Can I Run Live ISOs Directly from RAM?
Asked by
CuriousCat92
I'm curious if there are live ISOs that can load fully into RAM, just like Rescuezilla does. If I can do this with Rescuezilla and unplug the Ventoy USB after loading, are there other live ISOs that support this feature? With 16GB RAM becoming common, it seems feasible to load an entire ISO into a RAM disk, leaving ample space for the OS too.
Answers
A lot of live setups actually support a "toram" option, though it might not always work perfectly across all distributions. Like, there were some issues with it on Ubuntu for a while.
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You might want to check out SystemRescueCd; it has a "copytoram" boot option which lets you load it into RAM. The Gentoo boot CD also has a similar option called "docache". These are the main ones I know and use occasionally, but I'm sure there are others out there.
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Arch Linux definitely supports this feature. From what I know, most Debian derivatives do as well, so you’ve got options there.
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PuppyLinux supports loading into RAM as well, but if you remove the USB stick after that, you lose any changes. From the grub page, there is a RAM option, but it might require an extra step to remove the USB stick, so double-check the details. Also, Knoppix and Damn Small Linux had similar features back in their CD days, allowing you to operate from RAM while using the drive for other tasks.
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Don't forget about Parted Magic—it comes to mind as a good option for running live from RAM.
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Absolutely, Knoppix has a toram boot option that lets you do this too. It’s a solid choice if you're looking to run live without a USB.
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CuriousCat92: That sounds interesting! What makes Parted Magic stand out in this regard?