it is rebooted.) Knoppix live CDs have a utility that, on boot, allows users to declare their intent to write the operating system's file structures either temporarily, to a RAM disk, or permanently, on disk or flash media to preserve any added configurations and security updates. This can be easier than recreating the USB system but may be moot since many live USB tools are simple to use. Full installation An alternative to a live solution is a traditional operating system installation with the elimination of swap partitions. This installation has the advantage of being efficient for the software, as a live installation would still contain software removed from the persistent file due to the operating system’s installer still being included with the media. However, a full installation is not without disadvantages; due to the additional write cycles that occur on a full installation, the life of the flash drive may be slightly reduced. To mitigate this, some live systems are designed to store changes in RAM until the user powers down the system, which then writes such changes. Another factor is if the speed of the storage device is poor; performance can be comparable to legacy computers even on machines with modern parts if the flash drive transfers such speeds. One way to solve this is to use a USB hard drive, as they generally give better performance than flash drives regardless of the connector. Microsoft Windows Although many live USBs rely on booting an open-source operating system such as Linux, it is possible to create live USBs for Microsoft Windows by using Diskpart or WinToUSB. See also Boot disk dd (Unix) Disk cloning Extensible Firmware Interface External hard disk extlinux initramfs ISO file Lightweight Linux distribution List of live CDs List of tools to create Live USB systems List of Linux distributions that run from RAM Live USB creator Multiboot Specification Comparison of Linux Live CDs Partitionless Persistence (computer science) Portable Apps Portable-VirtualBox PXE Self-booting diskette UNetbootin Virtualization References External links The Differences Between Persistent Live USB and Full Linux Install on USB Universal USB Installer Partitionless Installation Tutorial – How to Set your BIOS to boot from CD or USB HOW TO: Create a working Live USB Debian Live project How to create a Live USB in Ubuntu Casper USB