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I am currently looking forward to getting into Linux, and after some reading I decided to try out Ubuntu. As of the time of writing the latest version of Ubuntu is 19.04, and therefore that's the version I'll want.

My concerns are that I will be installing to a 32 GB USB 3.0 (hopefully) flash disk permanently. I've read ways to get around the 4 GB persistent limit, but those same pages warn about drivers, stating they might not be portable.

My goal is to install Ubuntu a 32 GB USB 3.0 (hopefully) flash disk permanently, formatting it as ext4. My questions are: will there any significant performance issues (I have a 500 GB 5400 rpm HDD, but I'm using that for Windows 10 already and it barely has any space for dual boot, plus it's not portable like a flash disk), and will I have any problems with drivers portability (can I set it up on a system, use it, then shutdown and plug it into another system and continue with the different hardware)?

In case it matters, the system it will stay on most often is a laptop with an Intel Core i5-4200U paired with an NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M with 8+4 GB of DDR3-1600 RAM and a Qualcomm Atheros AR9485WB-EG Wireless Network Adaptor, but again I'd like it compatible with other systems.

Extra: Would creating 2 disks (the other disk I have is an 8 GB USB 3.0 (maybe) flash disk) be helpful (in case something happens to the first disk)?

Thomas Ward
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404 Name Not Found
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    You will need on flash drive to install to the other. I would keep it as the installer perhaps with persistence. But for the larger flash drive, you can use a full install. But do you want UEFI or BIOS? And if you do not install any proprietary drivers it should work on most systems. Normally you might install the nVidia driver, but I have a GT620 and since older do not see much difference between nVidia driver and open source driver. Since flash drive, you may want a light weight flavor like Lubuntu or Mate. I just installed Mate to flash drive and changed a few settings to make it faster. – oldfred May 13 '19 at 13:42
  • If you create a persistent live system with mkusb, you can use the whole drive, because it uses a partition for persistence instead of a file. If you want to create an installed system (installed like into an internal drive (but into a USB drive)), see this link. A persistent live drive is more more portable but less flexible. An installed system is more flexible. It's portable, but not as portable as a persistent live one. – sudodus May 13 '19 at 15:01
  • You can install Ubuntu to a flash drive same as to an internal hard drive.It is faster than Persistent, more stable, can use proprietary drivers and can be updated and upgraded. See: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1142544/standard-uses-of-usb-if-ubuntu-is-installed/1142675#1142675 – C.S.Cameron May 13 '19 at 16:50
  • @oldfred Is a flash disk incapable of handling the "full sized" Ubuntu? Or is it something else? – 404 Name Not Found May 14 '19 at 16:48
  • @sudodus What are the portability and flexibility limits for installed systems and persistent systems? – 404 Name Not Found May 14 '19 at 16:50
  • @C.S.Cameron How portable is it though? – 404 Name Not Found May 14 '19 at 16:51
  • I have installed full Ubuntu to flash drives in both BIOS or UEFI boot. But Ubuntu standard with gnome is larger and loads slower. Once in RAM then it runs just as fast. I was a bit surprised as an install to a USB SSD was almost as fast as my internal installs. So USB3 is not normally the bottleneck. But flash drives are very slow writing and slower reading. Found a workaround to get my Mate install to flash drive to not use ESP on sda but install to ESP on flash drive directly. https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+bug/1396379 – oldfred May 14 '19 at 17:25
  • @404 Name Not Found: It should work on just about any x86_64 computer that meets Ubuntu specs. You can make it a little more portable by including some lighter distribution ISOs such as Puppy or Lubuntu and adding a menuitem for them to grub..See https://askubuntu.com/questions/1083330/how-to-make-an-usb-ubuntu-installation-more-compatible-with-different-computers/1083812#1083812 – C.S.Cameron May 14 '19 at 20:44
  • @404NameNotFound, Portability: The live system comes with a 'full' set of drivers for several hardware items except such proprietary drivers, that cannot be supplied because of license issues. (Such drivers must be installed by the users themselves and into an installed system, and it can make it difficult to use the system in computers with other hardware.) The installed system will be installed with a limited set of drivers for hardware items, and proprietary drivers can be installed. – sudodus May 15 '19 at 04:44
  • @404NameNotFound, Flexibility: The installed system can be updated and upgraded in a USB drive just like when installed into an internal drive. The persistent live system can be updated and upgraded, if there is enough drive space for it, but the kernel and kernel hardware drivers are activated before the persistence is running, so the original versions will be used (upgrading does not work for them). You cannot use encrypted disk with a persistent live system. – sudodus May 15 '19 at 04:50
  • @oldfred So it's just the initial boot that's slow? Once booted there's no significant performance difference? How much slower is "full sized" Ubuntu boot compared to the alternatives? – 404 Name Not Found May 15 '19 at 16:30
  • @C.S.Cameron Are the lighter distributions to reduce the hardware minimums for portability or is there something about those lighter distributions? – 404 Name Not Found May 15 '19 at 16:32
  • @sudodus Is there a way to quickly identify what drivers I have to install manually after installing and booting into Ubuntu? – 404 Name Not Found May 15 '19 at 16:34
  • @404 Name Not Found Informal tests I have performed showed Live installs boot fastest, (no persistence to load), then Full install a little slower and Persistent slowest. Programs are initially slower to open on USB2 drives, but open faster after the first time. Ubuntu may not work on some older computers, Lubuntu requires less RAM and may work on 32bit computers, Puppy requires even less resources. Some distributions like Ubuntu MATE work on ARMv7 32-bit computers. You should not need to install any extra drivers to run Ubuntu Full install on your machine, however Nvidia drivers are OK. – C.S.Cameron May 15 '19 at 17:13
  • @404NameNotFound, You can try to identify the graphics chip and wifi chip and search for compatibility with linux for those chips. But I think installing and finding out during/after that is good enough: Search or ask, if there are problems. – sudodus May 16 '19 at 04:43

