MX Linux Forum

[edit:] SOLUTION - Really, this video by Dolphin Oracle tells you all that you need to know about Persistence

https://www.youtube.com/embed/RC4SmhsG3 ... ure=oembed

The video is found not too far down the following linked page in the MX/antix Wiki:

https://mxlinux.org/wiki/help-files/help-mx-remaster/
_________________________________________

Hi all,
I've just put MX-21.1 on a USB stick & all's well. It looks GREAT! No wonder MX is the most popular distro. :)

That said, I will want to customise MX-Live a LOT to suit my quirks. Which brings me to the subject of this post - Where is the latest & greatest guide to Persistence & all it entails?

I've looked at the Wiki - HELP: MX Remaster page which was written in mid 2015. Has that been kept up to date? I know how fast things change in the IT world, let alone the Linux sphere. Does the "Automatic" option that apparently didn't work back then work now? Are there any other changes since back then that aren't documented in that wiki page. If so, where do I find the latest info?

Thanks for your time.

OK, I looked at DO's video from the wiki's HELP: MX Remaster page & attempted to use that on my 16GB stick with MX-21.1 on it. When the menu came up to choose where the persistence file would be stored, MX-21.1 stick was not given a number?

Does this mean that I have to use the that stick to boot from & then use another stick to create my persistent & modified MX-Live on?

I'll try to do that now while I wait for some advice, or to be pointed to where the current up to date instructions are.

No Man pages?

Thanks for your time.

handy wrote: Fri May 20, 2022 2:33 am I've just put MX-21.1 on a USB stick & all's well.

Suggest, to "put" the MX-21.1 iso with help of "MX LiveUSB Maker" onto the USB stick.
Alternatively run the CLI tool live-usb-maker.
Choose "full featured" mode, not read-only dd-dump mode.
To enable persistence select persistence boot parameter.

Would this be helpful ?

My thanks to you both for your reply's.

@fehlix, I made the "stick" using the following dd command:
Is that OK (it is what I always use when I make a bootable stick - not that I've made lots).

@Huckleberry Finn, I mentioned in my posts that I have been using the wiki, & watched DO's vid. I asked if there is more up to date info, as they are pushing 7 years old. I think that the available info is kind of scattered & is certainly showing some signs (to me the uninitiated) of old age here & there.

I'm grateful for what I've found, it is just that my old brain needs all of the cohesion it can find.

I'll keep mucking about.

Sorry for replying to a question to fehlix. But dd makes it read-only , you know.. then, no persistence files or remastering ..

I kind of got that impression when I just used the Live USB Maker for the first time. It would seem that MX is different than other distros, as using Live USB Maker with other distros is done differently. My dd command has not locked up other sticks that I've made in the past (they weren't MX though).

Anyway, I've made a new stick & I'm just at the very beginning of booting it, so I'll keep following the good advice that I've been given & see how we go...

Thanks for your input HF. :)

handy wrote: Fri May 20, 2022 7:02 am My thanks to you both for your reply's.

@fehlix, I made the "stick" using the following dd command:

Code: Select all

sudo dd bs=4M if=input.iso of=/dev/sd<?> status=progress conv=fsync

Is that OK (it is what I always use when I make a bootable stick - not that I've made lots).

It's ok to boot from the dd-dumped iso, but the ISO-LiveUSB is readonly,
persistence files cannot written onto the same readonly LiveUSB.
Either use Appimage LiveUSB maker,
or
get live-usb-maker from github (you may find zillion of posts how to get it onto other distros)
Or boot from dd-dumped LiveUSB, with toram boot option
and run "MX-Live USB Maker" with clone option to create a writeable LiveUSB of the one you booted from.

@fehlix Thanks again. I'm currently operating on a stick with persistence. I used the Live USB Maker. First attempt got all the way to the wildflower screen but wouldn't finish. So 3 finger salute & it wouldn't finish. So I made the stick again & that time it did finish. :D

I've made changes & rebooted & they are there the next boot. Which really is wonderful.

I'll spend the weekend making an Openbox|Worker thing like I'm used operating with. Make I was thinking that I was maybe going to have to make two - one that is set up for the Clevo's 15" display & the other for the 50" display. But I don't think I will have to, it is only the pi4 that has trouble with the 50" 4K thing & double pixel. So that's great I won't have to do two.

Anyway I've wasted enough of your time fehlix.

Cheers - :)

@handy

If you're an Openbox guy I have an Openbox/LXDE MX Respin here for future Refs: http://www.bandshed.net/mxde-a-custom-m ... xde-build/

No, it is not an official MX product but it was made with the MX build tools and assistance from the MX devs (in particular @fehlix ). Other than not using the MX Wildflower art and Logo it is 99.43% MX goodness. I only mention it since you are an OB guy..

