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I have a Surface Pro 4 and want to try Ubuntu on it. I made a bootable USB using the website's instructions, and tried it on my Surface but I couldn't get the touchscreen or WiFi working, two things I need to have working on my Surface. I then found https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface which I can use to make those things function on my laptop, but I don't know how to make those load onto the bootable USB. I also don't currently have enough space on my Surface to try installing Linux and then installing the kernel via USB. I tried looking at other questions for my problem, but they didn't make sense and I didn't want to necrobump those questions. Any help would be appreciated!

chimps123
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    This sounds very much like an [XY Problem](https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/66378) in that your proposed solution doesn't seem like the best way to solve your actual problem. What you're asking how to do is also not a task for a novice and if you were confused by similar questions, that's not going to change here either. Do you plan on replacing Windows with Ubuntu? That might not be a good idea either if you have never used Ubuntu before. Dual-boot is generally a better option if you are trying to transition. You can also run Ubuntu in a VM like VirtualBox if you just want to try it. – Nmath Nov 05 '21 at 19:20
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    You can install Ubuntu into the USB drive. Make an installed system like into an internal drive, but into the USB drive. See [this link](https://askubuntu.com/questions/1217832/how-to-create-a-full-install-of-ubuntu-20-04-to-usb-device-step-by-step) and [this link](https://askubuntu.com/questions/16988/how-do-i-install-ubuntu-to-a-usb-key-without-using-startup-disk-creator/942312#942312). (In the installed system you can install and use new kernels.) – sudodus Nov 05 '21 at 19:21
  • @Nmath I'm not planning to replace Windows with Ubuntu, I'm trying to learn Ubuntu in the hopes of switching down the line. I want to start using it on my laptop first but I don't have enough space to dual boot, and so I wanted to use a bootable USB to practice using Ubuntu and switch later. However the bootable USB doesn't have the specific kernel I need to make WiFi and touchscreeen work on my laptop, which are two features I need desperately on my laptop to do any work on it. Hope that makes sense! – chimps123 Nov 06 '21 at 19:19
  • @sudodus Are you saying that I can use a bootable USB to use Ubuntu on my laptop, and then install the kernel onto my bootable USB from my laptop? – chimps123 Nov 06 '21 at 19:21
  • I would recommend running Ubuntu in VirtualBox. – Nmath Nov 06 '21 at 19:29
  • Use a cheap and slow USB pendrive, where you clone the iso file. For installation you boot from this USB pendrive. Use also a more expensive, bigger and faster USB3 pendrive or even better an SSD via a USB3 to SATA adapter, where you install the Ubuntu system. This system will be as flexible as any installed system, and you can install the kernel that you need. See [this link](https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick/pre) – sudodus Nov 06 '21 at 20:16

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you can use Cubic, or Custom Ubuntu ISO Creator, which is a GUI that can be used to create a custom bootable Ubuntu Live CD (ISO). More info here.

ali HOZA
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  • I'm not sure if I'm not looking in the right place so I couldn't tell, but can I use Cubic on Windows? Or would I need to use a computer with Ubuntu to use this software? – chimps123 Nov 06 '21 at 19:17