USB flash drives have a limited number of write cycles before they fail. The beauty of Knoppix in this application is that it is a 'Live CD' installation that runs read-only on its install media. It can also manipulate hard drives and potentially be used to repair broken operating systems. It can read and write most filesystem types (probably shouldn't try to write NTFS with pre-5.0 Knoppix) and save recovered data over the network, to another USB drive, to CD/DVD, or to the USB fob itself. On the few machines I have booted it on it has come up quickly with full support for graphics, networking (including wifi!) and optical drives. Knoppix Linux seems to have quite extensive hardware detection and driver support. It also has potential for being quite useful as a recovery/rescue tool. Winged monkeys may fly out of your posterior. If you copy/install/set up to the wrong drive your system may be unbootable. Here is a different approach to putting Knoppix/Linux on a USB fob using the syslinux bootloader: rz-obrian.rz./knoppix-usbĪTTENTION! The procedure described below worked for me. It also has an 'on the fly' command line capability that allows manally entering boot instructions or editing the pre-defined ones. It allows specifying multiple boot options including other OS installations in its boot menu.

I chose to use grub as the bootloader since I am familiar with it. Other older machines I tested in offered to boot the fob but failed to do so, with varying error messages (including none). I have tested bootability on ThinkPads R40, T43, and T61, a Sun W1100Z (Opteron), and on a 'white-box' P4 system with an Intel D945GCZ motherboard. This exercise put a Knoppix Linux 'Live CD' version 4.0.2 distribution on Sandisk Cruzer Mini 1G USB flash drive and made it bootable.

Knoppix Linux and Grub Bootloader on USB Flash

Knoppix boot only isolation