fodder
Group: Members
Posts: 28
Joined: June 2006 |
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Posted: June 28 2007,22:05 |
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migube,
It's not a dumb question at all, try this:
If you are formatting as USB-HDD and have a large enough USB key, then you can just use the backup tool (right-click on the desktop, System, Backup/Restore) and save to sda1. Then use the cheatcode: restore=sda1
If you are formatting as USB-ZIP then a second partition (sda2) was already created for you. Do the same as above except backup to sda2 and use the cheatcode: restore=sda2
You can also add the cheatcode: mydsl=sdaX (where X is the appropriate partition) to make your downloaded extensions persistent. (Just be sure to download them to the appropriate partition instead of /tmp)
A couple thoughts: Keep in mind that this process is more like booting off a LiveCD and using the USB key for backup storage than a Frugal install. I.E., when you boot DSL, your /opt/ and /home/ dirs will be copied back into memory (to the RAM disk) and when you shut the PC down, whatever changes you made in your /ramdisk/home/dsl/ dir will be automatically backed up to the USB key and will over-write the old backup file.
My understanding is that using the home=sdaX cheatcode will actually create your home dir on the USB key - in that case it does not have to be copied into memory at each boot, but accessing it will be slower (based on the speed of your USB key) and will also decrease the life of your USB key faster due to constant read/write cycles.
My preference is to use the following cheatcodes: dsl toram restore=sda2 mydsl=sda2 That way my USB key is only accessed on boot up and shut down and my computer runs entirely from memory - I.E. FAST! However, you need to have enough RAM for this to work. A secondary benefit to doing it this way is if you make a change to your system that didn't work or you don't like, just make sure that all drives are unmounted (using the mount tool at the bottom right hand corner of your screen) and then turn the power off to the computer (don't do a shutdown sequence.) Then when you boot back up, you are back to where you started, without the changes that you don't like because your backup file was never changed.
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