Successful Installation With No HDD/SSD?? [SOLVED]

[derpypenguino]

I just installed the latest version of Linux Mint Cinnamon onto a USB Drive. I plugged the USB into my other laptop and installed successfully, but I'm super confused. I have no HDD or SSD, but the OS runs without the USB plugged into the laptop. Where is the OS stored? How is this working? I only meant to use the USB as a live boot device, not actually install it on the computer. If there's no HDD or SSD, is it running through RAM? If I choose to leave the OS as it is, where will all my data (e.g. downloads, bookmarks, files, etc) be stored?

Apologies if this is a noob question, I'm not super tech savvy. Thanks for the help.

 

[Brickwizard]

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If I choose to leave the OS as it is, where will all my data (e.g. downloads, bookmarks, files, etc) be stored?

If you are running live from the pen-drive the installations installs and runs in ram, as soon as you switch off the ram will clear and all will be lost, You can however produced a persistent installation from a pen-drive by using a second clean pen-drive as the hard-drive for installation , this is then not only the hard drive for a driver-less computer but also a mobile drive you can run on almost any computer

 

[MatsuShimizu]

I have no HDD or SSD, but the OS runs without the USB plugged into the laptop. Where is the OS stored? How is this working?

Live Linux systems — either live CDs or USB drives — take advantage of this feature to run entirely from a CD or USB stick. When you insert the USB drive or CD into your computer and restart, your computer will boot from that device. The live environment works entirely in your computer’s RAM, writing nothing to disk. When you’re done, you can reboot your computer and remove the USB drive or disc. The computer will be left exactly as it was. - HowtoGeek.
You can read more details here:

Take a Secure Desktop Everywhere: Everything You Need to Know About Linux Live CDs and USB Drives

Computers normally run an operating system installed on their hard drives, whether it’s Windows, OS X, or Linux. But they can also boot from removable media devices, allowing you to boot a Linux desktop from a USB drive or CD.

www.howtogeek.com

I only meant to use the USB as a live boot device, not actually install it on the computer.

You need to create a Persistent Storage Live USB. Full tutorial here:

Create A Persistent Storage Live USB With Ubuntu, Linux Mint Or Debian (UEFI, >4GB Persistence Support)

This article explains creating a persistent live USB with Ubuntu (and flavors like Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, etc.), Linux Mint, Debian or elementary OS (it should work with any Debian or Ubuntu based Linux distribution) using mkusb.

www.linuxuprising.com

 

[bob466]

I think you're talking about a live ISO which does run in Ram, you can't install and run any Linux Distro without a HDD/SSD.

As for a Persistent Flash Drive, it's a big waste of time...not only are they as slow as hell...your Flash Drive will die in no time flat as they were not designed for this.

 

[captain-sensible]

not only are they as slow as hell.

i've had a mixed bag of experience with liveOS from usb - Debian really bad - the screen is blank for a few minutes then , suddenly mouse pointer and Desktop emerges. Mint cinnamon 64 bit 20.something not bad . I got pesistence working with both via ventoy. KDE neon quite responsive but couldn't get persistence working .

Slackware current live actually quite fast

 

[derpypenguino]

When asking for help
Please state the make and model number of your machine or its specification [some problems may be equipment specific]
Please tell us which distribution and build number you are having problems with [example Ubuntu 18.1]

I'm running Linux Mint Cinnamon 20.1 on a Lenovo Thinkpad T440.

If you are running live from the pen-drive the installations installs and runs in ram, as soon as you switch off the ram will clear and all will be lost, You can however produced a persistent installation from a pen-drive by using a second clean pen-drive as the hard-drive for installation , this is then not only the hard drive for a driver-less computer but also a mobile drive you can run on almost any computer

So I installed Linux Mint from a USB drive to my Thinkpad, but have removed all the USB drives and Linux Mint runs normally. How is this possible? Where is the computer accessing the information for the operating system?

