0

So I am wondering if I can have an ALL ext4 bootable USB without having to have a windows type partition on it. Probably want to boot without the McAfee encryption program flagging it to begin it.

mindtab
  • 56
  • I believe you can use ext2, possibly ext3 as well – Panther Jun 21 '18 at 01:52
  • is the windows type partition you're talking about the EFI partition? – Eskander Bejaoui Jun 21 '18 at 02:00
  • If UEFI, you have to have a FAT32 partition with boot flag. But with BIOS, you can boot ISO directly with grub2 using loopmount from just about any partition with any format. Bitmore advanced and you have to have an install, so you can format as Linux type and install grub. https://askubuntu.com/questions/388382/multi-partition-multi-os-bootable-usb/388484#388484 – oldfred Jun 21 '18 at 03:45

1 Answers1

0

Flash drives used to be small, it was easier and cheaper to make a persistent install that uses a compressed file for the OS than extracting the full OS to a larger expensive USB.

Today large flash drives are inexpensive and it is easy to make a Full install to flash drive similar as installing to internal drive.

With a Full install only one partition is required, and it can have an ext 2, 3 or 4 filesystem.

However Full install flash drives are not much use at installing Ubuntu.

I do not know of any Boot drive apps that work without a MS filesystem. Syslinux installers all require FAT or NTFS as most are Windows programs, grub2 UEFI requires a MS partition.

It is possible to install grub2 to an ext flash drive and either loopmount the ISO or extract the ISO to a partition if booting BIOS is OK, no MS partition is required.

A loop mounted ISO can be used for installing Ubuntu.

C.S.Cameron
  • 19,519
  • The method on https://www.pendrivelinux.com/install-grub2-on-usb-from-ubuntu-linux/ works on a ext4 filesystem and boots ISO's, just not in UEFI, if that matters. – C.S.Cameron Jun 21 '18 at 19:37