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I'm trying to install Ubuntu desktop onto my usb flash drive, but I'm using that same usb flash drive to boot the disk image. When I try to install the OS onto the usb, I get the error The ext4 file system creation failed. I think this is because I'm using the same usb to both boot the image and install the OS onto.

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General advice

It is possible to install Ubuntu into the same drive as you are booting from, but if you fail at some step in the process you have to start from the beginning again (making it a live drive again), which can be frustrating. So @karel's advice is good, get a cheap USB drive (~4GB) to boot from in order to install to a more advanced USB drive (I recommend a USB 3 pendrive with fast flash memory for an installed system).

If you want to try anyway, please continue to read (including the links at the end of this answer in order to find more details).

Boot option toram

Make a live/install drive and boot with the boot option toram, which makes it possible to run entirely from RAM, so that you can unmount the partitions on the pendrive. After that it is possible to install Ubuntu into it.

This will work, if you have enough RAM. It will work with 4 GB, but I don't know the exact limit, only that it depends on the flavour of Ubuntu. The ultra-light flavour Lubuntu and the medium-light flavours Ubuntu MATE and Xubuntu need less RAM for this to work, maybe 2 GB RAM is enough for Lubuntu. Otherwise, with two USB drives, it is enough with 512 MB to install Lubuntu (but you need 1 GB RAM for a good user experience).

Extra tips

If you unplug the internal drive before booting from the live/install drive, it will be easier to install the bootloader correctly. This is particularly important, if you install Ubuntu in UEFI mode. (After the installation you can shut down computer and plug in the the internal drive again.)

There are alternatives to making the installation yourself. You can

  • clone a compressed image file of an installed system
  • create a persistent live system

Links

Yes, it works with the following recipe :-)

help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick#Notes_about_speed

Try Ubuntu (Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, ...) before installing it

help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/UEFI-and-BIOS

help.ubuntu.com/community/mkusb/persistent

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