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Perhaps this is a strange ask.

I already have a laptop (#1) running Ubuntu 20.04LTS.

Question 1: I want to install Ubuntu onto a bootable external USB drive (flashdrive or SSD) from the existing Ubuntu environment (laptop #1) without having to boot the Ubuntu live installer flashdrive. Is this possible?

Question 2: Once I create this bootable Ubuntu external USB drive, I would like to use it to boot another (Windows 10) computer (#2) into Ubuntu. Meaning, can an bootable external USB drive created on one computer be used on the second computer? Is this possible?

(Actually, I don't want to boot the other Windows computer (#2) with the Ubuntu live installer and mess around with the other (#2) computer's Windows bootloader - as I've had some problems in the past already.)

The full log of my past problems is here: [Unsolved WIP] How to install Ubuntu on bootable external USB SSD

If all this is possible, how do I do it?

fazz27
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1 Answers1

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After exploring this for a number of weeks and trying out suggestions from other members on askubuntu.com I have found the answer to my questions as follows.

Answer 1: Short answer YES, you can install ubuntu onto a USB flashdrive. I have not tried doing so on USB SSD, but I would assume that it would work. Feel free to correct if otherwise. The method to install still requires you to install from the Ubuntu Live Installer USB and NOT from an existing desktop Ubuntu environment. I used the guide posted by C.S.Cameron at How to Create a Full Install of Ubuntu 20.04 to USB Device Step by Step and further clarified by K1tty at Creating a PC-Boot-able Ubuntu Installation

Answer 2: Short answer - YES, you can use the USB flashdrive to boot into ubuntu on a different computer. If you followed the guide by C.S.Cameron and K1tty above, then you would be able to create portable and bootable Ubuntu USB flashdrive that can be used on any computer to run Ubuntu.

A couple of important points / steps that I had to take are as follows:

  • Before installing Ubuntu from the Live Installer to the new USB flashdrive, I had to first disconnect the host computer internal boot drive. This is because of an Ubuntu bug that ignores installation to an external drive as long as it "sees" an internal boot drive. It took me time to do this, as I initially was using my laptop to do the installation and I didn't want to open it up and invalidate any warranty. So I bought a used small form factor desktop (so I could open and disconnect the internal boot drive) to do the installation.
  • Copying the boot and the EFI folders from the Ubuntu ISO file to the boot,esp partition sdx3 was slightly complicated as I had to muck about a little to finally figure out how to do it. Initially, I tried sudo -H nautilus but terminal threw up some error. I am not sure if my method was a reliable method so I am not going to post it here. If others can edit this to explain best how to do this, it would be most appreciated.
fazz27
  • 41