Re: Is there a way to install Debian iso's from an existing installation onto a USB connected drive?
On Thu 02 May 2019 at 20:21:39 +0200, Jonas Smedegaard wrote:
> Quoting Brian (2019-05-02 19:35:07)
> > On Thu 02 May 2019 at 17:09:26 +0200, Jonas Smedegaard wrote:
> > > Quoting Brian (2019-05-02 16:01:31)
> > > > Which is why I have a udev rule with
> > > >
> > > > SUBSYSTEM=="block", ATTRS{removable}=="1", GROUP="floppy"
> > > >
> > > > in it. I might stop doing that if its use was demonstrated to have
> > > > an adverse effect on other things I do.
> > >
> > > Good for you that you have a hack that works. Really!
> >
> > Labelling it a "hack" is not something I find sufficient to cause me
> > to abandon a technique that makes copying to a removable device safer.
>
> Sorry - I meant "hack" as a power user compliment.
Me? A power user? I am not used to compliments on -user; they make
me feel uneasy. But thank you for any confidence you might have in
my abilities to drive Debian.
> > > Reason I discourage that approach more generally is not that I want
> > > to "flame" anyone (as in that bugreport you referenced aboe), but
> > > that I seek ways reasonable also for non-technical users: Your udev
> > > hack is more (not less) complicated for a non-technical user to do
> > > right compared to my one-liner sudo+cp command. Your approach is
> > > sensible if doing _many_ such operations, but not when doing few, as
> > > a beginner.
> >
> > I am unfamiliar with sudo but didn't think sudo+cp prevented my
> > accidentally wiping a system disk.
>
> It doesn't.
>
> You and I are both power user. We use (sudo or) su, or log in as root.
> That is needed to tune our systems e.g. by adding a udev rule.
>
> Last summer I was in Taiwan at Debconf, together with many other power
> users. Imagine I had forgotten my laptop at home, went out and bought a
> cheap taiwanese laptop, and wanted to install Debian on it. I would
> then go over to one of my power user friends with my new laptop and a
> USB stick. I could then ask my friend to...
>
> * Reconfigure their system to include a udev rule
> so that writing to USB flash disks did not require root,
> and then run cp as regular user (even a guest account!)
>
> * Run a cp command as root.
>
> Which would be most sensible?
Ok, you have my arm up my back. I'd go for the second choice. It's
quicker and involves no disruption to the friend's system. The onus
would then be on me to be ultra-careful before pressing the ENTER
key. "Friend", I would say - "please check what I am doing".
> Which would be most sensible to ask a non-technical friend to do?
>
> Yes, your approach works, and is one that I might use myself and might
> recommend to power users for their own pleasure. But not something I
> would recommend to power user for a one-time need, not something I would
> recommend non-technical users themselves (how *I* might tune their
> systems if granted root access is a very different story).
As I said, I am not advocating my approach to anyone. And I get exactly
what you are saying about non-technical users. Double-checking is more
likely to be followed than any amount of "change your system". Again -
point taken.
--
Brian.
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