Bootable USB Ubuntu on Windows

Question

I had installed on my old Laptop years ago (Windows 7, 12.04 updated to 14.04 LTS, had network error) and it changed the BIOS.

Currently I need to use Ubuntu. Due to past experience, I'm planning to install it using bootable USB.

Can I safely install any applications without having drawbacks (losing the app or data upon removing the USB)?
Supposed that I need to access files inside the USB on WINDOWS 10 (Default OS on my laptop), can I access it directly, or should I move the files to my Laptop first?

are you using a USB HHD or a USB stick? what size? Note: windows can not read linux partitions without third party drivers — ravery, Oct 23 '17 at 07:43
Possible duplicate of How to read ext4 partitions in Windows? — karel, Oct 23 '17 at 07:51
Please tell us with more details, what you have and what you want, and (after reading the answers) where you need more details from us. — sudodus, Oct 23 '17 at 09:06
I'm using USB stick (3.0), with 64GB files. What I want is using multiple partition (at least 2), in which one partition can be accessed in Windows (as data storage). — NFC, Oct 25 '17 at 04:35

ravery · Answer 1 · 2017-11-10T00:08:17.567

Apps and data can be installed. The risk is the same as a sudden power failure for an internal drive - i.e. be sure the drive cache is flushed before removal. If in ubuntu, powering off before removing is recommended.

Windows can not read Linux partitions (ext4) without third party software. The easiest solution it to create an NTFS partition to use for shared data.

Note: fast startup in windows is a hybrid hibernate. It must be disabled to use shared partitions.

sudodus · Accepted Answer · 2017-10-23T09:14:11.477

You can install Ubuntu into a USB drive in different ways

a live-only and installer USB drive

Such a drive lets you run Ubuntu 'live' alias 'Try Ubuntu'. You can use the bundled applications, and you can install program packages, but the installed programs do not survive a reboot.

Such a drive is often used in order to install Ubuntu into an internal drive, but it can also be used to install Ubuntu into another external drive.
a persistent live USB drive

Such a drive lets you run Ubuntu 'live' alias 'Try Ubuntu'. You can use the bundled applications, and you can install program packages, and the installed programs survive a reboot. But there are limits. You cannot install new linux kernels. Programs, for example hardware drivers, that {are/should be} started before the overlay for persistence is started might be possible to install, but the new version will never be used.

A persistent live drive is very portable between computers.
an installed system in a USB drive

A USB drive (or an eSATA drive) with an installed system can be updated & upgraded like any installed system without limits.

But if you want it to be portable between different computers, you should avoid proprietary drivers (typically for graphics and wifi). Such a system is portable, but not as portable as a persistent live system.

Fast USB 3 drive

In order to get good performance, you should get a fast USB 3 pendrive, or even better, connect an SSD via USB 3 or eSATA.

Access files from Ubuntu and Windows

Supposed that I need to access files inside the USB on WINDOWS 10 (Default OS on my laptop), can I access it directly, or should I move the files to my Laptop first?

It is a good idea to create a separate data partition (with the label 'data' and) with the file system NTFS. Such a partition can be accessed by Ubuntu as well as by Windows 10, and it is much better than to write from one operating system into the system partition of another operating system.

Since several years I use a data partition, where I store most of my personal files. (When I was dual booting with Windows, I used the file system NTFS, but now, that I use only linux, I use the file system ext4 in the data partition.) Another advantage with a data partition is that it is easy to backup the personal files. I can do it with a separate method from the backup of the operating system.