A fun little experiment - running completely off a live cd

I just wanted to post my results here if anyone is interested. For giggles, and for the sake of doing it because I can, I wanted to see if I could run linux completely off of a live cd. I removed the hard drive and booted off an ubuntu live disc. My T410 has 4GB RAM (3GB usable). So far, besides occasionally the disc needing to be accessed, it runs just fine, and FAST (since it's all running from memory ). I have installed vlc and removed other packages I don't want. Since I have an external ODD I can watch DVDs fine, surf the web, listen to music/internet radio, all from memory. With this firefox window open, System Monitor is reporting only 280MB RAM in use.
It's kind of cool and makes me think this could be the ultimate for internet security. You'd never have to worry about viruses or your system being compromised, just reboot and all is well.
Next I'm going to work on creating a custom ubuntu live disc, with vlc and other stuff already installed, and see how it goes.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiments. During the summer, I did like what you've just done. I believe the traditional notion of "personal computer" will go through significant revisions in the next few years.

 

I imagine if one were to boot from a USB thumbdrive instead - which is already available - but preferably one with a hardware read-only switch - that it could run even better, and you still wouldn't have to worry about your computer being compromised. I just love linux.

 

well there is a live distro that allows you to search nearly anonymously using the tor network, and that would be the ultimate net security.

 

Oh I see. I just meant by the "ultimate net security" was you wouldn't have to worry about viruses or your computer getting compromised from the traditional sense, since you are just running it off a cd instead of a HDD, and everything is stored and run from RAM. I was just really surprised that it's only using 280MB RAM with firefox open.

Edit: Hmm, this is really cool. Firefox lets me save bookmarks. Of course as soon as I reboot they will be wiped out, but still, that's neat.

 

How about putting whole root partition in RAM (tmpfs) in normal distros? In my current Arch install / is only 4.3gb, so it will fit into 6/8gb ram.

Boot:
- mount root as read-only,
- mount / as tmpfs,
- rsync local root partition with / in tmpfs,
- boot rest of system.

Shutdown:
- mount root as rw,
- rsync back to hdd,
- normal shutdown.

Insane idea, but it could save ssd disks life and bring us awesome system speed (and slow boot/shutdown, but who cares if you can suspend)
What do you guys think about it?

 

I'm not that advanced, but if you want to do it, I'll be rooting for you from my corner.

Edit: Heh, I just noticed my temps are better without the HDD.

Edit 2: I wonder if there's a way to import bookmarks into firefox in a custom live disc image. *ponders*

-- I found it. /etc/firefox/profile/bookmarks.html. *evil laugh*

 

A live stick will act exactly like an OS for daily use, no need to be surprised

I make my live keys with a small persistence space enabled, so that if I wish I can save bookmarks/files/ect on the key, which only show up when the OS is loaded. What's better is that you can easily make grub let you choose what to use on boot, so for example... on a sketchy machine or an untrusted network you can boot the live version (like you have, basically a readonly OS), but on a more familiar network or if you need access to files you might have hurriedly saved in persistent mode, you can boot from that.

You know you're a damn true nerd when you carry the stick with you on a normal basis (like a family gettogether) and it actually pays off. I was able to bypass the silly limitations on an old computer running win2k that couldn't read/write to an 8gb usb stick, for example.

 

I guess im a nerd. I keep a live distro of ubuntu on my keys if i ever need to use a public computer or someone that doesnt seem to keep their computer running well. haah This way i have all my stuff with me. its also a great troubleshooter if you need to boot a windows system that has a virus.

 

There's nothing wrong with that. Besides I think it's cool. Actually I think I've found a USB stick that would be perfect for this. 4GB Imation Clip for $10 at Amazon, and it has a hardware read-only switch.

 

Bravo!

 

I do exactly that and it runs much faster than loading from a CD. I also use the x86 version for compatibility with any computer.

 

Yeah, I also use an x86 type kernel, but it's also because there just aren't (m)any x64 enabled/advantaged programs/scripts.

About the only downside to live sticks is that you can't do kernel updates or driver upgrades. I need to figure out a way to build the latest ati/nv/integrated drivers into an image without causing issues - by that I mean that I tried to add ati drivers into an image, but it didn't go too hot when loaded onto a machine that uses igp. Only reason I want the drivers in linux is for cuda and stream

 

As for Ubuntu, does the toram kernel parameter work again? I know it was broken for one or two releases (don't remember which ones). This will increase boot times drastically, but while you get your coffee all the data on the CD is stored into the RAM and once the system is up it should be incredibly fast. Basically it's the easy way of the already described RAMdisc installation.

On my USB key I use Slax, which is just perfect for that task. In its standard configuration it only needs 200MB, offers persistence that can be switched on or off on every boot, and has its own package management system via which you can just add software via a browser link.
One of its logos is a swiss knife, which is a very good choice. There are 4 things I always have in my pocket: a flash light, a lighter, a swiss knife and a Slax key.
Unfortunately Slax is dormant right now because the developer is occupied with other things, but some users continue Slax under a different name (which I don't recall at the moment).

 

I finally got my custom linux cd going (after some errors and experimenting ). Now I'm ready to put it on a USB thumb drive. What does anyone think of Ubuntu's Startup Disc Creator? Is it any good?

 

If you're looking for advice on what to use to get the iso on the stick, I highly recommend either unetbootin or lili linux (google em). Unetbootin excels at creating fast sticks (they boot/shutdown quite a bit faster and run a tiny bit faster), Lili is great for enabling persistence without all knowing all the command lines and for ease of use. Lili also came bundled with an sha1/md5 hasher, I'm a sucker for bonus programs

 

Am I getting that right, that the Linux live stick creation tool lili does not run on Linux?
I hope I'm just missing something, otherwise it would be a pretty bad joke.

 

Like I said, ease of use I assumed (maybe wrongly) that he has windows on his box. The way I look at it, if you are running linux full time then you wouldn't be put off by the lengthy commandline script required to enable persistence with unetbootin.

 

Nope, just linux here.

 

Well it's been 3 days and it's still going fine. Still no HDD inside. Since making a custom ubuntu disc I've noticed that memory usage is down a bit (having programs I use installed by default instead of installing from the net).
I'm thinking this would definitely be the way to go for those concerned with computer security.

 

part of the problem is that maintaining up to date software is a critical component of security. that is difficult when everything is running off of read only media.

 

That is true, and I was reading about that very thing just yesterday at another website. I suppose it wouldn't be any more difficult than downloading the latest distro, and creating a new custom disc. But it would still have to be done at atleast semi-regular intervals I imagine.