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 17:09:26 +0200, Jonas Smedegaard wrote:
> Quoting Brian (2019-05-02 16:01:31)
> >
> > I use cat downloaded_image > /dev/sdb
>
> Is there some benefit to that over cp?
None that I know of; it's just something I've used since isohybrids
came along.
> Reason I prefer cp is that it is less confusing esp. for newcomers, in
> that it works also with sudo.
Point taken. I think the ">" can also cause problems and would have
no problem recommending cp instead of cat.
> > 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.
After all, it was the norm on wheezy (and maybe before), so users had
some protection against writing to the incorrect device without being
aware the rule was there.
Don't get me wrong; I am not arguing for its return or that others
follow my lead.
> 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.
--
Brian.
Reply to: