Install Tiny Core Linux on a USB Drive

Previous Versions of Tiny Core

Tiny Core 1

Tiny Core 2.1-3

Tiny Core

Install on a USB Drive

Before installation, save a copy of all files you want to keep. All files on the USB drive will be lost.

Filesystems

Tiny Core can be installed on various filesystems. For more information, see Filesystems.

Installation

Tiny Core can be installed on a USB drive while running Tiny Core installed on a computer, or while running Tiny Core from a live CD, and connected to the internet using a broadband internet connection.

Before installing Tiny Core, Install the extensions "dosfstools" and "syslinux." If selecting ZIP, also Install "per15."

Form the menu, select Tools -> USB Installation.

Another option is to open the terminal and type:

sudo usbinstall

Enter appropriate information as prompted.

Microcore

Microcore may be installed on a USB drive using the same method. You need Microcore installed on a computer. For more information, see Install Microcore.

Run from the USB drive

With the USB drive connected to the computer, turn the computer off and restart.

If the computer won't start from the USB drive, click here for more information.

Be aware, the BIOS in older computers cannot be set up to start an operating system from a USB drive.

If the BIOS cannot be set up to start an operating system from a USB drive, you can use PLoP Boot Manager to start the operating system from the USB drive.

Backup or Persistent /home and /opt

USB drives can only be written to a limited number of times (normally thousands), then they will not work.

You can reduce the number of times a usb drive is written to by using backup, and not having a persistent /home and /opt. This is how Tiny Core is installed by default.

However, if you use Tiny Core on a usb drive to browse the internet, a lot of information is saved by internet browsers. As a result backup will take a long time. Starting Tiny Core will also take a long time.

If you have a persistent /home and /opt, and exclude browser cache and settings from backup, or not use backup at all. Starting and shutting down Tiny Core will be quick, but the usb drive may not last as long.

Following is an explanation of how to have persistent /home and /opt on a usb drive.

After installing Tiny Core, as explained above, the file extlinux.conf should look something like this (the Ext filesystem was used).

DEFAULT tinycore
LABEL tinycore
KERNEL /tce/bzImage
APPEND initrd=/tce/tinycore.gz quiet max_loop=255 waitusb=5 tce=UUID="b647c07e-d1f2-461a-9d4a-045b450ad1fd"

Using a Root Text Editor, edit this to be like this.

DEFAULT tinycore
LABEL tinycore
KERNEL /tce/bzImage
APPEND initrd=/tce/tinycore.gz quiet norestore max_loop=255 waitusb=5 tce=UUID="b647c07e-d1f2-461a-9d4a-045b450ad1fd" home=UUID="b647c07e-d1f2-461a-9d4a-045b450ad1fd" opt=UUID="b647c07e-d1f2-461a-9d4a-045b450ad1fd"

The end of the line beginning with "APPEND" will normally return and be on the next line(s). If you enter it that way, it will not work. It must be on one line.

Use the UUID number of your usb drive, not the one shown here.

If you don't use Backup to save and restore settings, include "norestore" in the line which begins with "APPEND."

Alternate Method Using Label

To label the partition on the usb drive, open the terminal and type:

sudo su
tune2fs -L tinycore /dev/sda1

If not sda1, use the appropriate partition.

To check the label on the usb drive, using the terminal, type:

blkid -s LABEL /dev/sda1

After labelling the partition on the usb drive, edit extlinux.conf to be like this.

DEFAULT tinycore
LABEL tinycore
KERNEL /tce/bzImage
APPEND initrd=/tce/tinycore.gz quiet max_loop=255 waitusb=5 tce=LABEL=tinycore home=LABEL=tinycore opt=LABEL=tinycore

The end of the line beginning with "APPEND" may return and be on the next line(s). If you enter it that way, it will not work. It must be on one line.

If you don't use Backup to save and restore settings, include "norestore" in the line which begins with "APPEND."

For more information, see Backup.

Swap Partition

A computer uses a swap partition like extra RAM.

If you install Tiny Core on a USB drive, do not make a swap partition on the USB drive, as it will greatly shorten the life of the USB drive. If Linux is installed on the hard drive, it will have a swap partition and Tiny Core will use it. If there is no swap partition, make one on the hard drive.

Alternate Method or Tiny Core Versions Prior to 2.1

This method if installing Tiny Core was introduced in version 2.1. If you have an earlier version, it will not work. The easiest way to overcome this it to download the latest version. Another option is to use an Alternate Method of Installing Tiny Core on a USB Drive.

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