Arch Linux

cdwijs

Member

Registered: 2010-04-24

Posts: 307

Arch linux on a memory stick, while maximizing fat32 free space

Hi All,

I would like to install arch linux on an USB stick, but I would like to keep as much of the memory stick as possible for use with windows computers. I don't know how big all the packages will be, so I would like to create something that grows and scrinks as new packages are installed and removed.

LVM is capable of adding / removing physical partitions on the fly, so in theory it should be possible to make files of say 1 GB on the fat32 partition, loop mount them and add them to LVM, and extend the filesystem. Removing them can also be done.

Is this overkill? Is there a better solution for this problem? Are there other ways to "share" a fat32 disk between normal files and linux system files?

Cheers,
Cedric

ZSmith

Member

Registered: 2017-02-25

Posts: 19

Re: Arch linux on a memory stick, while maximizing fat32 free space

I haven't used block devices on LVM enough to tell if your suggestion would work but it sounds solid. Managing the block devices, however, would be a long-term hassle. It seems like it would be possible to format your root filesystem as something that could be read by both Windows and Linux, such as FAT, and then creating a directory under the root partition to be used for general data storage.

loqs

Member

Registered: 2014-03-06

Posts: 18,471

Re: Arch linux on a memory stick, while maximizing fat32 free space

It seems like it would be possible to format your root filesystem as something that could be read by both Windows and Linux, such as FAT, and then creating a directory under the root partition to be used for general data storage.

Using a root filesystem that does not support posix permissions such as fat or ntfs will lead to system breakage when the system thinks everything is owned by one user/group with one set of access permissions.

R00KIE

Forum Fellow

From: Between a computer and a chair

Registered: 2008-09-14

Posts: 4,734

Re: Arch linux on a memory stick, while maximizing fat32 free space

You're setting yourself up to make things fail or at the very least needlessly complicated, either get a larger flash disk or get a second fast flash disk to install linux.

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R00KIE
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