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New Portable AROS Distribution – Now Available!

Last updated on 3 days ago
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retrofazaMember
Posted 4 months ago
#1
We’re excited to announce the release of a new portable AROS distribution, designed to run directly from a USB stick. This project was created for users who want to explore AROS without the need to install it on a hard drive or invest in dedicated hardware.

Watch the system in action:



Who is this for?

This distribution is aimed at:

- curious users who want to try out AROS without prior experience,
- those who don’t own (or don’t want to buy) compatible recommended hardware,
- enthusiasts who want to carry AROS in their pocket – ready to boot on the go.

This is not meant to replace existing AROS distributions, but rather to complement them. It’s a convenient tool for discovering and using AROS in a modern and accessible way.

System requirements:

- A reasonably modern x86_64 (64-bit) computer,
- USB 3.0 support (both host and USB stick),
- A 1920×1080 display,
- Processor virtualization option (usually Intel VT-x, “Intel Virtualization Technology” or AMD-V, “SVM Mode”) available in BIOS/UEFI and enabled.

What does it offer?

- Quick and easy boot from USB – no installation required,
- A ready-to-use graphical environment upon launch,
- User experience similar to that of dedicated hardware.

Download links:
https://arosnews.github.io/aros-portable

The image should be written to a flash drive of at least 16GB (under Windows, for example, using Rufus).
Edited by retrofaza on 20-05-2025 16:31, 4 months ago
aha, Deremon, miker1264, Templario, Telematix, amigamia, Farox, deadwood, Amiwell79, mmartinka
D
deadwoodAROS Dev
Posted 4 months ago
#2
@All

I've been testing this solution for last couple of weeks and I encaurage you to at least try it out once. It's remarkable to see AROS running on a modern laptop with WiFi working and being able to just "portable" AROS around.
aha, Amiwell79, Farox, Telematix, Deremon
F
FaroxMember
Posted 4 months ago
#3
Congrats very nice work!!
A
Amiwell79Distro Maintainer
Posted 4 months ago
#4
Congratulations, I hope it can help those who do not know AROS or some users who only have modern computers.
deadwood, retrofaza
AMIGASYSTEMAMIGASYSTEMDistro Maintainer
Posted 4 months ago
#5
Congratulations retrofaza, I noticed that you used an old large Icon for the Pendrive, this causes the text on the standard AROS One Icons to move away.

That's why the Icons on AROS One are all the same size, if you want I can attach the Disk.info icon for the Live Pendrive or other Icons you might need in the future!
deadwood, retrofaza
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retrofazaMember
Posted 4 months ago
#6
Sure! A matching icon will come in handy Smile
AMIGASYSTEMAMIGASYSTEMDistro Maintainer
Posted 4 months ago
#7
Icona Disco Pendrive Live
retrofaza
AMIGASYSTEM attached the following file:
disk.zip [9.15kB / 86 Downloads]
R
retrofazaMember
Posted 4 months ago
#8
Thank you very much, the icon is great, will use in the next build
R
retrofazaMember
Posted 4 months ago
#9
@AMIGASYSTEM

It would be useful to have an icon for WiFi Prefs in AROS One style, if you have time to make one
retrofaza attached the following image:
screenshot_from_2025-05-20_17-31-04.png
AMIGASYSTEMAMIGASYSTEMDistro Maintainer
Posted 4 months ago
#10
Is WiFi Preferences an Application ? do you need the icon for this Application ?

On AROS One Native there is already the icon "def_Wireless.info", it appears automatically as soon as you are connected to the Wifi and when you click it, you start the Wiriless Manager !

You can use that icon or I can send you a different one !
retrofaza
AMIGASYSTEM attached the following image:
wifi.jpg
S
sonountalebanNewbie
Posted 4 months ago
#11
Hi at all,
I've tried this distribution on my PC Desktop and often I got an error (see first picture), making the system unstable.
My PC is based on AMD FX-6300, Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 motherboard, 16 GB RAM, GeForce GTX 1650 Super and a Focusrite Scarlett Solo USB as sound interface. The issue happens after a while of little usage, basically after I can hear the welcome sound effect.
For the first time I can run AROS "natively" on my PC, well done! Even thought it looks QEMU over a stripped Linux is used here. Wink In the last 10-15 years I occasionally used to try Icaros only with VirtualBox, but for a reason or another it wasn't much usable and stable.
Edited by sonountaleban on 20-05-2025 14:15, 4 months ago
sonountaleban attached the following image:
20250520_174418.jpg 20250520_175837.jpg 20250520_175942.jpg 20250520_180129.jpg
R
retrofazaMember
Posted 4 months ago
#12

sonountaleban wrote:

