Installing Ubuntu 11.04 in pendrive persistently : time for pendrive OS

What about the idea of carrying your operating system whereever you go? I am not talking about bringing your laptop everywhere you go, instead use your pendrive to carry your linux distro. Not simply the live distro, you can carry your operating system with all your configurations, favorite desktop background and personal files. We can call it as a persistent installation since the pendrive linux can not only used as a means for installing linux but also it can retain the changes you made (similar to a linux installation on a hard disk). In simple terms if you store a file on the desktop or installed any new application on the pendrive ubuntu it will be there next time you boot from that pendrive.

While carrying your operating system on a USB pendrive there are many advantages. I think the most appealing one is that you will get your favourite environment wherever you go. If you are a hardcore linux user then no doubt you will find it hard to work with a 'windows only' machine, then you can use your favorite ubuntu that boots from pendrive. Another aspect is related to the security. You can use your ubuntu on the pendrive inside an internet cafe where you can expect keyloggers or other applications that can cause security breaches. Simply your online money transactions can be made secure without the help of softwares or operating system available on a cafe.

Third advantage is somewhat geeky. You can use this pendrive to remain anonymous on the internet and hack safely. Move over many machines and many networks with your handy pendrive and diminish the possibility of tracing you with the help of MAC address and IP address.

And the practical way...

I am very much font of Ubuntu as it provides a powerful environment for application development and entertainment. So i am using the latest distribution of Ubuntu, Natty narwhal (11.04) as my pendrive operating sytem. I have tested it on a Kingston DataTraveler G3 8GB pendrive. Download the iso image of the Ubuntu 11.04 from the link here. Though there are a number of ways to make persistent installation we just use the most simplest one here. For this you need a Windows (vista/7) and application called Universal USB installer (click here to download). 

Select the Ubuntu 11.04 iso image and the pendrive from the Universal USB installer to start installing Ubuntu on to pendrive. The installer will take a few mnutes for finishing the task... Done!!! your pendrive Ubuntu is ready, restart the system and boot from the pendrive to use it...

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How to use a pendrive as RAM in Windows

ReadyBoost enables you to plug a USB key into your machine and have Windows Vista use it as memory. I have seen this option "Speed up my system" many times when ever  I plug any USB device into my pc. But not taken it into consideration... And now it is the time to do it and share with you all...

Installation/Configuration
Plug the USB into your machine running Windows Vista/7.
Upon plugging the thumb, the autoplay dialog box will pop with many options how to treat the pen drive just inserted. You can see the "Speed up my system" option in the autoplay dialog box.

Once you click the "Speed up my system" option, the Properties dialog box for the device is displayed where you can specify to start/stop ReadyBoost usage of the device and how much space that can be used as a memory cache. This space is used more as a flash-based page file than true RAM, but the impact is that the more space you choose here, the more benefit you’ll get in terms of overall system performance.

The device properties dialog box will allow you to turn on/off ReadyBoost and to set the exact size of the cache.

(In order to return to this dialog box, open the Computer window, right-click the drive (H: in this case) and select Properties. From there, click the Memory tab (as shown in the previous screen capture and adjust the settings as needed).

Opening the drive in an Explorer window reveals that ReadyBoost has created a cache file of the specified size.

While ReadyBoost will work with other devices – such as SD Card, CompactFlash, etc. – I’ve only used it with a USB key and here are the baseline requirements the team gave me regarding what ReadyBoost will work with:

     +  The USB drive must be at least USB 2.0
     +  The USB Key has to have at least 64mb of free space

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