2

The subject tells it all.

While I am seeing many people having difficulties with dual-boot Ubuntu with Windows 8 I came to this idea (as my Linux partition is too small for installing VMware Converter 4.01).

Can I "back-up" somehow my existing and running Ubuntu 12.04 install into a bootable image file or ISO, which I can then play-back with VMWARE Player or convert into something bootable from a CD-ROM or USB stick?

Olli
  • 8,971
Gpunkt
  • 157
  • Would be nice to clarify (1) Do you want to have the whole system on the USB-Stick or would you rather use the USB-stick for booting the Ubuntu only? (2) at the moment your PC harddisk has windows 8 and ubuntu? Or clearer, where is your Ubuntu install at the moment? Where will be windows 8? Consider also that using a flash-drive for system the system could be wearing down the flash of the stick. USB-sticks only have so and so many write-cycles. Flash-drive durability is not comparable to a SDD. But, of course it can be done. – humanityANDpeace Dec 28 '12 at 22:13
  • thanks for attendance! well, I want my Ubuntu 12.04 installation, which is only about 4 GB(unfortuntely i made it too small) kind of "cloned" and made into an ISO file, which I can then boot. not needs to be USB, can also be on a CD. is clonezilla a way for that? windows 8 is currently on another netbook and has 20 GB SSD(with 2 partitions, whyever)

    my idea is to boot windows 8 on that machine and either run my "customized" ubuntu then as a virtual machine or right away BOOT from USB stick on that 2nd netbook. if that is possible to configure to use SSD as swap etc?

     – Gpunkt Dec 28 '12 at 22:33
  • just some quick thoughs. (1) why iso? they do not make booting easier, rather more difficult. (2) if you have already a 4GB working root filesystem. => create a fitting partition layout on the usb stick. use dd command to image the parition to the newly created one on the USB stick. Finally install grup on the MBR of the stick and edit the grub.cfg to meet your setup. (3) if you wanna swap on SSD, why not putting Ubuntu on that thing right away? USB-Stick are not really write-durable! – humanityANDpeace Dec 28 '12 at 22:58
  • at: (1) i not focus on ISO, it was just an idea. i am having a solution in mind, not care for specific means to reach it :) (2) will try find out details of the dd command and grub install on usb (3) THAT is the question. i not know if i can install it on the SSD? if? then HOW and anyhow i cannot boot directly into SSD.

    I just detected CLONEZILLA and made a image of my linux partition but need find out how to go further now

     – Gpunkt Dec 28 '12 at 23:56
  • some update of my FAILS up to now:

    did create a clone of my linux partition with CLONEZILLA which I then also with using clonezilla converted into a ZIP

    unpacking this ZIP and then executing MAKEBOOT.sh I wanted to maked this a bootable "image" which I actually made into an ISO file under Windows XP with IMGBURN.

    total fail: playing such iso in VMWARE player gives me "missing boot system"

     – Gpunkt Dec 29 '12 at 02:20
  • actually my question is a DUPLICATE of

    http://askubuntu.com/questions/73847/make-my-ubuntu-a-live-disk-from-my-hard-disk?rq=1

    but what is the BEST answer?

     – Gpunkt Dec 29 '12 at 03:06
  • I think rsync or dd are better ways to shift your working ubuntu aprox 4GB+ system to a USB-stick. I am unsure CLONEZILLA will bring you instand success. Indeed the few things to get linux/ubuntu are normaly (1) a parititon layout, (2) a partition for your system, (3) copy of the -already working- system via rsync, (4) a installed and configured grub to get it to boot. I will try to find some turorial to post here later. – humanityANDpeace Dec 29 '12 at 17:56

0 Answers0