Success At First Try

Success… Tried many different ISO flashing apks (6 to be exact) to get a bootable Linux MINT/CINNAMON to boot and “balinaEtcher” (ver. 1.5.99 windose version) was first one that would flash a 16 GB memory stick and boot at first try on my DELL XPS 8910 with UEFI…

So many failures and 1 success… Hate windows getting in the way with the UEFI crap we have has forced on us in bios…

Only thing is Etcher is not “persistent”… The struggle goes on for a persistent version of memory stick Linux though… Please, a persistent version of Etcher …

WranglerX

Hi, glad it worked. Could you please extend on what you mean by “balenaEtcher is not persistent”? What would a persistent version of balenaEtcher provide as new functionality?

It does not create a “persistent” implementation of Linux (image) so nothing (files) is saved for future use once you trun off computer… There is plain ISO that is “static” that will not save work and there is persistent which you can add APKS or saved work files and is such very similar to a hard drive where have full install of a Linux OS…

WrangleX

Hello there, I’m not sure I follow what you are saying. Can you help me understand :slight_smile: ?
balenaEtcher should flash whatever image you provide in a “persistent” way, so removing your USB stick/SD card, turning on/off your computer won’t erase the contents of it.

When you flash a image to a USB stick its just that, what ever image is crated from is what it will be forever… Yes it does stay on memory stick but it never changes no matter what you do while Linuix implantation is active and whatever changes you make by adding api’s or whatever … When you power down compute and remove memory stick all changes are lost because no matter what modification you make it does not change LIVE ISO image on memory stick…

Persistent implantation does how ever save any changes or api installs you make to image because it is no longer locked as in its ISO configuration…

I guess If you are having problem understanding what I am trying to put forth ( I’m not good at wordsmithinmg), I suggest you do internet research on what “persistent bootable operation systems” (Linux) are all about…

WranglerX

Hi, that feature is a feature of the image you are writing to the USB stick. It is not and cannot be a feature of Etcher. The kind if image you are referring to is a live USB image. Etcher will write whatever images you throw at it.

I understand that… That is why my comment/question was sort of pointed at >>>>>>>WHEN WILL ETCHER PRODUCE A VERSION OF ETCHER THAT WILL PRODUCE A PERSISTENT USB BOOT VERSION ?

WranglerX

The image you are writing needs to be a live USB image. Etcher cannot transform images to live USB images.

It’s my understanding something like Linux/Ubuntu/Mint/Cinnamon 19.x is a live ISO…Am I wrong here?

OBVIOUSLY you don’t comprehend what I am asking… Conversation is going no where…

WranglerX

Hi there.

Etcher is designed to reliably and quickly write an image to storage devices - that’s all. Modifying an operating system installation in situ or during writing is not the purpose of the tool. As my colleague @floion has said, if you provide an image containing the necessary writable filesystems and configuration then Etcher will happily write it to a USB device for you. Otherwise, this is not a feature of Etcher and is not on the roadmap.

I hope that clears up the misunderstanding.

Cheers,
James.

And I am asking why can it not be made to do so… I have tried mkusb in Mint and several Windows APK’s and all fail to boot on my DELL XPS, but boot on my HP System… Etcher has been the first APK the has made a correct live boot that works on my DELL XPS and UEFi… Yes it was a first success, all I am asking is why can it not be made to go further and create a persistent bookable implementation of Linux … Seems to me it would be a pus for Etcher…

WranglerX

Again, this is not Etcher’s job and we currently have no plans to add it to the road map. Etcher is, however, an open-source project so feel free to implement it and open a pull request.

Good luck,
James.