Other Help Topics :: How to install/save things to USB

Can I boot CD to ram, but set a USB drive as a place where I can install extensions to, put my home, etc. ? My box is old so I can't install to USB and then boot it.

I want to more seriously work in DSL before hammering my whole machine since it is already a quad-boot, but everything else isn't as fast, and I really, really want this to work !

Thanks !
rcs

Why don't you boot the PC from a DSL boot floppy? It will pick up DSL installed on your USB flashdisk. The boot image for such a floppy is in the download section. This way you can bypass your quad-boot HD.

Here's one way....
boot with "dsl home=sda1" (change sda1 to whatever partition you want)
make sure the stick is in when you boot up.

Another more complex way:
1) Copy /home into /mnt/sda1 (or whatever the stick is mounted to)
2) Edit /opt/bootlocal.sh:
mount /dev/sda1 #mount your stick partition - may need some modification
rm -f /home && mkdir /home #removes symlink and replaces with a directory
mount --bind /mnt/sda1/home /home
rm -rf /ramdisk/home/
3) make sure opt/bootlocal.sh is in filetool.lst
4) backup to sda
Dunno if this will work as written, but it works for me as a persistent home in a subdirectory on harddrive.

original here.