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WHAT'S IN NAME?

I do not know the term for what I am going to describe: for the purpose of this conversation I will call it an unconventional installation. If it had a name and I knew it, I would Google it :) If this method of installation has a name, then bonus for calling it out. Numerous attempts to boot from USB have failed: unfortunately, this does not seem to be an option

CONTEXT

The goal is to outfit the neighbor's laptop with an SSD and run 32-bit Ubuntu or lubuntu. The laptop boots only from the SATA HDD. Laptop is an Asus EEE 1000HE RAM:2GB Intel Atom N280 Atom @1.66Ghz

METHOD

I would like to place a new SSD drive into a USB enclosure to connect to my Ubuntu or Windows box. I would then configure the SSD's file system with partimage (unsure which FS is best for an SSD, but I'd like to have SSD 'trim' support engaged). How would one configure and outfit the drive so that when it is installed in the laptop it will boot up and configure the operating system?

QUESTIONS

If this is possible, them I believe that this has been done before and there is good documentation of how to do this. I simply do not know the term to Google to find this info. If you have done this before: what is a good URL to learn how to outfit a self-installing drive? Are there any pitfalls or lessons-learned? If you have performed this successfully, please state this in your reply. Thank you

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gatorback
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  • If you're up to it you can use your Ubuntu box to do it, check out my answer here. This most likely works in any direction, from PC to USB and back, but it uses legacy boot. You can find me in chat if you have questions regarding it. – Videonauth Jul 01 '16 at 17:35

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All you should need to do is install a 32-bit version of Ubuntu to the SSD using your other computer; after that, once the drive is transferred to the neighbor's laptop, chances are good it will detect and adjust to the new hardware without problems.

Connect the SSD to your computer via USB cable, then boot your computer into a 32-bit live Ubuntu DVD or USB stick (as if you were going to install Ubuntu on the computer). However, in the Ubuntu installer, you will be choosing to install Ubuntu to the SSD, not your computer's main hard drive. Also make sure that when the installer asks where to install the GRUB bootloader, you choose to install it to the SSD (not your main hard drive).

Once the Ubuntu installer is complete, you should be able to transfer the SSD into the ASUS laptop and it should boot into Ubuntu.

Nick Weinberg
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  • This is a good suggestion: I have considered this and suspect this to be the fast-track to getting the task completed. I posed this question because it seemed to be an cleaner, albeit slightly more complicated. Thank you – gatorback Jul 01 '16 at 17:41
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    You could follow my instructions, but do an OEM install, as described here: http://askubuntu.com/questions/36671/how-do-i-pre-install-ubuntu-for-someone-oem-install That way they get to set up their username, password, etc on the first boot. Is that what you're looking for? – Nick Weinberg Jul 01 '16 at 18:31
  • I think the OEM procedure is booting with an Ubuntu USB flash drive on the target PC, which is not possible with the target laptop. This could be done with my desktop, however, it would really be a 'transplant' and not an 'organic' install. Did I misunderstand it? Perhaps in an 'OEM install' a second PC is used to positions the files for when the target PC boots and actually installs? Seeking clarification / understanding. Thanks – gatorback Jul 01 '16 at 19:30
  • You can do an OEM install on the target hard drive when it's connected to your desktop. (It does not need to be done on the ASUS laptop). The only difference between OEM and regular install is that the OEM install will wait until the first boot to ask to set up the username, password, and related questions, instead of asking the questions during the initial installation. I do believe that if you boot your desktop computer into an Ubuntu USB, perform an OEM install onto the hard drive (connected via USB), and then transfer the hard drive into the ASUS laptop it will accomplish what you want. – Nick Weinberg Jul 01 '16 at 19:33
  • Excellent. I think you are right. When the OEM install is performed from the desktop. Are all hardware specific configuration activities deferred until the disk is seated in the target PC and booted-up? Hopefully this also applies to lubuntu – gatorback Jul 01 '16 at 19:49
  • Ubuntu has gotten very good at on-the-fly auto-detection of hardware; I can't make any promises, but I'd be surprised if you ran into problems. It should work fine with Lubuntu as well -- again, no promises, but as far as I know it should work! – Nick Weinberg Jul 01 '16 at 20:04