I'm diving into the world of LiveUSB and full installs on USB as I continue getting comfortable with Linux. After spending a month using VMware Workstation Pro—first with Kubuntu 25.04 and then with Ubuntu Server 25.04 along with kde-plasma-desktop—I've worked through a lot of the initial setup issues. However, I'm hitting a wall due to the limitations of vGPU and SVGA in VMware.
I'm thinking about creating a Ventoy USB stick to test different distributions and a separate USB for direct installs, running in a way that's more true to my actual hardware. Is this a good plan? What should I be cautious about when using LiveUSB or doing a direct installation? Is there a risk that any mistakes could impact my main system? I have been treating my virtual machine like the real thing, and I'm eager to know what else I should consider as I move away from using a VM.
3 Answers
Ventoy is definitely a game-changer! It's my go-to for managing multiple Linux distros. It allows you to put several ISOs on one stick without needing to reformat each time. Just make sure to have backups of any important data before you start messing around with installations, especially with USB direct installs—it can overwrite things on your main computer if you're not careful!
When you're using a Live USB, remember it's typically non-persistent. This means it's great for testing out an OS without affecting your system. As for installing Ubuntu Server and adding a desktop, it’s really just a personal choice. Some prefer keeping everything minimal until they know exactly what they want. Just ensure to back up anything important before a full install, because that process can wipe your drives!
You can definitely set up persistence on a Live USB. This way, changes you make during your session can be saved for next time. While I can't remember which distro I used for this, it's a handy feature to have if you want to carry over settings or files across sessions!
Related Questions
How To Get Your Domain Unblocked From Facebook
How To Find A String In a Directory of Files Using Linux