With more and more applications becoming deployable without the use of an installer (i.e. PortableApps and the like), you may wonder which option is best. After all, why install it if you don’t have to as this will surely clutter your system, right? As with just about any computer question, the answer is “it depends”.

Take 7-Zip for example which is available as a traditional installable application or a portable executable. Personally, I make extensive use of the shell integration (right-click menu options) 7-Zip offers, so I would go with the installable version. While this is personal preference, I would not want a program which is not “installed” making shell action entries in my registry for the simple reason that if I remove the program I would expect the uninstaller to clean up these entries. Notepad++ is another example which I would drop into this category.

On the other hand, a relatively flat program such as KeePass I would have no problem running the portable version. To my knowledge, this program does not modify any system settings other than an association with its data files (which I can live without). Also by running the portable version, you would not have the Start Menu entries and if the program supports auto updating, this may not work.

Again, it really boils down to personal preference. If you have any rules or factors which determine the deployment model you prefer, please share.

For those who remember installing Internet Explorer either an an upgrade or fresh install, the process was specifically tailored to replace your default browser settings when electing to use the "Express" installation method. This is no longer the case.

This comes shortly after it was announced that Windows 7 upgrade for UK users would not come with IE 8 preinstalled due to an anti-trust ruling.

What will happen now is that if you choose to install Internet Explorer 8, the first run will be much more straightforward, directly asking you, "Do you want to make Internet Explorer your default browser?"

This is a welcome change that was applauded by not only Windows users but other competing browser software makers, such as Mozilla.

From then to now

Fortunately we now live in a time when most software we install doesn’t try to hijack any settings you don’t want changed. This is drastically different compared to what it used to be like 10 years ago.

For example, in 1999 software like AOL and RealPlayer tried to hijack everything. It was a sad time for computer software back then.

This is not to say that all software stays on the Light Side of The Force. Some titles still do things that are, shall we say, unethical.

Do you know of software that still pulls hijacking tricks?

Let us know in the comments.

Yesterday I posted about archiving CD/DVDs to your hard drive for easy access and distribution. So now, what if you want to install from one of these? With the use of a tool I have referenced in the past, Virtual Clone Drive, here are simple instructions for installing from an ISO.

Note: These instructions are intended to read by end users I distribute the zip file containing the ISO file (and serial number if needed). I thought this would be the easiest way to write the how to.

1. Download and install Virtual Clone Drive.
2. Extract the ISO file from the zip file to your desktop. Note: If a serial number is needed, a text file will be included in this zip file.
3. Open My Computer and select the Virtual Clone Drive (it will look like a sheep). Right-click it and go to Virtual Clone Drive > Mount.
4. Browse to and select the ISO you extracted from step 2.
5. You can now access the CD from the Virtual Clone Drive like you would from a normal CD drive.
6. Install the program.
7. Once finished, select the Virtual Clone Drive in My Computer. Right-click it and go to Virtual Clone Drive > Unmount to ‘eject’ the CD.
8. You can now delete the ISO file.

This method is a quick and easy way to install programs without having the CD handy.

For a while now I’ve been using the Zune Windows XP theme (download). That one is by Microsoft and a complete theme compared to Royale which is incomplete (there are "rough" spots here and there).

I like the "Classic" XP theme but it’s a bit too bland. However there is an alternative called HmmXP. It is not by Microsoft and requires a DLL hack to get it to work.

Before explaining how it’s installed, this is what it looks like:

Above: The Start Menu is modified so "Start" is gone and replaced by a small flag icons, words are eliminated to show icons only. This is called the "Compact Menu".

Above: This is the "Normal Menu" view. Still minimal but more in line with how XP usually looks.

Above: HmmXP has several options on how the theme can look.

Above: With "Codename Whistler" selected, the top right of windows get a pixelated fading look.

Above: Applications in the taskbar do not have dividers, but it’s still easy to select anything you want.

I personally give this theme a thumbs up and have switched off the Zune theme to use this. It’s sort of like a "Classic Enhanced" of sorts. Looks very nice and is very functional.

HmmXP Download: http://fugacious.deviantart.com/art/HmmXP-2-0-1-5514034

But yes I did say this requires a DLL hack to get it to work.

The tool required to install this hack is  Uxtheme Multi-Patcher 6.0. You must run it, follow the instructions carefully and slowly, then reboot once.

Once you do that, you extract the HmmXP theme into the following directory:

C:\WINDOWS\RESOURCES\THEMES

This is what mine looks like:

"Luna" is the standard Windows XP theme everybody is familiar with, as is "Windows Classic". "Zune" is the one I downloaded prior from Microsoft, and the new one is HmmXP.theme along with its HmmXP folder that came with the archive file.

