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Krishna Krishna: 26 Aug 2020
Month: August 2020
How to create a bootable Multi – OS USB Drive.
How to create a bootable USB stick with multiple OS
The good news is that once you have a bootable USB Stick, anybody will be able to use it without risking her/his computer , but the process of making the bootable disk itself is fraught with mine fields for the uninitiated.
STATUTORY WARNING
BEFORE YOU START TRYING OUT THE STEPS , PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT CREATING A BOOTABLE DISK REQUIRES BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF PARTITIONS IN A HARD DISK AND THE BOOT PROCESS ITSELF. BACK UP ALL DATA BEFORE STARTING . THE PROCESS IF ATTEMPTED WITHOUT A BASIC UNDERSTANDING CAN RESULT IN THE SYSTEM NOT BOOTING AT ALL OR EVEN HARD DISK GETTING WIPED OUT.
We know many things can go wrong with a computer, but unlike dumb machines , say a lawn mower, a computer has an extraordinary capability to do self-diagnosis . But to initiate that process the system has to boot itself .
So, assuming that the motherboard processor and RAM are okay, a system should be able to run from an optical drive or a USB drive . As a matter of fact the first computer I used was designed to be booted only through a floppy and there was no hard disk!
The idea is to make a bootable usb drive for the purpose of repairing a bootloader , do a back up of the hard disk or simply to do some productive work on the computer. A search on the web would point to a number of applications like YUMI and unetbootin. I would stick to multi-boot usb .
MultiBootUSB is a cross platform software written in python which allows you to install multiple live linux on a USB disk non destructively and option to uninstall distros.
This is an advanced cross platform application that is installable in Linux or Windows. So, how do we go about it ?
Step 1 : Download the ISO image
Download the ISO image of the Operating System of your choice. For Microsoft products you’ll have to visit this site . There would be copyright issues and requirement for activation key . The real fun would be in exploring the options available in the universe of Open Source Software.
Since troubleshooting is the most likely purpose , Boot-repair disc would be a great place to start with .
Though it is an avatar of ubuntu, it can be a great boon to windows users as well. The interface is intuitive and graphical and there would be absolutely no need for any command line job.
Step 2. Install Multiboot usb application
It is simple enough . Just follow this guide .
Step 3. Create a USB boot disk
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- Plug in a blank USB with a capacity of 8GB or above formatted in 32 FAT file system
- Run Multibootusb program
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Step 4 : Install Preferred OS
Select the USB drive . MS calls it G: or H: drive while linux calls it sdb1 or sdb2 etc
Select your the ISO image you have downloaded in step 1
Click on install distro after selecting the usb drive and the iso image.
You will be prompted to confirm that you would like to proceed with the installation
Click yes and your bootable USB disk will be ready in minutes.
This process may be repeated with additional ISO images to install any number of operating systems as long as there is space in the USB drive.
Step 5 : Reboot and bot through your USB Drive
Reboot the computer and choose usb drive as the first device in the booting sequence.
It can be done in two ways ..
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- Going to bootmenu . for Dell it is press F12 at the time of booting For other makes check out
- Going to setup bios by pressing F2 aat the time of booting and changing the boot order
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Once you manage to select usb drive as the preferred boot device you will get a boot menu as under
Select boot repair disk or any other operating system you want to boot from and that’s it. Your are done. you will be greeted by the screen below:-
Attaining Software Nirwana
A few days back I was lamenting about the demise of Desktop and Laptop computers in personal space. But despite the dominance of tablets and smart phones there are still some die-hard users of personal computers . For someone who spends a lot of time on her personal computer (not the one issued by the employer for office work), there is always the lurking fear of losing data and more importantly the fear of losing the kind of settings and configuration achieved over years.
When a computer boots smoothly and when every application is working in harmony with no conflict or friction it is sheer poetry or a ballet dance. There are no warnings, error messages or undue delay ; it is just harmony and grace that you experience with every click . Even an anti virus shield , ostensibly to protect your computer can be a big nuisance, impinging on the processing power and memory , slowing down the whole system. The full power of all resources should be used for productive effort and not for monitoring your own applications or files for viruses or doing for-ever searches for some non-existent malware.
