On Wed, 27 Apr 2016 15:43:08 -0400 Steve Matzura <s...@noisynotes.com> wrote:
> Joe: > > On Wed, 27 Apr 2016 19:05:26 +0100, you wrote: > > >The most versatile system that I know of is Debian-based Knoppix, but > >the development effort goes into hardware detection and driving, with > >the result that it is not maintainable. It is installable to a hard > >drive, but you throw it away and install the next version when that > >becomes available, there is no carefully-designed upgrade path as > >with straight Debian. > > Either I'm smarter than I think (LOL), or you're psychic. I looked at > Knoppix earlier this morning. I didn't know about the throwaway aspect > of it, though, so that is now out the window and I'm back to straight > Debian, from which I probably should not have strayed in the first > place. I did actually try it a few years ago, but (at that time) Knoppix was using much of unstable but not the kernel, and the Knoppix repositories are not updated much, so it proved impossible to keep it up to date. To be fair, somewhere in the Knoppix FAQs it was stated that a hard-drive installation was possible but not recommended. The latest CD is always useful to have around, though. If Debian has trouble with hardware, you can usually figure out what's needed with Knoppix, and usually install the solution into straight Debian. Sometimes it's just a detection issue, Debian already has the driver but doesn't know that it's needed. > > >So I don't think it's possible to make a long-term boot-anywhere > >installation, but a 32-bit all-drivers Debian goes a long way towards > >the goal. > > Right. That's what I'll do. I'm using it primarily for backup and > restore, so it's going to be really slimmed down. As long as it talks > (with Speakup) and I can put IFL on it, I'm happy. I've tried it > before with other distros such as Arch Linux but wasn't happy with the > results. Do you still think I should go the mech drive route and not > put it on a USB key? > I've been happy with the drive, but as I said, I'm looking for a SSD replacement soon. I've found typical USB sticks to be slow, but something I haven't tried yet is one of the faster microSD cards (class 10) in a USB reader. A Raspberry Pi is noticeably brisker with a class 10 card than with a typical class 4, but of course that's direct, not through USB. Also, even a 160GB hard drive (which mine is) is way ahead of even today's USB sticks in capacity, so it can store a fair amount of backup material as well. Actually, if Samsung was still making the drive I'd buy another one, but it's a long-obsolete S1. The USB is on the drive PCB, and the drive is 1.8", so it's really small, much smaller than their current M3. Most portable drives are at least four inches long and some need two USB ports for the power, and I don't think anyone makes 1.8" drives now. -- Joe
