Create a Fully Installed MX Linux USB Drive with Windows File Exchange

Overview

This guide explains how to fully install MX Linux on a USB drive to build a portable Linux environment. An exFAT partition is also configured on the same drive for file exchange with Windows.

Prerequisites

• (A) An MX Linux Live USB must already be created. See “MX Linux: A Lightweight Maintenance Linux Distribution That Boots from USB” for the creation procedure.
• This guide follows the procedure for MX Linux 25.1, the latest version at the time of writing (March 2026).
• (B) Prepare a 64GB USB drive with USB 3.2 Gen.2 support as the installation target.

What You Need

Partition Layout

The partition layout for (B) USB drive is as follows.

Setup Procedure

(1) Identify Device Names

Boot the work PC with (A) MX Linux Live USB, open a terminal, and run the following.

lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,MOUNTPOINT,LABEL

NAME   SIZE TYPE MOUNTPOINT  LABEL
sda   500G  disk             # Internal SSD (do not touch)
sdb    64G  disk             # (B) Target USB ← work target
sdc    16G  disk             # (A) Live USB (boot source)

(2) Create Partitions with GParted

Creating partitions in advance with GParted before launching the installer makes it easier to assign partitions accurately and safely.

Launch GParted and Select the Device

Launch GParted and select /dev/sdb from the dropdown in the top right.

Create a GPT Partition Table

Menu → “Device” → “Create Partition Table” → select GPT.

Create Partitions in Order

Create three partitions in order — sdb1 → sdb2 → sdb3 — using the settings below.

The creation steps are the same for each partition.

1. Right-click on unallocated space → select “New”
2. Enter the values from the table above
3. Click “Add” to confirm

Apply

Once all three partitions are created, go to Menu → “Edit” → “Apply All Operations” (or click the ✔ button in the toolbar), then click “Apply” in the confirmation dialog. After applying, New Partition #1 through #3 are confirmed as sdb1 through sdb3.

Set Partition Flags

The flag assignment policy for each partition is as follows.

Only sdb1 requires action. Set the flags with the following steps.

1. Right-click sdb1 → select “Flags”
2. Check boot (at this point, the msftdata checkbox will be automatically unchecked)
3. Check esp
4. Click “Close”

The setup is complete when the “Flags” column for sdb1 shows only boot, esp.

(3) Launch the MX Linux Installer

From GParted menu → “GParted” → “Quit” to close GParted.

Double-click the “Install MX Linux” icon on the desktop to launch the installer.

(4) Installer Operations

Screen ① License Agreement & Keyboard Settings

The license agreement is displayed. Review the content and proceed.

Keyboard settings are shown at the bottom of the screen. The defaults for a Japanese environment are as follows and are usually fine as-is.

To change the keyboard layout, click “Change Keyboard Settings”.

Click “Next” to proceed.

Screen ② Installation Type ⚠️

Three options are displayed.

○ Normal Installation Using Entire Disk  ← Do not select
● Customize Disk Layout                  ← Select this
○ Replace Existing Installation (Experimental) ← Do not select

Since partitions were already created in GParted, select “Customize Disk Layout”. Click “Next”.

Screen ③ Partition Selection ⚠️

A list of disks and partitions is displayed in 7 columns. Disks (sda, sdb, etc.) are shown as top-level items, with partitions indented below.

Configure (B) USB drive (sdb) partitions as follows.

Click “Next” after configuration.

Installation Confirmation

A partition layout confirmation screen is displayed. Verify there are no errors, then click “Begin” to start the installation.

Configuration Screens During Installation

After clicking “Begin”, the installation runs in the background while the following configuration screens appear in sequence. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Screen ④ GRUB Settings

Screen ⑤ Swap Settings

Creating a swap file on a USB drive shortens the flash memory lifespan, so use zram swap that operates entirely in RAM instead.

Screen ⑥ Computer Network Name

Configure the computer’s network identification.

In this setup, file exchange with Windows is done via the exFAT partition, so Samba is not required. Change settings as needed and click “Next”.

Screen ⑦ Language, Region & Time Settings

Default Language and Region

Time Settings

Service settings can be changed via the “Show” button, but no changes are needed unless there are specific requirements. Click “Next” when done.

Screen ⑧ Default User Account

Configure the user account.

Root (Administrator Account)

For personal use, leave unchecked (sudo operation) is fine.

Click “Next” when done.

The screen will transition to a TIPS display, cycling through text every few seconds while installation proceeds. Wait for the installation to complete.

(5) Installation Complete & Boot Verification

Operations on the Installation Complete Screen

The “Installation Complete” screen is displayed.

Confirm that “Closing the installer will automatically restart the system” is checked, then click the “Finish” button.

When the shutdown process begins, remove (A) MX Linux Live USB.

Select (B) USB Drive from BIOS Boot Menu

The PC restarts without the Live USB. To boot from (B) USB drive instead of the OS on the internal SSD, you need to enter the BIOS boot menu.

Immediately after restart (when the manufacturer logo appears), repeatedly press the boot menu key. When the boot menu appears, select (B) USB drive (shown as a UEFI device) from the list.

Boot Verification

If the MX Linux login screen or desktop appears, the boot is successful.

• If Secure Boot is enabled in UEFI settings, the system may fail to boot
• In that case, disable Secure Boot from the BIOS setup screen (usually accessed with the Del or F2 key)

(6) Auto-Mount Setup for exFAT Partition

After the first boot of MX Linux, run the following in a terminal.

Check UUID

blkid /dev/sdb3

/dev/sdb3: UUID="ABCD-1234" TYPE="exfat"

Create Mount Point

sudo mkdir /media/data

Add Entry to /etc/fstab

Replace the UUID= value with the one confirmed by blkid above.

UUID=ABCD-1234  /media/data  exfat  defaults,uid=1000,gid=1000,umask=022  0  0

By specifying uid=1000,gid=1000, the mounted partition is owned by the regular user (uid=1000 is the default user in MX Linux), enabling read/write without sudo.

Verify Mount

sudo mount -a
df -h /media/data

If the mount succeeds, the configuration is complete.

Read/Write Test

# Write test
echo "test" > /media/data/test.txt

# Read test
cat /media/data/test.txt

# Cleanup
rm /media/data/test.txt

If test is displayed and cleanup completes without sudo, everything is working correctly.

Windows Verification

(1) Check Drive in File Explorer

Connect the USB drive to a Windows PC and verify the drive appears in File Explorer.

Verification points:

• The drive is recognized
• The capacity matches the remaining space allocated to sdb3 (just over 30GB)

(2) Read/Write Test

Right-click the drive → “Properties” to confirm the file system is exFAT, then copy a file to test read/write.

Verification points:

• File copy (write) completes successfully
• The copied file can be opened (read)
• The file can be deleted

References

• MX Linux - Official MX Linux website
• MX-25.1 “Infinity” ISOs now available! - MX Linux 25.1 release announcement (January 19, 2026)
• MX Linux User Manual - Official MX Linux documentation and user guides
• Some basics of MBR vs GPT and BIOS vs UEFI - Manjaro Wiki: clear explanation of boot methods and partition table types
• What Are USB Gen 1, Gen 2, and Gen 2x2? - How-To Geek: USB 3.2 generations and transfer speeds explained
• zram - ArchWiki: technical reference for zram swap on Linux