB Maker do with ISO files? If it doesn't copy everything to the USB drive you should write to them.

[donald]

MX Linux launches the "MX Live USB Maker". I don't see the file named /USB_INSTALLATION.txt

Open the iso in your archive manager and extract the file -- or open a terminal in the same folder where the iso is and run:

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isoinfo -i *.iso -x /'USB_INSTALLATION.TXT;1' > usb_install.txt

and

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isoinfo -i *.iso -x /BOOT/DOCS/'INSTALL.TXT;1' > install.txt

to extract both files.

Also, I know I should do something with either the md5sums.txt or sha256sums.txt, but I don't know what.

in the same terminal run

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md5sum *.iso

and compare the output with what you see in the md5sums.txt
(to verify the integrity of your iso)