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Installing linux without a USB or CD

WannabeNerd
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Go to solution Solved by BuggedCookie,
57 minutes ago, WannabeNerd said:

So I have a new laptop and my friends pc, but all our USB drives are dead. Is there a way to install linux directly on the new empty notebook?

One way I'm thinking about to install Linux, would be from your friend's computer, by connecting your laptop's storage to it. (If it's a standard storage, you might be able to just connect it inside the computer) I think I remember doing something similar a few years ago, but I can't remember exactly how I achieved it, I had tried many different ways

ALSO: WARNING: Only attempt this if you are sure you know what you're doing. Even then, mistakes happen so I wouldn't suggest it at all. Be absolutely sure you know which drive  is which at ANY time. (Also because it may not work at all)

I might be over complicating it too:

(They're not real methods, they're ideas that I think may work)

1. Partition Method

  • Create and format a small partition on your laptop disk as FAT32 but I think ext4 might work too, not sure. (Large enough for the ISO)
  • Download the Linux ISO of your choice and open it (You should see files and folders inside)
  • Copy all the files and folders into the partition you created
  • Boot from that partition if your BIOS/UEFI supports it (or just try booting from the drive, it might work too)
  • You could also try Balena Etcher, which in advanced mode lets you select a hard drive other than a USB, again be careful


2. Grub Method

  • If your BIOS refuses to boot from the partition with the Linux ISO you could try putting grub on your drive. It might be able boot from that. (Also useful if your computer refuses to boot from your USB due to the ISO for some reasons, had this problem that every OS worked except the one I wanted, I just manually did it via grubs command and it worked)
  • With a lot of patience and researches you could try to install your ISO with grub... I've done something similar to that on a very old computer that refused to install slightly modern Linux distro no matter the version I was using. 
  • Don't ask me how, because honestly I can't remember any of the command I used, I haven't done """manual installation""" for a very long time

3. Copying a whole OS

  • As the name suggests, you could copy a existing Linux distro from another computer to your drive (Careful as it might be kind of buggy because some stuff are hardware specific... ) but that kind of requires a computer with all the files installed, or at least the bare minimum.
     

4. Just buy a USB

  • You can get cheap USB and it's worth more than spending hours trying to do any of that for maybe no result
     

5. (For future people, completely unrelated)

  • If you have a VERY VERY old computer that refuses to boot via USB due to how old it is (not due to BIOS Configuration) you can burn a CD or Floppy Disk with something called Plop Boot Manager or even GRUB I think, most old computer allow you to boot from Floppy or CD, then you can boot via USB, I had to do that to install a lightweight linux distro on a VERY old computer
  • Also if your computer refuses to boot from your USB for some reason. I had this problem where every OS worked except the one I wanted, manually booting via GRUB commands made it work.
     

Again I might 100% be over complicating it, I'll edit my message as I remember/think of other methods or ideas! (As said above, you could try a PXE Server, but in the end, USB is the easiest)

TL;DR : Buy a USB it will be cheaper than your time

Have an awesome day/night, hope this helps 

Posted
1 minute ago, WannabeNerd said:

So I have a new laptop and my friends pc, but all our USB drives are dead. Is there a way to install linux directly on the new empty notebook?

Do you want to learn how to host a PXE server?

 

(TBH, just go buy a flash drive, you don't want to learn how to host a PXE server.)

Main System (Byarlant): Ryzen 9 5950X | Asus B550-Creator ProArt | EK 240mm Basic AIO | 32GB G.Skill DDR4 3600MT/s CL16 | XFX Speedster SWFT 210 RX 6600 | Samsung 990 PRO 2TB / Samsung 990 EVO Plus 4TB | Corsair RM750X | StarTech 4× USB 3.0 Card | Realtek RTL8127 10G NIC | Hyte Y60 Case | Dell U3415W Monitor | Keychron K12 Blue (RGB backlight)

 

Laptop (Narrative): Lenovo Flex 5 81X20005US | Ryzen 5 4500U | 16GB DDR4 3200MT/s (soldered) | Vega II 384SP Graphics | SKHynix P31 1TB NVMe SSD | Intel AX200 Wifi | Asus 2.5G USB NIC | Asus ProArt PA278QV | Keychron K4 Brown (white backlight)

 

Proxmox Server (Veda): Ryzen 7 3800XT | ASRock Rack X470D4U | Corsair H80i v2 | 128GB Micron DDR4 ECC 3200MT/s | 2× Samsung PM963a 960GB SSD / 4× WD 10TB / 4× Seagate 14TB Exos / 4× Micron MX500 2TB / 8× WD 12TB (custom external SAS enclosure) | Seasonic Prime Fanless 500W | Intel X550-T2 10G NIC | LSI 9300-8i HBA | Adaptec 82885T SAS Expander | Fractal Design Node 804 Case

 

Proxmox Server (La Vie en Rose): GMKtec Mini PC | Ryzen 7 5700U | 32GB Lexar DDR4 (SODIMM) | Vega II 512SP Graphics | Lexar 1TB 610 Pro SSD | 2× Realtek 8125 2.5G NICs