@sonountaleban - Hi at all,
I've tried this distribution on my PC Desktop and often I got an error (see first picture), making the system unstable.
My PC is based on AMD FX-6300, Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 motherboard, 16 GB RAM, GeForce GTX 1650 Super and a Focusrite Scarlett Solo USB as sound interface. The issue happens after a while of little usage, basically after I can hear the welcome sound effect.
For the first time I can run AROS "natively" on my PC, well done! Even thought it looks QEMU over a stripped Linux is used here. Wink In the last 10-15 years I occasionally used to try Icaros only with VirtualBox, but for a reason or another it wasn't much usable and stable.


Hi!

Thanks for trying out AROS portable. I think the problem may be a poor quality Flash Drive. If you have the possibility, check it on another one (it should be USB 3.0 and your computer should also have a USB 3.0 slot).

You can also try a second image, which contains the 64-bit version of AROS One.
sonountaleban
R
retrofazaMember
Posted 4 months ago
#13
An image containing AROS One 1.0 64-bit is also now available. Links to both available here:
https://arosnews.github.io/aros-portable
sonountaleban, deadwood, Deremon
retrofaza attached the following image:
aros64.png
S
sonountalebanNewbie
Posted 4 months ago
#14
Yes, it could be because I think it's a quite old USB pendrive.

retrofaza wrote:

@retrofaza -

sonountaleban wrote:

@sonountaleban - Hi at all,
I've tried this distribution on my PC Desktop and often I got an error (see first picture), making the system unstable.
My PC is based on AMD FX-6300, Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 motherboard, 16 GB RAM, GeForce GTX 1650 Super and a Focusrite Scarlett Solo USB as sound interface. The issue happens after a while of little usage, basically after I can hear the welcome sound effect.
For the first time I can run AROS "natively" on my PC, well done! Even thought it looks QEMU over a stripped Linux is used here. Wink In the last 10-15 years I occasionally used to try Icaros only with VirtualBox, but for a reason or another it wasn't much usable and stable.


Hi!

Thanks for trying out AROS portable. I think the problem may be a poor quality Flash Drive. If you have the possibility, check it on another one (it should be USB 3.0 and your computer should also have a USB 3.0 slot).

You can also try a second image, which contains the 64-bit version of AROS One.
AMIGASYSTEMAMIGASYSTEMDistro Maintainer
Posted 4 months ago
#15
@sonountaleban

The first error usually happens when you click on an icon and the pendriver had been disconnected.

It may be that the Pendrive has some connection problem, although you should have had problems during the burning process.

The fact that you also got the same error on another PC confirms that the Pendrive is not working properly.

To remove your doubt, try other Pendrives!
sonountaleban
pixiepixieMember
Posted 4 months ago
#16
From a performance point of view, wouldn't AROS hosted be a better option?
D
deadwoodAROS Dev
Posted 4 months ago
#17
Hmm, did you notice any performance issues of portable distribution versus hosted?
Edited by deadwood on 22-05-2025 08:40, 4 months ago
pixiepixieMember
Posted 4 months ago
#18
I have not been at home, so I haven't tried it yet. Once I get home I will try
deadwood
D
deadwoodAROS Dev
Posted 4 months ago
#19
FYI, TheRegister has a nice article about recent developments in AROS:

https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/22/aros_live/
retrofaza, pixie, Argo, Deremon
pixiepixieMember
Posted 4 months ago
#20
Well, overall it's quite neat, I got it working with wifi, went to the internet for a spin, which was nice. I tried the opaque commodity and it didn't work. When you opened the window, I wasn't able to move it around. Other than that all seems to be quite snappy. Now to make this distro work hosted on linux will take me some time.
Argo
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Users who participated in discussion: amigamia, deadwood, AMIGASYSTEM, pixie, ntromans, retrofaza, Amiwell79, Farox, GDroid, sonountaleban, aros-sg