Installing on USB

Post here if you are a new Porteus member and you're looking for some help.
Darkstar
White ninja
White ninja
Posts: 10
Joined: 25 Jun 2021, 11:04
Distribution: Zorin

Installing on USB

Post#1 by Darkstar » 25 Jun 2021, 11:18

I've been using Zorin and LXLE for about 12 years. I occasionally have a look at another distros. I've only encountered minor installation problems in the past with various distros and have managed to overcome them myself with reference to the web. Porteus has me stumped, its definitely not easy to make a bootable USB. (running Zorin from hhard drive) Startup disc creator wont recognise the Porteus iso file so I burned it to disc. I have run it half a dozen times and I'm impressed. I think it should come with a pre installed browser, it makes evaluating it and looking up common problems much easier to do it from the distro.
Having burned it to disc I attempted to create a bootable USB from within Porteus run from the disc. It wouldnt recognise an unformatted usb drive? (So I formatted it in fat32) It then wont recognise its own iso disc as a source. I'm only at a basic level when it comes to using the terminal but this is too advanced for a beginner even though I've been using linux for over 10 years.
Ideally the download would be far more intuitive because the distro itself looks great and its really quick. Any help would be appreciated, I dont want to give up, it looks worth the extra effort.

User avatar
Ed_P
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 8341
Joined: 06 Feb 2013, 22:12
Distribution: Cinnamon 5.01 ISO
Location: Western NY, USA

Insrtalling on USB

Post#2 by Ed_P » 25 Jun 2021, 14:40

Hello Darkstar, welcome to the forum.

What is the name of the Porteus ISO file that you downloaded? In the Porteus 4.0 ISOs there is a file named /USB_INSTALLATION.txt, is that what you used to try to create a bootable USB drive? For the most part the steps are fairly straight forward.

1. Format a USB drive to FAT32.
2. Copy all the directories and files in the ISO to the formatted USB drive.
3. Then from the USB drive's /boot directory run the /boot/Porteus-installer-for-Linux.com program.
If you were in Windows you would run the /boot/Porteus-installer-for Windows.exe program.

After you boot Porteus, it should sense networks near you, select yours and a window will appear to enter it's password. Once connected to your network, click on the Porteus menu icon and the Internet option then click on the Browser Selection and Update option. After you have selected a browser and it has been downloaded copy the .xzm module to your USB's /porteus/modules folder. Once there double click on it to activate it, it will prompt you for root's password which is toor. In the future when you reboot Porteus the browser module will automatically be activated since it is in the /porteus/modules/ folder.

Have fun. :)
Ed

Darkstar
White ninja
White ninja
Posts: 10
Joined: 25 Jun 2021, 11:04
Distribution: Zorin

Installing on USB

Post#3 by Darkstar » 25 Jun 2021, 18:27

I got the first two done (I think) then I got There was a problem opening the file “/media/greg/Porteus/boot…s-installer-for-Linux.com.

beny
Full of knowledge
Full of knowledge
Posts: 2086
Joined: 02 Jan 2011, 11:33
Location: italy

Installing on USB

Post#4 by beny » 25 Jun 2021, 18:43

hi darkstar,if you have a linux system running, mount the usb key into the /mnt directory make a directory as you wish and cd into the boot folder and run the installer,check the device name before run the installer fdisk -l in console,try if work for you.

Darkstar
White ninja
White ninja
Posts: 10
Joined: 25 Jun 2021, 11:04
Distribution: Zorin

Installing on USB

Post#5 by Darkstar » 25 Jun 2021, 20:32

Sorry, too complicated for me.

Darkstar
White ninja
White ninja
Posts: 10
Joined: 25 Jun 2021, 11:04
Distribution: Zorin

Installing on USB

Post#6 by Darkstar » 25 Jun 2021, 22:08

Ok, I managed it eventually.
1, how do I not be guest?
2. I couldnt save the firefox I downloaded, I found it in tmp and found modules, it wouldnt copy it. Told me file was full but its not.
On boot it says something about not being able to write to Fat32 format. Should I have a small fat32 partition and a large EXT1? ta.

User avatar
Ed_P
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 8341
Joined: 06 Feb 2013, 22:12
Distribution: Cinnamon 5.01 ISO
Location: Western NY, USA

Installing on USB

Post#7 by Ed_P » 25 Jun 2021, 22:10

Darkstar wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 18:27
I got the first two done (I think) then I got There was a problem opening the file “/media/greg/Porteus/boot…s-installer-for-Linux.com.
Darkstar, the installer should be at /mnt/sdb1/boot/Porteus-installer-for-Linux.com. sdb1 represents the USB device and is dependent on your hardware. Try running the installer when booted to your Porteus CD.

And what is the name of the Porteus ISO you downloaded?? :%)

Added in 6 minutes 43 seconds:
We cross posted.
Darkstar wrote:
25 Jun 2021, 22:08
Ok, I managed it eventually.
Excellent.
1, how do I not be guest?
Don't worry about it.
2. I couldnt save the firefox I downloaded, I found it in tmp and found modules, it wouldnt copy it. Told me file was full but its not.
How big is your USB drive? How big is the FAT32 partition?
On boot it says something about not being able to write to Fat32 format. Should I have a small fat32 partition and a large EXT1? ta.
One step at a time. That's an option but not the only one for saving changes. 1st lets get Firefox in your /Porteus/modules directory.
Ed

Darkstar
White ninja
White ninja
Posts: 10
Joined: 25 Jun 2021, 11:04
Distribution: Zorin

Installing on USB

Post#8 by Darkstar » 26 Jun 2021, 00:09

Porteus 64 kde
32 GB, only Porteus on it.
Only 1 Fat 32 partition.
I'm quite happy to start a new installation if its cleaner and quicker.
IF it should have an EXT partition it should SAY so somewhere. This is the geekiest distro I've ever tried.