Media Center/Video Capture (Jesta Cannon): Ryzen 5 1600X | ASRock B450M Pro4 R2.0 | Noctua NH-L12S | 16GB Crucial DDR4 3200MT/s | EVGA GTX750Ti SC | UMIS NVMe SSD 256GB / TEAMGROUP MS30 1TB | Corsair CX450M | Viewcast Osprey 260e Video Capture | TrendNet (AQC107) 10G NIC | LG WH14NS40 BD-ROM | Silverstone Sugo SG-11 Case | Sony XR65A80K

 

Workbench (Doven Wolf): Lenovo m715q | Ryzen Pro 3 2200GE | 16GB Crucial DDR4 3200MT/s (SODIMM) | Vega 8 Graphics | SKHynix (OEM) 256GB NVMe SSD | uni 2.5G USB NIC | HDMI add-in module

 

Network:

Spoiler 
                       ┌─────────────── Office/Rack ───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
Google Fiber Webpass ── Cloud Gateway Max ══╦═ Pro XG 8 ══╦═ Flex 2.5-8 ══╦═ Doven Wolf
                      La Vie en Rose (DNS) ═╬═ Narrative  ╠═ Veda-NAS     ╠═ La Vie en Rose (vmbr)
                                Veda (DNS) ─┘             ╠═ Veda (vmbr)  ├─ Ptolemy (vmbr)
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩═ Ptolemy-NAS  ├─ Veda (Mgmt)
║   ┌ Closet ┐      ┌───────── Bedroom ─────────┐                         └─ Veda (IPMI)
╚═══ Flex XG ══╦╤═══ Flex XG ══╤╦═ Byarlant
       (PoE)   ║│              │╠═ Narrative 
Kitchen Jack ══╣└─ Dual PoE ┐  │╚═ Jesta Cannon*
   (Testing)   ║┌─ Injector ┘  └── Work Laptop
     Bedroom ══╝│        ┌─────── Media Center ────────────────────────────┐
     Jack #2    └──────── Switch 8 ────────────┬─ nanoHD Access Point (PoE)
Notes:                                         ├─ Sony PlayStation 4 
─── is Gigabit / ═══ is Multi-Gigabit          ├─ Pioneer VSX-S520
* = cable passed from Bedroom to Media Center  └─ Sony XR65A80K (Google TV)
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57 minutes ago, WannabeNerd said:

So I have a new laptop and my friends pc, but all our USB drives are dead. Is there a way to install linux directly on the new empty notebook?

One way I'm thinking about to install Linux, would be from your friend's computer, by connecting your laptop's storage to it. (If it's a standard storage, you might be able to just connect it inside the computer) I think I remember doing something similar a few years ago, but I can't remember exactly how I achieved it, I had tried many different ways

ALSO: WARNING: Only attempt this if you are sure you know what you're doing. Even then, mistakes happen so I wouldn't suggest it at all. Be absolutely sure you know which drive  is which at ANY time. (Also because it may not work at all)

I might be over complicating it too:

(They're not real methods, they're ideas that I think may work)

1. Partition Method

  • Create and format a small partition on your laptop disk as FAT32 but I think ext4 might work too, not sure. (Large enough for the ISO)
  • Download the Linux ISO of your choice and open it (You should see files and folders inside)
  • Copy all the files and folders into the partition you created
  • Boot from that partition if your BIOS/UEFI supports it (or just try booting from the drive, it might work too)
  • You could also try Balena Etcher, which in advanced mode lets you select a hard drive other than a USB, again be careful


2. Grub Method

  • If your BIOS refuses to boot from the partition with the Linux ISO you could try putting grub on your drive. It might be able boot from that. (Also useful if your computer refuses to boot from your USB due to the ISO for some reasons, had this problem that every OS worked except the one I wanted, I just manually did it via grubs command and it worked)
  • With a lot of patience and researches you could try to install your ISO with grub... I've done something similar to that on a very old computer that refused to install slightly modern Linux distro no matter the version I was using. 
  • Don't ask me how, because honestly I can't remember any of the command I used, I haven't done """manual installation""" for a very long time

3. Copying a whole OS

  • As the name suggests, you could copy a existing Linux distro from another computer to your drive (Careful as it might be kind of buggy because some stuff are hardware specific... ) but that kind of requires a computer with all the files installed, or at least the bare minimum.
     

4. Just buy a USB

  • You can get cheap USB and it's worth more than spending hours trying to do any of that for maybe no result
     

5. (For future people, completely unrelated)

  • If you have a VERY VERY old computer that refuses to boot via USB due to how old it is (not due to BIOS Configuration) you can burn a CD or Floppy Disk with something called Plop Boot Manager or even GRUB I think, most old computer allow you to boot from Floppy or CD, then you can boot via USB, I had to do that to install a lightweight linux distro on a VERY old computer
  • Also if your computer refuses to boot from your USB for some reason. I had this problem where every OS worked except the one I wanted, manually booting via GRUB commands made it work.
     

