Install Linux On PCs & Laptops – Android Method

This comment has 2 parts, read the 2nd comment for the rest of the instructions.

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LINUX INSTALL OVERVIEW
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Whatever system you do have will NOT be affected during this install process. In other words, you will always have a working system during this whole procedure.

1. Download live ISO image
2. Create Debian Live USB Stick with the ISO file and a USB stick
3. Change boot order to boot from USB 1st
4. Use Debian Live USB Stick to install Debian on an SD card
5. Fixes and configurations

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Hardware Required:

– USB stick (minimum of 8 GB)
– SD or microSD card (I recommend 128 GB, but it can be smaller or larger)
– USB to SD or USB to microSD card adapter

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Linux can be run from an SD card indefinitely, and you never have to run Linux on a hard drive/SSD if you don't want to. Installing Linux onto an SD card first is a good practice because it allows us to try/test Debian Linux before committing to it, work out any fixes, and also ensures that you always have a working system during the whole install process. This also makes installing Linux on a hard drive/SSD easier. Later on I will also show how to use the Debian Live USB Stick as a portable system as well as a backup/recovery system!

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1. DOWNLOAD ISO IMAGE
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If EtchDroid app IS available for your device from the Play Store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.depau.etchdroid ):
Install the ISO Image from the Android side.
If EtchDroid app is NOT available from the Play Store:
Install the ISO image from the UserLAnd Linux side.
If you're not familiar with UserLAnd Linux, then watch my Linux on Android Without Rooting Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuCbba_UxUz4ipj-EzXKzZPNGZWwi0rXk

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Current Debian Live ISO (if current version fails to install Linux, try a previous version. Ex. debian-live-12.2.0-amd64-lxde.iso):

1. Read the section below before downloading the current live ISO.
2. Go to the Debian website: debian.org
3. UNDER the big Download button, click Other downloads
4. Under Try Debian live before installing click on Other live ISO
5. Scroll down to the list of live images and click the debian-live file ending in lxde.iso (the download is about 3 GB)
Other desktops are available from this list. My videos will focus on the LXDE desktop.

The live ISO allows us to try Debian Linux before installing, and it also gives us a more streamlined install procedure.

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Version Debian 12.2.0:
https://cdimage.debian.org/mirror/cdimage/archive/12.2.0-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/
Scroll down to the list of live images and click debian-live-12.2.0-amd64-lxde.iso (the download is about 3 GB).

Background:

The version Debian 12.6.0 (debian-live-12.6.0-amd64-lxde.iso), will fail to install Linux.
The error message is: "Command <i>/usr/sbin/bootloader-config</i> failed to finish in 600 seconds. There was no output from the command."
Bug report (Same issue, different desktop, different day):
https://lists.debian.org/debian-boot/2023/06/msg00074.html
How does this make it through Debian/Calamares quality assurance and into publication? Only Debian knows for sure.

Good news! Debian uses a best practice of archiving earlier versions which are readily available from their website:
https://cdimage.debian.org/mirror/cdimage/archive/

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2. CREATE DEBIAN LIVE USB STICK
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EtchDroid Method:

Install EtchDroid App:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.depau.etchdroid
Enable EtchDroid app notifications if not already enabled:
Android Settings > Apps > See all apps > EtchDroid > Notifications > enable All EtchDroid notifications
Plug USB stick into Android device.
From the EtchDroid App:
Select Write raw image or ISO.
Select .iso file.
Select USB stick.
Click OK button to allow EtchDroid to access USB stick.
Click circle button in the bottom right.
Click FLASH IMAGE button.
Monitor progress through notifications.

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Generic Method:

Plug USB stick into Android device
Format USB Stick as FAT32:
Android Settings > Storage > click the This device pull-down and select the USB stick
Click 3 dot menu button from the top right and select Format.
Click Format button, and click the Format button again to confirm.
Click Done button when done.
Folders autogenerated on USB stick can be ignored.
From Linux inside the UserLAnd app, open a terminal and extract the files from the .iso file and place them in the Downloads folder (watch Linux on Android Without Rooting! Playlist if you are unfamiliar with the UserLAnd app: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuCbba_UxUz4ipj-EzXKzZPNGZWwi0rXk ):
7z x <.iso file name> -o/Downloads/HOLD
From Files app on the Android side, copy ALL the extracted files to the USB Stick:
Internal storage > Download > HOLD
Copy everything inside HOLD folder to the USB stick (Copy folders individually if an error occurs).
Fix file '/boot/grub/splash.png not found'
From the USB files, copy splash images from /isolinux to the /boot/grub

