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I am trying to install Ubuntu on a 2 GB USB flash drive for my job.

I don't want to install Linux on my personal desktop, but it seems that Ubuntu requires me to that to in order to copy some specific files I need to create the USB livecd.

My job require Ubuntu and no other distribution. How can I create a Ubuntu liveCD to use from a USB flash drive, knowing that I only have a Mac running OS X Leopard on my personal desktop?

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    Your job requires Ubuntu but you don't want to install it?
    – innaM
    Jul 16, 2009 at 20:31
  • actually it's more complicated: We have windows machine only at my work location, and no way to install a linux distro in the box (it's forbidden). But we need linux right now ... the only way is to use an usb key (to store my work on it too). Jul 16, 2009 at 21:01

4 Answers 4

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You can use UNetbootin to create a Live USB drive for any many Linux Distribution, including Ubuntu.

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  • Thank for this reply. I will try this. While this app runs only on windows or linux, I will try to recompile it myself on my mac (can't find any mac port , neither on fink commander). If it doesn't work, people on the internet reports it work well through Wine. Jul 16, 2009 at 21:08
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The ubuntu ISO is a live system, you can install it on any USB drive of sufficient size.

To install it from a Windows system you can use uSbuntu Live Creator. The article LiveUsbPendrivePersistent explains how you do it from an ubuntu system. There are GUI methodes, no need for command line hackery.

I personally use the following script to install ubuntu on a USB drive. You will have to modify it to suit your needs.

echo "CAUTION: Check path and devices before you run this script!"
echo "If you don't it can delete your harddisk"
echo "Before you run this script "
echo "- make a fat32 partition (/dev/sdb1) but leave 700 MB unpartitioned"
echo "- make a 700 MB partition (/dev/sdb2)"
echo "- mark /dev/sdb2 as bootable"
echo "- ignore any warnings about symlinks"

sudo syslinux -sf /dev/sdb2

sudo mount /path/to/ubuntu-8.04.2-desktop-i386.iso -t iso9660 -o loop /mnt

cp -rfv /mnt/casper /mnt/disctree /mnt/dists /mnt/install /mnt/pics /mnt/pool /mnt/preseed /mnt/.disk /media/disk-1
cp -rfv /mnt/isolinux /media/disk-1/syslinux
mv /media/disk-1/syslinux/isolinux.cfg /media/disk-1/syslinux/syslinux.cfg
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Why not install Ubuntu using your Mac's bootcamp software? That way you could boot into either OS X or Ubuntu. There is a thread at the Ubuntu forums that covers doing exactly that.

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Unless your Mac is fairly old, you could run Ubuntu inside a Virtual Machine using VirtualBox.

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