questions on the concept of a Persistent USB Linux Mint

[jath_ale]

Hi! I have just installed on a persistent Mint on USB via the pendrivelinux instructions described here:
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/install-li ... n-windows/

I would just like to ask what are the limitations of a USB install? I'm testing linux waters here, so the persistent USB mode is really convenient for me as my laptop doesn't have that much space. For now, I'll probably be using it so surf the net, maybe edit some documents, and do some programming homework (like some c++ programs, and another one is to create a compiler).

[Locuust]

While I don't have any direct experience with running Linux on a USB stick I would imagine the only real limitation is the size and performance of the USB stick itself. Compared to hard drives, USB sticks tend to perform better at reading then writing (to a more exaggerated extent), on the other hand I believe USB sticks tend to have much better access times. Here's a article I found that gets into more of it -

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/kno ... 293-3.html

Personally I like the idea of using the usermode qemu to run your distro inside a VM as it would shield it from frequent changes in hardware. Esp. on the video front. Making it a truly portable solution.

[jath_ale]

i've actually tried virtual box for ubuntu before, but having an old laptop makes virtualization a bit slower than usual since the resources are abstracted for sharing. maybe virtualization is indeed better, if you have more resources. Thanks for the link locuust

[Locuust]

Aye, especially if you're only using it with one machine - your laptop. I meant if you wanted to potentially use it on any PC. No prob.