@handy In addition to what was said above and in case you missed it, there's a vid by DO on how to make a full-featured live-usb from one made with dd or the like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGVgGMhP1d4

handy wrote: Fri May 20, 2022 8:01 amMy dd command has not locked up other sticks that I've made in the past (they weren't MX though).

If by "locked up" you mean read-only then you might be mistaken. AFAIK using the "dd" command from an iso file always creates an iso9660 file system on the usb device which is inherently read-only. If I'm wrong and "dd" can now create a read-write usbs then I would love to know about it since it would probably make sense for us to change how we do thing to take advantage of this.

I don't know why MX or antiX doesn't put all this in one coherent place on their web site, but for now, I think this is the most inclusive guide:
https://download.tuxfamily.org/antix/do ... tence.html

If you made your live usb with DD, then after booting from it, use MX-Live-USB maker to make another proper one. Or, get the AppImage version of the MX-Live-USB-Maker from the following location and make a proper Live-USB using it. Then you can have a USB flash drive with proper persistence.
https://github.com/dolphinoracle/lum-qt ... e/releases

ADDED: Also, read through the help screens on the Live-USB boot menu.

Thanks @AVLinux I'll check it out, it could save me an great deal of time. Things that were obvious to me once, these days can cause me to struggle for a solution.

LU344928 wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 8:11 am @handy In addition to what was said above and in case you missed it, there's a vid by DO on how to make a full-featured live-usb from one made with dd or the like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGVgGMhP1d4

Thanks @LU344928 I'll check that out, DO makes great vids (if they are all like the one that I have seen).

BitJam wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 7:37 pm

handy wrote: Fri May 20, 2022 8:01 amMy dd command has not locked up other sticks that I've made in the past (they weren't MX though).

If by "locked up" you mean read-only then you might be mistaken. AFAIK using the "dd" command from an iso file always creates an iso9660 file system on the usb device which is inherently read-only. If I'm wrong and "dd" can now create a read-write usbs then I would love to know about it since it would probably make sense for us to change how we do thing to take advantage of this.

OK @BitJam I think I must have been mistaken. When it comes down to it, no other .iso file that I've put on stick has had Persistence ability for me to test it. I didn't really think about what I was saying.

figueroa wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 10:35 pm I don't know why MX or antiX doesn't put all this in one coherent place on their web site, but for now, I think this is the most inclusive guide:
https://download.tuxfamily.org/antix/do ... tence.html

If you made your live usb with DD, then after booting from it, use MX-Live-USB maker to make another proper one. Or, get the AppImage version of the MX-Live-USB-Maker from the following location and make a proper Live-USB using it. Then you can have a USB flash drive with proper persistence.
https://github.com/dolphinoracle/lum-qt ... e/releases

ADDED: Also, read through the help screens on the Live-USB boot menu.

@figueroa I obviously agree with you that it really would be nice to have all of the related info in one place. It would certainly make it a lot easier for those just starting out with these amazing tools for working with removable memory sticks.

I expect that the reason that it hasn't happened is due to the amount of time it would take someone to go through it & bring it all together. It would likely be quicker for someone in the know to just write a comprehensive guide that is linked in the wiki & on a "sticky" page in the forum.

Once upon a time I would have taken on the job. I don't think I have it in me these days, my memory is kaput!

[edit] figueroa I just checked out the anitx page you linked to, it is the best I've seen thus far. It was written in 2013. :)

figueroa wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 10:35 pm I don't know why MX or antiX doesn't put all this in one coherent place on their web site, but for now, I think this is the most inclusive guide:
https://download.tuxfamily.org/antix/do ... tence.html

IMHO, this doesn’t help the cohesiveness of persistence guidelines either as I’ve seen both frequently referenced -
AntiX 19 & AntiX 17.
https://download.tuxfamily.org/antix/do ... tence.html
IIRC, there is/was only one difference between the two, but….

HTH

MXRobo wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 12:06 am

figueroa wrote: Sat May 21, 2022 10:35 pm I don't know why MX or antiX doesn't put all this in one coherent place on their web site, but for now, I think this is the most inclusive guide:
https://download.tuxfamily.org/antix/do ... tence.html

IMHO, this doesn’t help the cohesiveness of persistence guidelines either as I’ve seen both frequently referenced -
AntiX 19 & AntiX 17.
https://download.tuxfamily.org/antix/do ... tence.html
IIRC, there is/was only one difference between the two, but….

HTH

Thanks @MXRobo I've bookmarked your valuable addition to the technical reference material that is being accrued in this thread.

