brokenman wrote:Many people don't read documentation and many people have little to no linux experience and are not even aware that they must run a script to make Porteus bootable. These users can hardly be expected to backup, reformat, change partitions and perhaps play with EFI firmware.
I agree but I was referring to people changing partitions after an install to a USB flash drive. And if they know how to change a drive' partitions they know how to backup and restore etc.
B - If you put UEFI and bios on the same key, you may endanger the hdd content of the computer. Be warned!
It's not that you may damage the actual data. You just may not be able to access it.
A USB key is a portable device and most people use the same key in multiple devices. They want, like, need the flexibility to use the key in their UEFI machine and their work machine and their TV and their car stereo. A EFI only flash drive able maybe to boot Porteus on a UEFI machine and download movies and music and create documents unfortunately these files will not be accessible in Windows 7 and Vista machines, their TV, their car stereo or their work machine.
2. MBR and GPT partitions numbers could mismatch
3. GPT and MBR sets could contradict each other
And USB flash drives could fall into the toilet. "Could" is not the same as "will". A Porteus install
should, could, create the system files correctly. And if a client on his own changes something on his flash drive it is his responsibility to do it properly not Porteus'.
4. Name one utility that creates a hybrid MBR that includes logical partitions.
Logical partitions would not work with a UEFI system but why would a portable USB flash drive need more than 4 Primary partitions? And why would a UEFI Porteus install need to create Logical partitions?
5. Logical partitions place data structures in a linked-list fashion out side of the partitions they define. Partitioning tools could damage these entries resulting in no access to logical partition/s.
Yes, so a limitation of a UEFI Porteus install would be no Logical partitions used. If a client wants to put 10 partitions on his 32 GB Porteus UEFI flash drive
he will need to find a utility that supports that, not Porteus.
6. A hybrid MBR doesn't work around the 2 TiB limit for MBR partitions
Probably why there are no 2 TiB flash drives.
7. The protective EFI GPT (type 0xEE) MBR partition must normally begin on the second sector of the disk, in order to protect the primary GPT data structures. An unwary user might try to create MBR partitions that re-use some disk space that's already in use by GPT-only partitions.
Shame on them for doing that. But that is not a Porteus problem.
I think a distinction should be made that what I'm speaking of is
USB flash drives not hard drives. 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB and no TiBs. The install of Porteus to a USB drive should support different capabilities than to a hard drive.
And if Microsoft can create UEFI bootable USB flash drives that are readable on non-UEFI machines so to should Porteus.