[Fedora-livecd-list] Direct install?

[ToddAndMargo]

On 05/15/2015 09:00 PM, ToddAndMargo wrote:
> On 05/09/2015 12:44 PM, Frederick Grose wrote:
>> On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 9:36 PM, ToddAndMargo <ToddAndMargo at zoho.com
>> <mailto:ToddAndMargo at zoho.com>>wrote:
>>
>>     On 05/08/2015 06:12 PM, ToddAndMargo wrote:
>>
>>         Hi All,
>>
>>         I am always having something go wrong with Live USB.  I occurs
>> to me
>>         that why don't I just directly install FC21 to a flash drive?
>>         Will this
>>         work and will it be bootable?   (I use the Live CD to do
>>         installs, so I
>>         don't need that feature on a bootable stick.)
>>
>>         Many thanks,
>>         -T
>>
>>
>>
>>     Please cancel question.
>>
>>     Oh oh.  Just found this:
>>     http://www.tuxradar.com/content/how-install-linux-usb-flash-drive
>>
>>
>> ​This is not the full story.​
>>
>>          Live CDs scan the hardware at boot time, and so are likely to
>>     be compatible with the most machines.
>>
>>
>> ​Dracut can be configured to​ not default to the hostonly="yes" option
>> (/usr/lib/dracut/dracut.conf.d/01-dist.conf in Fedora). So you can build
>> an initial ram filesystem that has the same hardware capability as the
>> LiveCD/USB.
>>
>>          Live CDs must by necessity have a small footprint, which means
>>     there's more space for your files - or you can just buy a smaller,
>>     cheaper drive.
>>
>>          Live CDs run as much as they can in RAM, which makes for better
>>     performance.
>>
>>
>> ​USB3 flash drives are quite fast.  A regular installation can also be
>> configured to take advantage of the available RAM.
>> ​
>> ​
>>
>>          Live CDs don't use swap.
>>
>>
>> ​In Fedora, my Linux swap partition on a hard disc is recognized and
>> used by a LiveUSB.  One could also create a swap file on the USB drive,
>> https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/14/html/Storage_Administration_Guide/s2-swap-creating-file.html
>>
>>
>> With the large USB flash drives you have, a full installation may be
>> your best and quickest solution.  You should try it before dismissing
>> the option.
>>
>>       --Fred
>
> Hi Fred,
>
> Follow up:
> My Live USB ran out of room, probably from cache files on
> the web browser.  And the way that file system work (it
> won't give back space you delete), I went ahead and bit
> the bullet and installed a direct Fedora Core 21 to a
> flash drive.
>
> Initially I used LVM, but wiped when I found out how difficult
> that was to share files with.  Now I am all straight ext4
> partitions.  (There is a way to mount LVM volumes, but what
> a pain in the neck!)
>
> And I used your
> /usr/lib/dracut/dracut.conf.d/01-dist.conf
> hostonly="no"
>
> I did wind up with a swap file on my flash drive, but it
> doesn't seems to slow things down.
>
> So far, after figuring out my add on USB 3 adapter was non-bootable,
> I have had it work flawlessly on two disparate computers.
> And, I think it might be a tad faster than the Live USB.
> The computer with native USB3 boots perfectly.
>
> And with the file system not giving back space, it was only
> a time before the stick was unusable.  Breaking the 3GB persistence
> barrier would help, but only delay the inevitable.
>
> And, I even installed LibreOffice, so I can show crashed Windows
> users that their M$O (Microsoft Office) files are recoverable.
>
> My 16 GB USB 3 stick is now about 1/2 full.  And, if I ever want to
> go larger, I can use clonezilla and gparted to copy to a larger drive.
> No more wiping and reinstalling.
>
> Do to all the incomplete documentation out there, getting the
> autologin to work was a pain in the neck.  Anyone who wants my
> notes on the issue, drop me a line.
>
> -T

And I set the screen saver to Bounding Cows just so Windows users can
see the fun they are missing.

To do this, you need to do
# yum install xscreensaver-base xscreensaver-extras 
xscreensaver-extras-base xscreensaver-gl-base xscreensaver-gl-extras