ReactOS on Compact Flash card or USB stick?

[laserjones]

Hello all,

Is it possible to install ReactOS on a Compact Flash card (connected to a CF-IDE adapter) or on a USB stick and boot it from there?

If it is possible, there are several other questions:

- Which version should I use? The normal install or the Live CD?

- How does the installation work? I tried to copy the contents of the Live CD onto a CF card, but it did not boot (Puppy Linux that had been on the same card before booted without problems).

- How can I avoid frequent write access to the flash medium (to avoid its quick death)? Disabling the swap file? Creating a RAM disk?

Any hints are appreciated!

So far, thanks for the great work on the most promising software project ever!

Joerg

[florian]

Maybe those forum topics can help? (Just remembering, de facto I can`t answer your question.)

ReactOS on a CF Card

Kann man ReactOS auch auf einer Compact Flash Karte installieren

[Jaix]

I have worked with this a bit, and I gave up and asked GreatLord, one of the developers who also tried the same thing together with Fireball our project coordinator. They didn't succede either because yet there's not enough support for USB Drives. When freeloader takes over after BIOS it loasd drivers for booting, but no USB driver for USB drives works yet to the system halts with no bootdisk failiour.

USB will soon be working and then we probably also will be able to install to USB drives, so hang on, soon we will have ReactOS on a stick.

[laserjones]

Actually USB drive support is of secondary interest to me - what I want is to install ReactOS on a CF card that is connected to IDE (not USB), so the PC treats it like a normal hard disk.

The only problem is that flash drives die after a limited number of writes, so I need a read-only version of ReactOS like the one on the Live CD that does not write lots of stuff to the card (pagefile/swap file, temp files), but still it should allow me to install applications and save my user data to the card manually.

Is there currently a way to achieve this?

[Wierd]

If it is a CF->IDE adaptor, then ReactOS wouldnt know the difference between it and a normal IDE device, that is the whole idea of CF->IDE adaptors in the first place.

I assume that this is either for a laptop, or for a mini-ITX?

[laserjones]

Yes, a Mini-ITX in my case that is supposed to run without a (rotating) hard disk. As the card is connected to IDE, a normal ReactOS hard disk install should work, but then I would have the problem that the pagefile and temp files would be constantly written to the card by the OS, which would kill the card rather quickly. Hence my question whether the Live CD would be a better choice – but if so: How to get it onto the card so it boots from it?

[GreatLord]

u already goot the livecd install. it is rather a command line switch /MinNT in freeldr that are need be pass down. the livecd and bootcd are compiler in 100% same way. diffent is livecd setting /MinNT (if I rember the spelling right) that will trun off any pagefiles.

in freeldr.ini on the hd u found a row name Options add /MinNT
it should example look like this Options = /MinNT when u finish

then it is maybe som register changes that are also need it. I do not known from my head. u need testing see if it all or not, if not I sugest u look in bootdata see what livecd using for register setting and add thuse change u need to bootcd.