User avatar
Ed_P
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 8341
Joined: 06 Feb 2013, 22:12
Distribution: Cinnamon 5.01 ISO
Location: Western NY, USA

Installing on USB

Post#9 by Ed_P » 26 Jun 2021, 00:57

Darkstar wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 00:09
Porteus 64 kde
Ok and what version of Porteus are you running? Porteus 4.0 or Porteus 5.0rc2? And hopefully it's 4.0 since 5.0 is still in testing mode.
Darkstar wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 00:09
32 GB, only Porteus on it.
Ok. The Firefox module should certainly fit on it. When you tried to copy it to the porteus/modules folder were you running Porteus or Zorin?

Now for the geeky stuff.

All of my USB installs are to single FAT32 partition systems and to save changes I use a porteussave.dat file and a changes=EXIT cheatcode with it. Changes do not include modules, they are saved to the /porteus/modules folder. Changes are settings, FF bookmarks, network passwords, clock settings, etc. And to create a porteussave.dat file, in the /porteus/changes folder I use the menu's Admin Porteus Savefile Manager and I usually set it to 512 MB.

I use the changes=EXIT cheatcode to save wear on the USB drive, to allow me to exit and not save changes I didn't like, and Porteus runs faster since it's not writing to the USB drive all the time.

Added in 2 hours 47 minutes 15 seconds:
BTW It is possible to format the USB into 2 partitions, one FAT32 and one EXT and move things around so you don't need a save.dat file but I have never done it that way so I'm not able to guide you through that approach.
Ed

Darkstar
White ninja
White ninja
Posts: 10
Joined: 25 Jun 2021, 11:04
Distribution: Zorin

Installing on USB

Post#10 by Darkstar » 26 Jun 2021, 08:57

Porteus 4
from the Porteus USB
I will have to have a look at the next bit, I think its beyond me.
Could I just format the drive to EXT and start again?

Darkstar
White ninja
White ninja
Posts: 10
Joined: 25 Jun 2021, 11:04
Distribution: Zorin

Installing on USB

Post#11 by Darkstar » 26 Jun 2021, 12:53

Thanks for your help, I've given up for the time being. There are far too many geek holes in the distro for it to be as intuitive as it should be.

User avatar
Ed_P
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 8341
Joined: 06 Feb 2013, 22:12
Distribution: Cinnamon 5.01 ISO
Location: Western NY, USA

Installing on USB

Post#12 by Ed_P » 26 Jun 2021, 15:07

Darkstar wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 08:57
will have to have a look at the next bit, I think its beyond me.
I can assure you creating the save.dat file is not that hard.
Darkstar wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 08:57
Could I just format the drive to EXT and start again?
I've never tried that approach so I can't answer you. Does Zorin create bootable USB drives that way?
Darkstar wrote:
26 Jun 2021, 12:53
Thanks for your help, I've given up for the time being.
Sorry to hear that Darkstar. You're so close to finishing. You have a bootable Portable USB drive.

Well, you know where to find us if you decide to save changes. :)
Ed

Darkstar
White ninja
White ninja
Posts: 10
Joined: 25 Jun 2021, 11:04
Distribution: Zorin

Installing on USB

Post#13 by Darkstar » 26 Jun 2021, 19:05

I reinstalled it on a clean, large Ext4 drive, it installed easily, although I couldnt find the firewall setting for love nor money.
I couldnt copy or drag or cut & paste the firefox file to modules however I tried.
The purpose of trying this was to see if I liked it and to see how easy it was to use.
I really like it, it looks great, its quick and clean.
However, its the most counter intuitive distro I've ever come across by a country mile and unless the authors target market is all the people who can fit in a small bus he's got some additional work to do.
Its a shame, it could be excellent.

User avatar
Ed_P
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 8341
Joined: 06 Feb 2013, 22:12
Distribution: Cinnamon 5.01 ISO
Location: Western NY, USA

Installing on USB

Post#14 by Ed_P » 26 Jun 2021, 19:26

Sorry to hear you're still having a problem dragging and dropping a browser file from the /tmp folder to the /modules folder Darkstar and I have no idea why you are having the problem when booted to Porteus. Copying and pasteing, dragging and dropping, is as easy as it gets. Moving or deleting is a bit complicated for a newbie but not copying.

When I started with Porteus a few years back it was the 1st Linux system I had ever worked with. And the people here were so supportive I learned how to survive in this new world and have stayed on and grown a bit.

Sorry you had a frustrating experience.
Ed

Darkstar
White ninja
White ninja
Posts: 10
Joined: 25 Jun 2021, 11:04
Distribution: Zorin

Installing on USB

Post#15 by Darkstar » 26 Jun 2021, 23:08

I've tried about 20 distros. I've never failed to get one up and running in half an hour. I've been the best part of two days trying to get this working properly. I suspect I cant drag and drop because of the (often bizarre) root permissions. If you cant change them with your password then the whole superuser thing is absurd. I tried the latest Peppermint distro just out of curiosity, piece of cake, 20 minutes all done.

Post Reply