I would like to put ubuntu 10.10 on a usb 4 gig pny flash drive

[madokie]

I want to be able to take my flash drive and plug it into another computer that allows booting from usb and reboot and run ubuntu from it. How do I do that?
I'm not having any luck with google in finding the instruction so here I am asking for help.
TIA

[struggle4progress]

1. Some comments first:

(1) flash memory will support only a limited number of read-write cycles, so intensive use of a flashdrive to do this will result in shortened flashdrive life, because memory used for temp files or swap may die faster
(2) how you proceed might depend on whether you want a flashdrive that will boot on many computers or just a particular computer
(3) some installations onto flashdrive won't be very secure: almost anyone could boot the drive and access files on it

You'll need first to get the appropriate iso: either the i386 or the amd64 depending on the kind of machines you want to boot

The simplest thing to try might be System >> Administration >> Startup Disk Creator on your existing ubuntu installation, selecting the appropriate iso and the usb flash and adjusting the persistent memory size to what you need

If that doesn't work, Wikipedia has an extensive list of tools:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tools_to_create_Live_USB_systems

I often use unetbootin, though I have used LinuxLive and the Ubuntu Live USB creator

Unetbootin is in the repositories, so you can install it easily on any ubuntu machine:
System >> Administration >> Synaptic Package Manager
I think it'll appear under Applications >> System Tools, but I'm not sure since I customized my gnome menus. I almost always use a previously-downloaded iso for this, since the auto-download options are limited

Not all flashdrives are equal, and not all installation methods are equal. I've sometimes used LinuxLive (on a Windows machine): some BIOSes are grumpy and just won't boot off a flashdrive that was created on a linux machine; I'm not patient enough to figure out why or what an appropriate workaround would be

There are other options, some of which I've tried and some not. The first time I ever did this I followed a long multipage instruction set that involved setting cylinders and doing a lot of other hokey-pokey dancing; it finally worked, but it was a nightmare

I once installed OSX to a flashdrive by plugging the flashdrive into a mac and running the installation disk to install on the flashdrive; I expect that drive wouldn't have booted on any other machine. One could probably do the same with ubuntu; I haven't tried it yet because I think it might goo up the grub menu -- it wouldn't have bothered me with grub but I'm not really comfortable yet with grub2

[madokie]

2. I guess I must forget about doing that

I was hoping to put AutoCad on the flash drive with ubuntu so when I design something for someone I can take said flash drive with me so as to show them what my plans are. Most everyone has a computer and it would save me from buying a laptop.
Thanks for your explanation it really is appreciated. :hi:

[struggle4progress]

3. You can try it. Try the i386 iso first: it will probably work with a lot of computers.

And try following the instructions for making a live-usb from the ubuntu download page:
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download

Be sure the "Stored in Reserved Extra Space" radiobutton is ticked and select adequate space using the "How much" slider

I don't know how big a flash drive you'd need for wine and autocad, with your files: you might want an 8gb instead of a 4gb

After setting up a live-usb, try setting a root password with sudo passwd <password> and then try setting up a password protected user account

[madokie]

4. thanks

I'm using autocad 2000 which was written for winblows 98. Its not too bloated and I use the compact version as thats all that will work using wine. Its not that big of a program though nothing like the later versions of autocad is.