Double-click the installation shortcut on the desktop to start the Ubuntu installation process.Ĭlick “Continue” to start the installation process. The system is recognizing the USB drive successfully. Now, connect the USB flash drive on which we’re going to install Ubuntu. Select “Try Ubuntu” This will start the Ubuntu live session. Note that this USB drive will be a different one than the one on which we’re about to install Ubuntu.Ĭonnect the bootable USB flash drive and boot into it. Learn how to make a bootable USB flash drive. Now, we have to create a bootable Ubuntu installation media. Preparing bootable mediaįirst, grab the latest version of Ubuntu ISO. All you have to do is while performing the installation, select the USB flash drive as the target.

Installing Ubuntu on a USB flash drive is quite simple. With all the caution out of the way, let’s jump right into it. While it’ll still face the bandwidth bottleneck because of USB connection, for less heavy workloads, it can be doable for a long time. One way to circumvent the issue could be using an external HDD/SSD. The overall durability of such a setup is less than installing Ubuntu in an SSD/HDD. Moreover, the longer USB flash drives are in use, the faster they deteriorate. USB flash drives have a limited bandwidth to exchange data with the rest of the hardware. Note that while it’s a fun and interesting way of carrying your own operating system in your back pocket, it’s not a good solution for long-term use. For the most flexibility, however, it’s recommended to use a 32GB USB flash drive or higher. In that sense, you need a minimum of a USB flash drive with 16GB storage capacity. For Ubuntu, the basic installation requires at least 10-15GB of free space. Generally, a USB flash drive comes with relatively low storage capacity than an SSD or HDD. In this guide, that’s what we’re going to take advantage of. Ubuntu on USB flash driveĪny Linux distro requires relatively low disk space to have a bare minimum installation. Of course, it’s not something crazy, but really fun.Ĭheck out how to install an entire Ubuntu system on a USB flash drive.

In this guide, let me demonstrate to you just that. Thanks to its lower hardware resource requirement (depends on the distro, but on average, still lower), you can run it on even the most potato computer you can find in your attic.

Linux is an operating system that can run on almost any hardware. It’s a distro that can meet the needs of all sorts of workloads, be it casual or professional. Maintained by Canonical, Ubuntu is a Debian-based distro with tons of additional features. Among all the Linux distros out there, Ubuntu is one of the most well-known and popular ones.

Target 32gb flash drive