The archive file is a RAR file. You can extract with WinRAR or the freely available 7-Zip to "unzip" the file so you can extract it to the proper folder.

After the Uxtheme installation, the reboot and the extraction of the archive to the themes folder, you will be able to select it from Display Properties.

Final note: If this doesn’t suit your fancy and want to undo what Uxtheme did, just run it again and it will restore your old DLL for you.

Years ago when I first started examining if you could in fact run an entire OS off a single USB stick (meaning not external hard drive), you could with “biz card” sized Linux distributions such as Damn Small Linux and Puppy Linux. These distros are still available today and still actively developed. The reason people chose these over full-sized distros is because USB stick were expensive back then.

Today however a 4GB still can be had for well under $20. In fact you can even pick them up in Wal-Mart for around $16. Times have changed for the better.

So now the question is, can you install run a full Linux distro off a USB stick?

Yes. There are a few drawbacks and I’ll address those later. First, the method.

Requirements:

1. One 4GB or greater USB stick. Using Ubuntu as an example, that distro requires just over 2GB for a standard install, so a 2GB stick is not enough. And if you try to install to a 2GB it won’t allow it. So you need a minimum of 4GB.
2. A PC or laptop that can boot from USB. More or less all PCs (even Dells) from 2005 to present can do this. You should be able to set your first boot device as USB in your BIOS.
3. A Linux distro on a bootable CD. You’ll need this to install the distro to the stick.

The way it’s done:

1. Go into the BIOS and set your first boot device as USB, then save.
2. Shut down the PC and unplug it.
3. Open the case.
4. Physically disconnect the hard drive from the motherboard. I do this on purpose so Linux absolutely will not “see” the drive. Even if you disable the drive in the BIOS, Linux will still “see” it on install, so unplug it. Better safe than sorry.
5. Plug in the USB stick to the PC.
6. Boot the computer from the Linux CD.
7. Install Linux. The installer program will see the USB stick as the only “drive” in the system. You can go ahead and have it partition the whole thing since you unplugged your other hard drive.
8. Once finished, reboot. You should have your full distro of Linux complete on the USB stick.
9. Shut down the PC and reconnect the hard drive then close up the case. When you want to boot back into another OS such as Windows, shut down, unplug the USB stick and boot normally.

And that’s basically it.

Pros

You essentially have a dual-boot system without the need for any primary hard drive partitioning whatsoever since Linux is completely on the stick.

If your primary hard drive fails, you have a full OS at the ready on the stick that can be booted to at any time.

Cons

The Linux you installed on the stick is specifically for the computer you installed it on. It’s not “portable” like the biz card distros are.

USB 2.0 is obviously slower than a hard drive. While it’s true Linux is speedy, you are choking it by using a significantly slower file transfer method for OS functions.

USB sticks do not have a life span as long as hard drives do. If one were to use this method for daily use, it’s a good bet you’ll only get 3 years out of it. And yes this is a guess. Maybe it will last longer. Maybe not.

Quick questions and answers

What happens if I plug in the USB stick while Windows is running?

Nothing really. You’ll get a window that pops up showing the boot files or a message stating Windows can’t read the stick because it’s in a format (e.g. ext3) Windows doesn’t understand.

Will the Linux I run off the stick truly act as if it were run from a hard drive?

Yes.

Is Linux more prone to crashing by being installed on a USB stick?

Possibly. It depends how many apps and processes you have running while the OS is in use. All you have to remember is not to run too many apps at once and you should be fine.

Will Linux run very slow off USB?

Only on initial launch of an app. For example, when you launch the Firefox browser, Linux off a USB stick will “think” about it for a few moments, then run. But once running you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between it running off USB versus a traditional hard drive.

Is there anything I should watch out for when running Linux this way?

The only thing you have to watch for is running out of space. It’s very easy to get app-happy in Linux and install a bunch of stuff without thinking about it. Keep an eye on the space you have left and you won’t have a problem. Or better yet, try to use internet-based apps only like Google Docs, Gmail, Hotmail and so on.

Can I transfer stuff I download to the hard drive while in Linux on USB?

Yes. You can mount the hard drive while in the OS and push all your downloaded files to it if you wish. Just bear in mind this is one-way style of transfer. You can push from Linux to Windows, but not from Windows to Linux. It’s basically the same as if you were running a dual-boot with Windows on NTFS and Linux on ext3. And you should use the ext3 journalized file system for Linux which is the default choice on install.

So now you have another way of using Linux on the cheap. Just grab a 4GB stick and give it a go.

Put simply, I don’t upgrade operating systems. Ever.

