Re: linux on a flashdisk

From: Steve Wolfe (unt_at_codon.com)
Date: 11/03/04 

Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 12:27:12 -0700

> > Following one suggestion, I set up 'feather' linux on a flashdisk. Set
the
> > bios to boot from USB-Zip disk, and it booted up fine. So, that's one
> > approach.
>
> As a side note, are you aware of the lifetime problems associated with
> using flash disks to run an OS on? The fact that flash disks have a finite
> read-write capability (i.e. low) added to the constant swapping to disk of
> linux results in a very short lived disk.

  You don't have to mount them read-write, it can simply have a ramdisk
image on it. Nothing different from booting a CD-based distro, where you
don't even *have* write capabilities.

  Even if you wanted to mount the thing read-write, don't set up a swap
partition on it, and mount it with "noatime". That'll get you a good way
there, there are a couple of other tricks that can be employed to make sure
that writes are extremely few and far between. With the cost of flash
drives falling (I saw a 512 MB drive for $45 in the store), it's starting to
get to the point of the old "keep a spare CD-ROM to avoid wearing out your
burner" argument.

steve