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I've created a persistent file (4GB) on the USB drive I boot off of. Correct me if I'm wrong but will creating this persistent file, allow changes in the Ubuntu environment?

If so, after each reboot, I lose all file changes and applications installed which defeats the purpose of a persistent file. If not, please explain what a persistent file is and what it's used for?

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How did you create the USB drive? –  Mitch Aug 17 '12 at 1:32
I used pendrivelinux. I've tried 2 different usb drives. One being a flash drive (fat32) and an external (exFAT). It looks as if the program automatically formats the partition though so maybe I'm just missing something. –  glivr6kid Aug 17 '12 at 1:35
Is there space on the USB a (separate partition) to save files? –  Mitch Aug 17 '12 at 1:40
Yes. As far as saving files that's not really the issue because of the separate partition. For instance I'm using wine to run an audio program. I installed it yesterday and when I booted today neither the program nor wine was there. Is the OS being booted off a usb not intended to run in this manner? I would have no problem just installing the OS to the hard drive but it's my family computer and they can't seem to comprehend selecting windows (which I refuse to use) off the boot menu. –  glivr6kid Aug 17 '12 at 1:46
What size is your USB drive? –  Mitch Aug 17 '12 at 1:48
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1 Answer

up vote 2 down vote accepted

In short. Persistence is the space on your USB key the will be used to store information, so that that information is still there after a reboot.

Confirm that your syslinux.cfg, has the word persistence in it. If not you can add it after the first --. Code:

-- persistence

For more information click Here

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