Whatever you need to do should be available at a right click; be it resizing an image, playing some music,convert to a different format or printing a booklet in the size you want. These tasks should not require a huge overhead but should be done with minimum system resources, in the background. Mostly such configurations are achieved through customized scripts .
Over years you end up with a customized system that you fall in love with. You simply don’t want to use any other system. Yet nothing is permanent. Gautama Buddha said Change or impermanence is the essential characteristic of all phenomenal existence. So is it with your computer system. Bad things happen to good computers. Hard disks can crash for no fault of yours. There are times an user commits a digital harakiri by wiping off his own critical data or even a whole disk in the process of regular maintenance.
That’s when one longs for software nirwana. You can have a back up and back up to back up, on your hard disk, in the cloud and so on. That is ok for the data; for your audio, video and graphic files, but what about those wonderful themes you have set for your applications, the settings, configurations, passwords, aliases and scripts ? What about those rare third part applications you have collected over years ?
It would be good if you can have a portable device to save all settings too. You should have a portable device with which you can boot into any old computer, Linux, Mac or even Windows; 32 bit or 64 bit Architecture ; and turn that computer into your own ,only for the period that you want to use it. On shutdown it is restored to its old ugly self ! This device along with another device, may be to store your data would get you to the ultimate Software Nirwana.
After a lot of research followed by trial and error I created a multiboot USB drive with four different operating systems. Porteus is one of the fastest, lightest OSs while Bodhi Linux is a complete light weight Installation for software nirwana and it is aptly named “Bodhi Linux”. Boot-repair Disc, yes, you guessed it right; repairs the booting system!
Bodhi Linux with Moksha Desktop and Swami Panel can give you the Ultimate Software Nirvana.
In the next post , I’ll attempt an How-to on creating a multi-OS boot USB Stick.
Cheers !
Dealing with Information Overload
I do not think there is any dispute on the issue that we are facing acute information overload. Far from the days of waiting for the morning newspapers or the nine o’ clock news we have reached the stage when there is a continuous stream of information bombarding us 24 x 7 with nuggets of news and views real or fake. News does not mean a report of events but all kinds of theories and counter theories disseminated through social media and Web channels and TV channels.
The sad part is that most of this “information “ is not of our choosing , and nor do these inputs leave one unaffected. If we do not control what kind of information we consume, some one else is going to do it for us and surely they are not going to keep our well being and interests in mind.
I can hear that “I am too smart to be fooled by some propaganda” . Earlier only Advertisers specialized in perception management; today everybody does. Perceptions are sold scientifically and cleverly. A 30 seconds message telecast / web-cast or spun around through social media ,around the clock for a week can be so effective without anyone getting any wiser. An automioble company names a model Esteem and a little girl talking of the big car of her daddy makes any daddy associate self-esteem with a big car.
There are very credible news channels which have moved ever so subtly from center to far left , one starts seeing “center” on one extreme. It’s happening in India ; it’s happening around the world.
So what’s the solution ? Do we really stay away from TV Channels and Social media to fall back on the State Controlled media channels? Not really . The Net has some really rich sources that can be customized to suit your interests . Today, one can pick and choose as to what kind of information he wants and in what form. That is where RSS comes in . For the not so tech savvy, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary.
Every news or information source has its own RSS link for providing a dynamic feed to it’s subscribers . This kind of information flow is not restricted just news or the main stream subjects, but can be very specific in line with a unique interest of a person. If I want to keep track of any writing or event associated with the great poet Subramanya Bharathi, well I can find a half dozen sources dealing with just that.
Should we use technology to follow the kind of information that gives us that inner happiness or should we drift aimlessly letting our minds be poisoned by the stuff forced on us. I do not mean it’s all bad, but one has heard often enough that one man’s meat is another man’s poison, to understand every human being is different and thrives on different kind of intellectual nourishment.
The idea of RSS is not something new but as old as the interent. I remember accessing a newsgroup long before M$ Windows came into being. It is these news groups that have morphed into News-feed applications. There are a number of apps for mobiles as well as for the web to collect and feed information for you. Rather than recommend specific apps ,keeping with the spirit of anti-spamming I would point to a link that gives a wide choice of apps and choice of feeds.
Happy info gathering !
Cheers !