I install any OS new and recommend the same to anyone else. It doesn’t matter if it’s Windows, OS X or Linux. Don’t upgrade. Back up your stuff, wipe the drive and start from scratch with the new OS.

To note, I don’t do this with incremental updates (e.g. XP Service Pack 2 to 3) but rather with significant version changes (e.g. Ubuntu 7 to 8).

In my personal experience, my OS upgrades have consisted mainly with Linux and Windows boxes; neither of them know how to do major version updates correctly and never have.

With Linux, I will encounter some type of upgrade issue without fail. If it’s not X that screws up, it’s the network connection. Or maybe Samba decides to drop all the network shares. Or maybe some other service just magically decided to stop working and absolutely will not work again no matter how many configuration files you manually edit or services you stop/restart or reboots you perform. Or maybe the OS won’t load properly at all. But when you install fresh, ta-da… everything works like it’s supposed to and you can go on your merry way.

With Windows, any OS upgrade will leave an enormous amount of crap left behind by the previous version – always. The drivers that used to work in the old OS will try to load in the new one and BZZT… sorry Charlie, that doesn’t work anymore. In addition, the computer runs slow because it’s got all the preexisting crapola it’s still trying (and failing) to use. But when you install fresh, there’s no crap Windows has to deal with and therefore runs better.

I have never recommended that anyone take an existing OS and install an upgrade on top of it, and I never will.

Most of you out there will be upgrading to Windows 7 from XP when it comes to market. What I suggest you do now is the following:

Take inventory of your software

For every app you use, open up a spreadsheet app like Excel or Calc or Google Docs and list them all there. Include your downloaded stuff, your games and everything else. Consider it to be your own personal how-to guide to “build” your OS the way you like it.

For the downloaded apps in particular, make a separate column with the download link so you don’t have to go hunting for it later.

Keep this spreadsheet up-to-date.

For those that would ask why this is even necessary, the answer is that it’s easier to read a spreadsheet than it is to fumble thru a huge list of files and folders. Also, there’s probably at least a few apps you have to install in a specific order. Having the inventory on spreadsheet makes that easy to follow.

(For Linux users I also recommend doing the software inventory spreadsheet. Note the apps you have installed from your respective repositories. Just because you use Linux doesn’t mean you don’t take inventory of what’s on your box.)

Burn any/all downloaded app(s) to CD or DVD or copy to USB stick

CDs and DVDs are cheap and readily available. Buy a 50-pack of a decent brand (one can never have too many) and a set of fine point Sharpie markers. Set aside some time to burn all your stuff.

Recommendation: I suggest burning each disc twice just in case the first one fails or an optical drive decides “I don’t want to play nice with this disc” and scratches it all up.

Alternative: Use a large-capacity USB stick. 16GB versions start at 25 bucks. And it’s most likely true that all your downloaded app-installer files don’t get anywhere near that capacity when combined.

Need more space? Get a 32GB stick. Still need more? Get a 64GB.

Before you wince at the price of the 64’s, bear in mind this is a little USB stick we’re talking about.

If you can fit all your app installer files on a single USB stick, trust me when I say that’s darned convenient. Having all your must-have apps on a single stick is so much easier to deal with compared to flipping thru disc after disc.

Why don’t I recommend external hard drives?

Because you’re most likely using it as a primary backup for other things besides downloaded apps, and you’re probably using it routinely. When doing an app-inventory backup, it’s best use a store-and-forget method until you need it. Discs and USB sticks allow you to do that.

Collect any/all from-OEM discs, put them all together and categorize

These are CDs supplied with your printer, digital camera, camcorder, digital dictation device, GPS, etc. Buy a disc folder or box and stuff ‘em all in there. The software is probably more important to you than the manuals so you might as well keep it all together.

I’m not saying to throw out the boxes or manuals – but put the discs together.

If you don’t feel like doing that, burn copies of the driver/software discs and do it that way.

If you do this stuff now, it will make your new-OS install a whole lot simpler in the future

Most people do the above the day they buy a new OS. Wrong. Don’t do that. Doing it all in a day means you’re guaranteed to miss something along the way. That OEM driver disc you thought you had will end up missing. That file you thought you had won’t be there or backed up anywhere.

And let’s say that you don’t plan on jumping to Windows 7 the week it’s released. That’s fine – but you should still do inventory and back up your apps regardless. There is never such a thing as being too prepared when it comes to computers and operating systems.

In previous articles and videos I’ve discussed how to get a "Live" mode (i.e. as if your computer were booting from CD) of Linux on a USB stick. Some people think this is cool but would rather have a full CD-sized distribution installation instead. And when I said "CD-sized" I’m referring to distributions that take up the entire contents of a CD (such as Ubuntu) and not "biz card" distros like Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux.

