I installed Ubuntu 20.04.02 on a 16G USB stick. First, I booted it "live" from the .iso file. It took about 4 hours or so to completely install.. I could see the USB light flashing the entire time, and watched the installation log.
When I hit F12 on my Dell Inspiron 3000, I get a boot menu that now has 4 entries under "UEFI Boot":
- ubuntu (this was not there before)
- Windows Boot Manager
- UEFI: CT500MX500SSD1
- UEFI: General Udisk 5.00
I figured that I was all set, and that 'ubuntu' would be the installation (not Live) on the USB stick, but when I select it, I get a Grub menu that has at least 50 commands, but with none of them could I get Ubuntu to boot.
When I selected #3, I get a Blue screen that says "Boot option restoration", then quickly reboots.
Option #4 does boot Ubuntu, but only as the "Live" version with the Install screen, and nothing that I do (obviously) is persistent.
What am I missing here? I want to have a permanent bootable Ubuntu on my USB that resides entirely on it, but with persistence for apps and data.
Thanks,
Mitch
1 Answer
Ubuntu should take about a half hour to install, but it took about 4 hours or so to completely install Ubuntu on your USB stick. This could be caused by a bad USB stick. Laggy and meager performance happens sometimes when you try to connect a full installation of Ubuntu on a USB stick to your computer's hardware via a USB port. Try using a different USB stick or a different USB port. You might have better luck using a cheap portable SSD, but thumb drive form factor SSDs are prohibitively expensive for most users.
These diagrams will help you to troubleshoot the boot problem further.
(Click images to enlarge)