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3. CHANGE BOOT ORDER
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When booting, "Boot Menu" allows us to temporarily change the boot order for the current boot, to boot from USB first. "Setup" allows us to permanently change the boot order to boot from USB first (I STRONGLY recommend taking a picture with a phone before permanently changing the boot order). To choose what to boot from or access the boot order, key(s) need to be pressed before the computer completely starts up. The key(s) and screens for choosing what to boot from and changing the boot order will vary for every system. Common places the key(s) can be found are:
– Screen that pops up before the computer completely boots up
– Written somewhere on the computer
– Search online for "<manufacture> <model> boot order"

At the GRUB menu, press Enter to start Debian Linux, the first item should already be selected (Live system (amd64)). Live versions will not start as fast, be patient.

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4. INSTALL DEBIAN ONTO AN SD CARD
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Disable Screensaver (prevents install interference):
Menu > Preferences > XScreenSaver Settings
Mode pull-down > select Disable Screen Saver

Plug in the SD Card, click OK button for any window that pops up and close any file manager windows.

Install Linux onto the SD card:

Double click Install Debian icon on the Desktop.
Select language > click Next button
Location:
Select Region & Zone > click Next button
Keyboard:
Select Keyboard layout > click Next button
Partitions:
Click the Select storage device pull-down and select the SD card.
Make sure the SD card is selected or else the install will wipe out your main system!
Select Manual partitioning > click Next button
Click New Partition Table button > select GUID Partition Table (GPT) > click OK button
Select Free Space > click Create button > set the following:
Size: 500 MiB
File System: fat32
Mount Point: /boot/efi
FS Label: boot
Flags: check the boot flag
Click the OK button.
Select Free Space > click Create button > set the following:
Size: No change (leave the rest of the space to this partition)
File System: ext4
Mount Point: /
FS Label: main
Flags: don't check any flags
Click the OK button
Click the Next button.
Users:
Set desired names and password.
Check the box to Log in automatically without asking for the password.
Click the Next button.
Summary:
Last chance to check that Linux is being installed on the SD card and NOT the main system.
When ready, click the Install button.

When the install is done, uncheck the Restart now box and click the Done button.

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5. FIXES & CONFIGURATIONS
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Prevent SD card wear and tear:
– No swap partition (already done during install setup)
– Send tmp & log files to RAM
– Disable journaling

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Send tmp and log files to RAM (prevents SD card wear and tear):

Unplug the SD card from the computer.
Plug the SD card back into the computer.
Click the OK button for the window that pops up and close any file manager windows.
Menu > select Run > execute sudo pcmanfm to open the file manager with root.
From the file manager window, go to /media/user/main/etc
Right click fstab file and open it with Mousepad.
File menu > select Save As > save the copy as fstab.bak
Close Mousepad.
Open original fstab file with Mousepad again, and add the following lines:

tmpfs /var/log tmpfs defaults,noatime 0 0
tmpfs /var/tmp tmpfs defaults,noatime 0 0
tmpfs /tmp tmpfs defaults,noatime 0 0

File menu > select Save > close Mousepad

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Further instructions are in the 2nd comment.

Lovely video =)
Quick question out of curiosity: I see that some copying and renaming are necessary in order to boot from the SD card. Is this a Debian thing only or a workaround for all the GNU/Linux systems to boot on SD cards? In my case, I installed a system on a SD card with my laptop reader. My BIOS won't use my internal reader to boot anything, so either I use the external USB card reader (as in this vid's case I guess) or I do these three steps:
– I can install the system on the SD card (yep, I even went crazy once and used f2fs with compression, which worked but I don't recommend for a number of reasons, or Btrfs with compression)
– I need to use a separate /boot partition on an internal SSD disk
– " " a separate /boot/efi partition, again on an internal SSD disk

…unless, maybe, the copying and renaming of the boot files will allow me to use only a separate /boot/efi partition instead of a /boot and a /boot/efi? 🤔

thanks for the video