Again I might 100% be over complicating it, I'll edit my message as I remember/think of other methods or ideas! (As said above, you could try a PXE Server, but in the end, USB is the easiest)

TL;DR : Buy a USB it will be cheaper than your time

Have an awesome day/night, hope this helps 

I tend to write long messages, don't take it personally! I just really enjoy learning, researching, and having deep (respectful) conversations or debates!
Feel free to correct me anytime!

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Posted
21 hours ago, WannabeNerd said:

So I have a new laptop and my friends pc, but all our USB drives are dead. Is there a way to install linux directly on the new empty notebook?

Simply buy a new USB stick and get someone to burn the iso to it.

Does your library have laptops you can borrow on site?

 

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Posted
20 hours ago, Thomas53 said:

Connect the two computers over either ethernet or bluetooth and install from the other computer.

Okay, I'll bite: please explain how to install an operating system over Bluetooth?

Main System (Byarlant): Ryzen 9 5950X | Asus B550-Creator ProArt | EK 240mm Basic AIO | 32GB G.Skill DDR4 3600MT/s CL16 | XFX Speedster SWFT 210 RX 6600 | Samsung 990 PRO 2TB / Samsung 990 EVO Plus 4TB | Corsair RM750X | StarTech 4× USB 3.0 Card | Realtek RTL8127 10G NIC | Hyte Y60 Case | Dell U3415W Monitor | Keychron K12 Blue (RGB backlight)

 

Laptop (Narrative): Lenovo Flex 5 81X20005US | Ryzen 5 4500U | 16GB DDR4 3200MT/s (soldered) | Vega II 384SP Graphics | SKHynix P31 1TB NVMe SSD | Intel AX200 Wifi | Asus 2.5G USB NIC | Asus ProArt PA278QV | Keychron K4 Brown (white backlight)

 

Proxmox Server (Veda): Ryzen 7 3800XT | ASRock Rack X470D4U | Corsair H80i v2 | 128GB Micron DDR4 ECC 3200MT/s | 2× Samsung PM963a 960GB SSD / 4× WD 10TB / 4× Seagate 14TB Exos / 4× Micron MX500 2TB / 8× WD 12TB (custom external SAS enclosure) | Seasonic Prime Fanless 500W | Intel X550-T2 10G NIC | LSI 9300-8i HBA | Adaptec 82885T SAS Expander | Fractal Design Node 804 Case

 

Proxmox Server (La Vie en Rose): GMKtec Mini PC | Ryzen 7 5700U | 32GB Lexar DDR4 (SODIMM) | Vega II 512SP Graphics | Lexar 1TB 610 Pro SSD | 2× Realtek 8125 2.5G NICs


Media Center/Video Capture (Jesta Cannon): Ryzen 5 1600X | ASRock B450M Pro4 R2.0 | Noctua NH-L12S | 16GB Crucial DDR4 3200MT/s | EVGA GTX750Ti SC | UMIS NVMe SSD 256GB / TEAMGROUP MS30 1TB | Corsair CX450M | Viewcast Osprey 260e Video Capture | TrendNet (AQC107) 10G NIC | LG WH14NS40 BD-ROM | Silverstone Sugo SG-11 Case | Sony XR65A80K

 

Workbench (Doven Wolf): Lenovo m715q | Ryzen Pro 3 2200GE | 16GB Crucial DDR4 3200MT/s (SODIMM) | Vega 8 Graphics | SKHynix (OEM) 256GB NVMe SSD | uni 2.5G USB NIC | HDMI add-in module

 

Network:

Spoiler 
                       ┌─────────────── Office/Rack ───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
Google Fiber Webpass ── Cloud Gateway Max ══╦═ Pro XG 8 ══╦═ Flex 2.5-8 ══╦═ Doven Wolf
                      La Vie en Rose (DNS) ═╬═ Narrative  ╠═ Veda-NAS     ╠═ La Vie en Rose (vmbr)
                                Veda (DNS) ─┘             ╠═ Veda (vmbr)  ├─ Ptolemy (vmbr)
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩═ Ptolemy-NAS  ├─ Veda (Mgmt)
║   ┌ Closet ┐      ┌───────── Bedroom ─────────┐                         └─ Veda (IPMI)
╚═══ Flex XG ══╦╤═══ Flex XG ══╤╦═ Byarlant
       (PoE)   ║│              │╠═ Narrative 
Kitchen Jack ══╣└─ Dual PoE ┐  │╚═ Jesta Cannon*
   (Testing)   ║┌─ Injector ┘  └── Work Laptop
     Bedroom ══╝│        ┌─────── Media Center ────────────────────────────┐
     Jack #2    └──────── Switch 8 ────────────┬─ nanoHD Access Point (PoE)
Notes:                                         ├─ Sony PlayStation 4 
─── is Gigabit / ═══ is Multi-Gigabit          ├─ Pioneer VSX-S520
* = cable passed from Bedroom to Media Center  └─ Sony XR65A80K (Google TV)
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