Re: Need dial-up friendly install on USB stick
On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 10:31:16AM -0500, Richard Owlett wrote:
> Rob Owens wrote:
> >Did you know that most live USB systems can use a mode called
> >"persistence" that allows you to install new software?
>
> I heard _of_ "persistence" when I first attempted to use Ubuntu.
> I'm not sure if that is quite what I'm aiming at. I encountered it
> when I discovered that changes to display preferences did not hold
> across sessions. I *THINK* I followed instructions to use
> "persistence". It was unsuccessful ;(
>
> My goal is to sit down at keyboard and not be able to tell whether
> Linux resided on a USB stick or on the hard drive (cf the old AI
> goal of having computer indistinguishable from human.)
>
Persistence will give you this (except that performance is slightly
slower from USB than from a hard drive). For Debian Live, set it up
something like this:
1) download or build an image
2) dd if=image.iso of=/dev/sdX (your usb stick)
3) fdisk /dev/sdX
3a) create a new partition in the empty space on your usb stick
4) mkfs.ext4 -L live-rw /dev/sdX2
5) boot your usb stick with the parameter "persistent"
5a) optionally change the /syslinux/live.cfg to permanently include
"persistent" as a boot paramenter
Note: in step 4, it is critical to label the partition "live-rw" --
that's what makes it work.
> >
> >With Debian Live, you should be able to install a dialer (kppp is one
> >that comes to mind).
>
> Chuckle - it's the "chicken and egg" problem.
> My starting point is I have to take my Windows laptop to local
> library for high speed access. The nearest known LUG is >200 miles
> away (am in rural SW Missouri). Then I need either to identify an
> iso with active dialer OR have a way to download the dialer and
> dependencies using Windows.
>
If you've got a broadcom wifi card, you'll need firmware-b43-installer,
which depends on b43-fwcutter. You can download them from
packages.debian.org. I think b43-fwcutter might download firmware files
when it is run, so you'll need to try to fetch those ahead of time, too.
-Rob
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