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I am building a PC without optical drives. Will I be able run Ubuntu from an USB flash drive?

My plan is to try out Ubuntu on my built PC using USB flash drive and then depending on how I much like Ubuntu; either installing Windows 10 onto my SSD with Ubuntu alongside/inside it, or just installing Ubuntu onto my SSD without Windows. Will my plan be easily possible?

Van Blanco
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    Yes, you don't need an OS installed on the computer to run a LiveUSB, though you'll lose whatever you save on the USB stick without setting up Persistence. (And it will be a LOT slower than installing to the disk directly) – Thomas Ward Nov 29 '15 at 21:48
  • That's exactly what the Live feature of Ubuntu is for. It's a sort of "try before you buy" feature. You won't be able to do anything permanent in it (everything is lost upon reboot), but you can try it out. If you do decide to install both Windows and Ubuntu, remember to install Windows first and then install Ubuntu, as Windows overwrites the Ubuntu bootloader when it is installed. It's fixable, but annoying. – TheWanderer Nov 29 '15 at 22:00
  • Here is a guide on how to install to USB assuming you have a windows PC -- http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/create-a-usb-stick-on-windows -- No 3 pic, shows you a slider with persistence MB allocation size which enables you save your work. 0 MB will not save anything upon reboot. – Tasos Nov 29 '15 at 22:28
  • If new system, then it is UEFI. You still can install in the 35 year old BIOS boot with MBR partitions but generally better to use newer UEFI. But you have to use gpt partitioning and Windows only boots in UEFI mode from a gpt drive. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI and this is Windows 8, but should be almost identical for install: http://askubuntu.com/questions/221835/installing-ubuntu-on-a-pre-installed-uefi-supported-windows-8-system – oldfred Nov 29 '15 at 22:37

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You can do a Full install to the flash drive. Most computers see a flash drive as just another hard drive.

A Full install will probably give you a better feel that running a Live or Persistent system.

If your new computer has lots of RAM, Ubuntu will run in the RAM, so there should not be issues with speed.

A Full install requires a larger flash drive than a persistent install, about 8GB minimum.

Follow OldFred's advice when it comes to UEFI.

C.S.Cameron
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