Maybe(?) using the quality material that is turning up here I "may" look at writing up a cohesive & comprehensive (as best a user & not a dev can do) reference. Then others could vet it & we could make a "one to rule them all". lol

Maybe...

Does this guide also apply to MX-21?

@Sparky I think that the guides (written & video) that I have seen all essentially say much the same thing in different ways. They are old, but the fundamentals of use (of persistence at least - I haven't got into the other stuff yet - remaster & snapshot) are not really distro version dependent. (I don't think that Remaster or Snapshot would be any different, they are all tools that operate "on" a distro, the distro is just data to be backed up in various ways via various scripts.)

A question that I have is whether "Automatic" is functioning or not with Persistence? As I think it was when DO made his video (in 2015 I think?). But it says that it is not in the current version of the software. Which is OK, option 2. Semi Automatic, works fine.

Sparky wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 4:27 am Does this guide also apply to MX-21?

Yes. There have been some small changes and code improvements that don't affect the usefulness of the referenced guide.

handy wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 10:55 pm ...
A question that I have is whether "Automatic" is functioning or not with Persistence? As I think it was when DO made his video (in 2015 I think?). But it says that it is not in the current version of the software. Which is OK, option 2. Semi Automatic, works fine.

Just follow your nose in the MX Remaster CC program.

@figueroa yes, I will follow my nose, it won't be a problem.

Also, yesterday I made an MXDE-21.1_ahs_x64.iso into an MXLive stick. I chose persist_all & save option 1. Automatic . It works fine. So Automatic is a goer.

Let me explain the joy of semi-automatic. You are having a bad day, and totally screw up your system while working in a persistent live-usb. Now, with semi-automatic, upon shutting down you can answer NO, and when you reboot, all your mistakes will be erased. If you are running with automatic persistence, your system becomes toast. That is all.

figueroa wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 3:07 pm Let me explain the joy of semi-automatic. You are having a bad day, and totally screw up your system while working in a persistent live-usb. Now, with semi-automatic, upon shutting down you can answer NO, and when you reboot, all your mistakes will be erased. If you are running with automatic persistence, your system becomes toast. That is all.

Yes, a semi-automatic toast.

I understand that mistakes made are automatically written. Just like files/directories deleted (when you use no garbage bin) are gone for good.

figueroa wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 3:07 pm Let me explain the joy of semi-automatic. You are having a bad day, and totally screw up your system while working in a persistent live-usb. Now, with semi-automatic, upon shutting down you can answer NO, and when you reboot, all your mistakes will be erased. If you are running with automatic persistence, your system becomes toast. That is all.

Or you could just run persist-config before you reboot/shutdown and then change it to semi-automatic.

But you first have to realize you have had a bad day and messed things up, it goes without saying...

fehlix wrote: Fri May 20, 2022 4:59 am
Suggest, to "put" the MX-21.1 iso with help of "MX LiveUSB Maker" onto the USB stick.
Alternatively run the CLI tool live-usb-maker.
Choose "full featured" mode, not read-only dd-dump mode.
To enable persistence select persistence boot parameter.

MX-Live USB Generator.

I'm doing my first application steps with the tool and have understood the application to start an .ISO with it to some extent - my first attempts have worked anyway. I have set boot options up in the DOS BIOS F10, or I can choose between USB, CD-ROM, hard disk, network with F9 in the Bios boot menu.

I've worked with different sticks and noticed differences that are probably related to read-write speeds.
I use standard USB 2.0 for my desktop PC's.

What reading and writing speed and minimum memory size are required for the sticks to function optimally ?

1. For an application to install MX-Linux (instead of burning DVD..)
For a snapshot ISO including updates, a little more storage space is probably required.

2. For an application for an MX Live installation...(e.g. use only for separate home banking).... do you have any special suggestions?

I've searched the forum and the instructions for such technical information, but haven't found any.

1. You just need to have a stick with enough storage capacity to do whatever your needs are. I 8GB or larger is great.

2. You can encrypt the stick if you keep any data that you'd prefer to keep private.

This is a good link & the video is great too:

https://mxlinux.org/wiki/help-files/help-mx-remaster/

I make a bootable sd card but i take error like "there is no usb".
Do you have any suggestions of how to make a persistent bootable sd card pls?

Try starting a new thread. You should get some help on this.

wax wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2024 11:02 am I make a bootable sd card but i take error like "there is no usb".
Do you have any suggestions of how to make a persistent bootable sd card pls?

I just did this and needed it to legacy boot.

What I did was use a tool from another distro (Puppy related) to create the bootable SD card with a frugal install and then did a frugal install to it from an MX usb stick.

There should be a way to do it with MX tools but that was the path of least resistance for me.