I'm looking for a way to run Linux from a USB stick on my Windows machine without needing to install anything. Before I used Damn Small Linux on a USB drive, which allowed me to run it directly by clicking a file, but I'm not sure how to achieve that now. I need something executable that doesn't require the USB to be bootable. Does anyone know a simple method to run Linux from a USB stick while still using Windows?
4 Answers
There's this thing called portable QEMU that might work for you to run a virtual machine from your USB. I haven't tried it, but it seems promising. You can find more info by searching for 'portable qemu'. Just a heads up, using it might go against your workplace rules, so be careful!
Why not just run a standard Linux distro from a USB as a non-persistent operating system? You could even use Tails OS if that's something you're interested in! Just something to think about.
Do you have the permission to install features on your Windows PC? If you do, you could ask an admin to enable WSL2 instead—it might be a smoother option!
Have you considered using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)? It doesn't require a USB stick and lets you run a Linux environment directly from Windows. Check out the installation guide [here](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install). It's super easy!
That might be a good option, but I think the user wants to keep Windows running simultaneously and hide the Linux part when needed.