I think you're talking about a live ISO which does run in Ram, you can't install and run any Linux Distro without a HDD/SSD.

As for a Persistent Flash Drive, it's a big waste of time...not only are they as slow as hell...your Flash Drive will die in no time flat as they were not designed for this.

If I'm understanding correctly, you're saying the whole OS is stored in my laptop's RAM right now? The file I downloaded is named "linuxmint-20.1-cinnamon-64bit.iso" and then I Flashed that file to a USB drive using balenaEtcher. I then booted up Linux Mint and clicked the Install icon on the desktop. So that installed the OS in my laptop's RAM?

If I want to totally wipe my laptop and start over, how would I go about doing that? This may be more of a question for a Lenovo Thinkpad forum rather than a Linux forum but any help would be appreciated.

Thanks again everyone for your helpful answers!

 

[bob466]

As I said, you can't install the OS on a computer that doesn't have a HDD or SSD.
I think you need to learn what Ram is,and what it does...
https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-random-access-memory-ram-2618159
https://www.crucial.com/articles/about-memory/support-what-does-computer-memory-do

On the Mint Live ISO you can install software but as soon as you shut down and reboot to the ISO anything installed on that ISO will be wiped because the ISO is running in Ram.

On a computer that has a HDD/SSD and an OS installed and you want to install another OS, all you do is install the new OS over the old one.

 

[derpypenguino]

As I said, you can't install the OS on a computer that doesn't have a HDD or SSD.
I think you need to learn what Ram is,and what it does...
https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-random-access-memory-ram-2618159
https://www.crucial.com/articles/about-memory/support-what-does-computer-memory-do

On the Mint Live ISO you can install software but as soon as you shut down and reboot to the ISO anything installed on that ISO will be wiped because the ISO is running in Ram.

On a computer that has a HDD/SSD and an OS installed and you want to install another OS, all you do is install the new OS over the old one.

As it turns out, my computer actually does have a 16GB SSD soldered to the motherboard, I just didn't realize. Thanks for helping me sort out my confusion haha.

 

[Condobloke]

That Lenovo looks like it has reasonable specs.

Consider investigating whether you can put a decent size SSD into it.

 

[bob466]

As it turns out, my computer actually does have a 16GB SSD soldered to the motherboard, I just didn't realize. Thanks for helping me sort out my confusion haha.

Glad you got that sorted, I also think a 16GB SSD is just too small...I have folders larger than that.

Bigger is better when it comes to a HDD/SSD, I have a 500GB SSD. In Linux Mint, if you type...disks in the search box and hit Enter...this brings up the Mint Disk Utility and it will give you all the information about your SSD. It has some very good tools apart from Drive info too, for another time.

 

[derpypenguino]

Glad you got that sorted, I also think a 16GB SSD is just too small...I have folders larger than that.

Bigger is better when it comes to a HDD/SSD, I have a 500GB SSD. In Linux Mint, if you type...disks in the search box and hit Enter...this brings up the Mint Disk Utility and it will give you all the information about your SSD. It has some very good tools apart from Drive info too, for another time.

I'm tight on money right now so I can't afford an HDD or SSD. Am I okay to just use my 128 GB USB drive to save my files for now? Will I need to get an HDD or SSD soon to store my files in the long term?

 

[wizardfromoz]

Am I okay to just use my 128 GB USB drive to save my files for now?

Indeed you can, and welcome to linux.org

One option you might consider is to partition your USB stick into 2 partitions. One would be for Data, the other for a Timeshift snapshot storehouse. Timeshift is installed by default on your Linux Mint install, and if you have not yet changed the settings, it will default to your /home folder on the Thinkpad, and perhaps fill up the 16 GB SSD component very quickly.

If you go the 2 partitions route on the USB, then you would make the partition for Timeshift formatted to EXT4 which is the default for Linux and needed by Timeshift. The Data partition could be in FAT32 or NTFS if you wish portability to Windows.

Sing out if you wish to explore these options and we can advise.

Cheers

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz