[TriLUG] Small Linux distro for a USB stick

[Scott G. Hall]

Rodney Radford wrote:
> I need a small bootable Linux distro I can install on a USB stick.  The
> main criteria is that it can handle a wide variety of client PCs as I
> will be using it as a maintenance system to allow access to a possibly
> dead/locked out PC.

First thought is Puppy Linux (http://www.puppylinux.com/).
It pretty much meets the criteria you specify.
Description: "What's different here is that Puppy is extraordinarily small,
	yet quite full featured. Puppy boots into a 64MB ramdisk, and
	that's it, the whole caboodle runs in RAM. Unlike live CD
	distributions that have to keep pulling stuff off the CD, Puppy in
	its entirety loads into RAM. This means that all applications start
	in the blink of an eye and respond to user input instantly. Puppy
	Linux has the ability to boot off a flash card or any USB memory
	device, CDROM, Zip disk or LS/120/240 Superdisk, floppy disks,
	internal hard drive. It can even use a multisession formatted
	CD-R/DVD-R to save everything back to the CD/DVD with no hard drive
	required at all!"

Second thought was Vector Linux (http://www.vectorlinux.com/).
It too pretty much meets the criteria you specify.
Description: "Vector Linux is a small, fast, Intel based Linux operating
	system for PC style computers. The creators of Vector Linux had
	a single credo: keep it simple, keep it small and let the end
	user decide what their operating system is going to be. What has
	evolved from this concept is perhaps the best little Linux
	operating system available anywhere."

For rescue-style Linux, try PLoP Linux (http://www.plop.at/).
Description: "PLoP Linux is a small distribution that can boot from CD,
	DVD, USB flash drive (UFD), USB hard disk or from network with PXE.
	It is designed to rescue data from a damaged system, backup and
	restore operating systems, automate tasks and more."
Note that it has no desktop builtin, but rather is fully command-line.

Tiny Core Linux (http://www.tinycorelinux.com/) can make a good base for
a minimal Linux.  You then add whatever modules you need above the base.
Description: "Tiny Core Linux is a very small (10 MB) minimal Linux
	desktop. It is not a complete desktop, nor is all hardware
	completely supported; it represents only the core needed to boot
	into a very minimal X Window desktop, typically with wired
	Internet access. This minimal desktop can be extended by
	installing additional applications from online repositories."

> I have spent a little bit of time with google, but not finding what I
> want - and I am really hoping someone here has actual experience using
> a distro they can recommend.

When looking for Linux distributions, check out Distro-Watch
(http://distrowatch.com).  You get a apples-for-apples comparison of
distributions with a listing of the packages in each distribution,
download links, various search forms to hone in on the desired
distribution criteria, and synopses of each distribution.
Here is a quick search link: http://distrowatch.com/search.php

-- 
Scott G. Hall
Raleigh, NC, USA
ScottGHall at BellSouth.Net