To do this it isn’t dependent on the distribution you’re using (you can use any you like) but more so on your USB stick itself.

Consider it this way: You want to use your USB stick as a "hard drive", so to speak. Being that’s the case, you need a stick that exceeds the minimum requirements for the OS to work.

Using Ubuntu as an example, the minimum requirement according to its native installer is a drive that has at least 2048MB free. A 2GB USB stick isn’t enough because it doesn’t have enough minimum space – so you need a 4GB USB stick.

Side note: Think a 4GB USB stick is expensive? It’s isn’t. It’s 8 bucks. And I remember not more than 3 to 4 months ago they were $22. These things are getting so unbelievably cheap it’s ridiculous – and they all work.

My recommended method for installing a full Linux distro on a 4GB USB stick

Before continuing, yes the way I do it is complete overkill – but I like to have absolute 100% confirmation that the Linux install absolutely positively will not touch the internal hard drive of my system. You’ll understand what I mean by that in a moment.

1. Head into the BIOS of your computer and from the boot device order set the first to be CDROM and the second to be USB-FDD, USB-HDD or USB-CDROM.

If USB-FDD doesn’t work for a boot device, try USB-HDD. If USB-HDD doesn’t work, try USB-CDROM. One of them will eventually work. And if not, try plugging the USB stick directly into the back of the computer (as in use the USB ports that are directly off the motherboard and not the ones wired to the front of the case).

2. Power off your computer, open the case and physically disconnect the hard drive from the motherboard.

This is the overkill part. Not entirely necessary, but I don’t want GRUB to even know the internal hard drive exists – because even if you set the hard drive "not to exist" in your BIOS, the Linux installation will still "see" your internal hard drive on most motherboards. I go the extra mile by cracking open the case and unplugging the SATA connector from the motherboard physically.

Before rebooting the computer:

Pop in your Linux distro CD-ROM into the tray because you’ll need to boot from it to install the OS to the USB stick.

Insert the USB stick you want to install the OS to into one of your open USB ports.

3. Reboot and proceed with a normal Linux distro installation.

If all goes well, your computer will boot up, spin up the CD-ROM and launch Linux in a Live mode. From there you proceed with a normal installation. Being your hard drive is physically disconnected the OS will be forced to pick the USB stick as its only means of media to install the OS to.

When done, the OS will prompt you to eject the disc (which you do), then restart the computer.

4. Reboot and test the Linux OS off the USB stick to make sure everything works okay.

On reboot you should have a full Linux OS ready-to-rock. If so, you’re all done with that.

5. Shut down, power off the computer and reconnect the internal hard drive to the motherboard.

Once the USB stick has a full Linux OS on it you’re safe to reconnect your hard drive back to the motherboard.

6. Do a test boot with the USB stick inserted to see if it loads first before the internal hard drive does.

Your boot order should be CDROM, USB-FDD (or HDD or CDROM) then HDD. So what your computer should do is try to boot from the optical drive first, then the USB stick and then the internal hard drive.

If all goes well, whenever the USB stick is plugged into the computer and booted from a "cold start", it will always boot from the USB stick first whenever you want to go into Linux. When done you log out of Linux, shut down, power off, unplug the stick and reboot again to go back to the internal hard drive’s OS.

Final notes

You should bear in mind that by installing a Linux OS on a USB fashion it will not be portable. What this means is that the OS will set itself to use the computer it is first booted from and configure itself as such.

If you take the USB stick after a full install and boot, then bring it to another computer with different hardware and boot from that, chances are high that the internal settings of the OS on that stick will get all messed up because it’s "expecting" a different the computer it was first booted from. Sure, you can simply reconfigure everything and get it working again relatively quickly for anything messed up, but that’s a bit of a hassle.

For each computer you want to boot a full-install-on-USB-stick distro from, it’s recommended you get a separate USB stick dedicated to each computer. The sticks are cheap enough anyway so it’s not a big deal.

This is a follow-up article to this one showing how simple it is to use Unetbootin to install a Linux distribution to your USB stick. Bear in mind that Unetbootin has the choice of many different distros to choose from. Even if you have only have an older 128MB stick, you still could use Damn Small Linux on it! See video below for details.

What exactly is a “persistent” install?

With a normal Live-CD boot of Ubuntu, you can’t save your session settings on exit of the OS. And if you boot off USB stick from a transferred CD image (such as one created using the Unetbootin utility), that won’t save your settings either because the OS is still in Live mode on boot.

A persistent install to USB stick does allow you to save your live session settings. Continued

In this video, I will show you how to install Wordpress to your web server. It is a very simple script to install, however people new to these things could get a little confused with the database setup. So, watch this video and we’ll walk you through it.

Video Length: 15:48

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