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Ubuntu 19.04 is not a long term service release, If you plan on upgrading Ubuntu every release, your portable USB should have a separate home partition, /home, to make your upgrades easier.

With a Full install portable drive there is no FAT32 4GB persistence size limit. A Windows/Linux shared data partition is an option. It is possible to install proprietary drivers on a Full install portable drive. Nowadays Nvidia video drivers are smart enough not to install when booting a machine missing Nvidia hardware.

Many proprietary drivers do not work on a persistent drive as they need to load before the casper-rw persistence partition opens. The only proprietary driver I run on my Full install flash drive is a Nvidia video driver. When I boot it in a machine without a Nvidia video card, there is no problem.

Your default machine should do well, I believe that with 12GB RAM, Ubuntu will mainly be running in RAM and USB speed will not be so important.

A spare flash drive with a persistent install is often handy, you can copy the /home partition from the Full install to home-rw partition on the Persistent drive as a usable backup.

C.S.Cameron
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  • So am I better off with a persistent system or installed system? After a bit more thoughts, I think the main reason I'm installing on a flash disk is because I don't have an extra hard disk, with portability simply a bonus point I'm interested to keep. – 404 Name Not Found May 14 '19 at 16:57
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    @404 Name Not Found I vote with the Full install to USB. Another alternative is to place the Ubuntu file system on your computer, ~8GB, and place your home directory and data partition on the USB. This allows faster booting and initial program start up. – C.S.Cameron May 14 '19 at 20:55
  • @404NameNotFound, When portability is 'only' a bonus, and you intend to use the system in one single system, I agree with C.S.Cameron and recommend an installed system (installed into the USB drive). You should look for a fast USB 3 drive, see this link, or even better, an SSD in a USB enclosure box. – sudodus May 15 '19 at 06:26
  • @C.S.Cameron Can I have everything on the flash disk and keep the "upgrade ease optimization" you suggested (separate home and data partition)? – 404 Name Not Found May 15 '19 at 16:37
  • @sudodus Thank you for your suggestion. – 404 Name Not Found May 15 '19 at 16:38
  • @404 Name Not Found I have updated " https://askubuntu.com/questions/1142544/standard-uses-of-usb-if-ubuntu-is-installed/1142675#1142675 " to show separate /home partition. – C.S.Cameron May 17 '19 at 16:56