I've got a laptop that has a broken harddisk controller. Replacing the motherboard is quite expensive. I thought about buying a flash drive and installing & running the system from it.
However, I'm concerned about some things.
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Speed: Are they fast enough for swap memory (I've got only 1GB RAM installed.)
I'm considering buying 2 or 3 of them and making them into a RAID. -
What about limited write cycles? How long will it last for a system that has a filesystem with journaling enabled? I'd hate to abandon it.
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Are there significant differences between internal SSD which are used in modern laptops like MacBooks and USB flash drives?
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What should I expect in 10 years when the memory wear starts kicking in?
Best Answer
There is nothing unusual about running an operating system from a USB flash drive; many Linux distros are optimised for this very purpose.
In fact there is a laptop being sold without any internal storage - you can boot a variety of operating systems from USB keys.
Meet the Gdium Liberty:
'Broken' like yours, by design.
The short answer: yes, it is safe to run an operating system from a USB flash drive.
As for your worries about the life expectany of flash memory, this has been discussed ad nauseam. The interwebs are full with more or less conclusive discussions regarding the matter.