rootfs full on fresh USB BT4 install -can't run apt-get upgrade

Thanks for such a great tool, learning new tricks like a fiend!

Here is the problem; I've installed BT4 final using unetbootin-windows-442 onto a 16gb USB drive.
Right after installing I try to update using the command apt-get update then apt-get upgrade
it tells me that ~600mb will be used, I say ok go.

The upgrade fails with error 1, and I get a pop-up saying there is less than 1% free disk space.
Huh???

I checked the USB partition using gpart and itsays only 1.49gb used, 13.57gb free.
I also checked using df -h and see that the rootfs is 99% used.

I reviewed the different methods of installing BT4 final including manually partitioning but don't see where I can specify a larger rootfs partition.

I re-installed BT4 again, this time looking for an option to increase the rootfs partition size and still nothing.

This has to be a common problem. Is BT4 too big for a 16gb USB drive, do I need a 32gb?
Thanks

16 gb's should be just fine.
This may stem from how you have your partitions set up.
You might want to pick one of the guides here on the main site here and try again.

Thanks for the fast reply.

That's just the problem, I've been researching for 2-days on how to configure the partitions when installing BT4 final on a USB drive.

I followed the tutorial video's here USB Live | BackTrack Linux - Penetration Testing Distribution
It's brainless and easy, and I've had 2 successful installs to my 16gb USB drive with the same result, a 1.5gb rootfs partition.

I could use some help with getting unetbootin to make the rootfs partition larger, say 3gb. I've searched and came up dry.
Thanks!

Ok,
So to tripple confirm I did the manual install again for a 3rd time. This will now be 5 installs in total of BT4 final on my 16gb USB drive. All were successful installs, BUT ran out of disk space immediately when I tried to run "apt-get upgrade".

The upgrade requires 684MB of space, and rootfs only has 492MB.

Can someone please help me create a USB BT4 persistent Live install that has a larger rootfs partition?
I think it should be at least 1GB.

As I watched the progress of the "apt-get upgrade" command, I had a second shell open and ran "df -h" several times to monitor what partition was filling up.

I could clearly see that rootfs was being used to store the files apt-get was processing. it's only 492MB, and the update is 684MB.

I'm 1-week old to Linux, so yea it took me way longer to figure this out than it should have.

So you super dudes out there have any idea how to alter the BT4 USB install to avoid this situation?
Thanks
-Geekdisk

You have obviously only done a live install as you have used unetbootin and as such you cannot make the changes or save them as you are trying to do. To explain that further, everything you are doing is only in RAM and you are running out of it doing what you are doing. Your install is effectively just the same as if you were running from a DVD.

Look here for one solution to your problem, the other is a full install to the disk.

Thanks again, but I did follow the instructions verbatim in the above link BaldingEagle provided.

The USB install is persistent as far as I understand the concept, upon reboot any changes like background in X or files I leave on the desktop are still there.

It feels to me that there is something in this command here:
grub-install --no-floppy --root-directory=/mnt/sdb1 /dev/sdb
That is defining rootfs (/) to be only 492MB. That's the problem, rootfs needs to be larger.

Using both the unetbootin method and the manual method linked here result in identical USB installs as far as I can tell.

That is, you run out of disk space when trying to run "apt-get upgrade".

There has to be a way to fix this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by geekdisk

It feels to me that there is something in this command here:
grub-install --no-floppy --root-directory=/mnt/sdb1 /dev/sdb
That is defining rootfs (/) to be only 492MB. That's the problem, rootfs needs to be larger.

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I'm gonna take a wild guess here - does your PC have 512MB RAM?

It has 1gb RAM. I booted from another PC with more RAM and the volumes resized based on the available RAM. Yes it seems I'm only running BT4 off the USB in RAM. I'm confused as to what I need to do to be able to save changes made on a USB drive.

When I boot from the new USB 16gb drive, I chose "Start Persistent Live CD", I thought this was the method that would allow changes made to be saved.

Is that not correct?