Virtualize Ubuntu 11.04 from my USB stick

Question

I need to be able to virtualize Ubuntu 11.04 from my USB stick, which will enable to save files on it and when I boot my USB stick on other computers I can still be able to open up the same files. From my understanding, what I need is a non-live CD installation which most creator that I found on the internet is unable to provide.

Answer 1

That's not virtualization. What you're describing is installing Ubuntu on a USB stick, which is quite possible. (I have done this successfully, and in fact was running Ubuntu off a USB hard disk for about a year.)

To do this:

1. Copy anything you want to keep off the USB disk.
2. Run the Ubuntu live CD, plug in your USB disk, and start the Ubuntu installer.
3. At the partitioning step, tell it to install to the USB drive (likely /dev/sdb, assuming you have 1 internal hard disk).
4. Install. Tell it to install the bootloader only on the USB drive, and not on the internal hard drive (which would trash the computer's OS installation).
5. Reboot. You may want to change the BIOS configuration to boot from the USB stick.

Caveats

• Install the basic graphics drivers (xorg stuff), but not the AMD/ATI or Nvidia drivers (which can cause problems if you boot on a system without the corresponding graphics card).
• Be warned: it will be fairly slow, since all disk writes go to the USB disk.

Answer 2

What U need is to create a Usb with ubuntu not live mode but persistent so that u can use it as u said But watch out to 2 thing : one is "Install the basic graphics drivers (xorg stuff), but not the AMD/ATI or Nvidia drivers (which can cause problems if you boot on a system without the corresponding graphics card). " as Mechanical snail said and the second is that u need a usb with a lot of memory ,at least 8 GB .U can use linux live usb creator to do that but i advice that u download your iso for 11.04 separately because the 11.04 is not anymore on the list of iso for download with the linux live usb creator ,once u do that there is an option to use iso that u already have u use that and chose 11.04 that u downloaded and be sure that u use "persistent mode at the max capacity of the usb " and it's done .Only one thing Linux live is created as an app for windows but if u have wine u can run it on ubuntu to .