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Very flexible LXLE 16.04.2 persistent live system
Download the compressed image file from the following link
dd_LXLE_16.04.2_i386_persist-live_mkusb-12.1.5_7.8GB_msdos-pt.img.xz
and check the md5sum
2576227d0fed29d57acc94f9f2c5a11d dd_LXLE_16.04.2_i386_persist-live_mkusb-12.1.5_7.8GB_msdos-pt.img.xz
LXLE 16.04.2 system (32 bit) with mkusb version 12.1.5
This persistent live LXLE system contains lxle_16_04_2_32.iso and mkusb version 12.1.5.
The system is very flexible. It works in 32 & 64 bit computers in BIOS & UEFI mode, also in secure boot. There is an msdos partition table, suitable when not installing with mkusb, for example in Windows.
There is a backup file of the original system. The system as stored in the casper-rw partition can be restored to the original state from the tarball 1-casper-rw.tar.gz, but the content of the usb-data partition is still there, and other (more current states) can be backed up and restored from other tarballs. It is a good idea to store copies of the backup files (tarballs) in a separate drive.
- There are screenshots from running in old, middle aged and [rather] new computers (2004-2016).
How it was made
mkusb was installed into Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS and used to create a persistent live drive from the iso file lxle_16_04_2_32.iso. The reason for this old version of Ubuntu is that its version of grub can be booted by some old computers, for example Dell Dimension 4600 from 2004. And it can be booted by new computers too, for example Intel NUC6i3SYH from 2016.
- A computer was booted persistent live from the USB pendrive that was created
- mkusb was installed and a link to its desktop file was created
- clean-myself.bash and truncate-log were copied to the home directory and used to make the system as clean as possible to reduce the size of the compressed image file
- grub.cfg in the usbboot partition was tweaked for this particular system
The computer was booted live-only and the backup file 1-casper-rw.tar.gz was created in the usbdata partition.
Size
- The compressed image file is rather big, ~ 2 GB (while the iso file is ~ 1.5 GB). There are two reasons,
The backup file 1-casper-rw.tar.gz
- Several wallpapers and configuration files, that were automatically installed when running LXLE.
the system expands to 7.8 GB on the pendrive, so the size of the USB pendrive or memory card or SSD drive must be at least 8 GB.
qwerty@qwerty:~$ sudo lsblk -f /dev/sda NAME FSTYPE LABEL UUID MOUNTPOINT sda ├─sda1 ntfs usbdata 0D5FDC3D6DC403B7 /media/qwerty/usbdata ├─sda2 ├─sda3 vfat usbboot 0825-C5CD /media/qwerty/usbboot ├─sda4 iso9660 LXLE Linux 2017-04-14-23-34-31-00 /cdrom └─sda5 ext4 casper-rw 8afef4a2-84a8-457c-be98-508e19b3ac2f /media/qwerty/casper-rw qwerty@qwerty:~$ sudo parted /dev/sda print Model: SanDisk Extreme (scsi) Disk /dev/sda: 32.0GB Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B Partition Table: msdos Disk Flags: Number Start End Size Type File system Flags 3 2097kB 130MB 128MB primary fat32 boot 4 130MB 1710MB 1580MB primary 2 1710MB 6235MB 4525MB extended lba 5 1711MB 6235MB 4524MB logical ext2 1 6235MB 7744MB 1509MB primary ntfs
It is an advantage to use a fast USB 3 pendrive, and the sizes of such drives are almost always 16 GB or more. See this link and links from it, https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick#Notes_about_speed.
You can grow the system (change the size and move the partitions casper-rw and usbdata) according to this link, GrowIt.pdf, so that you use the whole pendrive. After changing the size of usbdata, Windows may complain, but you can repair it with the repair tool in Windows.
Tested in the following computers
Oldest computer tested - Dell-Dimension-4600i (2004)
Newest computer tested - Intel NUC6i3SYH-2016 (2016)
List
- Dell-Dimension-4600i
- GGS-data-with-ASUS-M2N-VM-DVI-mobo
- HP-Elitebook8560p
- IBM-Thinkpad-T42
- Lenovo-Thinkpad-X131e
- NUC6i3SYH (by Intel)
- Toshiba-Satellite-Pro-C850-19W
Screenshots
Backup and Restore
There is a backup file of the original system. The system as stored in the casper-rw partition can be restored to the original state from the tarball 1-casper-rw.tar.gz, but the content of the usb-data partition is still there, and other (more current states can be backed up and restored from other tarballs. It is a good idea to store copies of the backup files (tarballs) in a separate drive.
See this link for more details, ../#Backup_and_restore_of_persistent_overlay_data