Setting up Debian permanently on a USB stick
Setting up Debian permanently on a USB stick
It's feasible but the performance will be quite slow. You'd need two USB drives to set it up. Flash memory on USB sticks isn't ideal for this purpose and degrades quickly. In a more practical view—wouldn't it be better to purchase an HDD or even an SSD for the computer? It would be simpler and cause fewer problems.
There are Linux distros designed to run from USB drives. These aren't the ones I typically use, but here are some options to explore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweigh...e_Security http://puppylinux.com/ http://tinycorelinux.net/
Consider installing Debian and setting the file system to read-only to extend the life of a USB flash drive. Switch the mount point from /tmp to RAM-mounted storage. Disable all logging or write logs to RAM. For more specifics, refer to the Arch Wiki; the commands may differ slightly but the goals remain similar.
Debian doesn't run smoothly on my system with the full install on a USB 3.0 device—it freezes, but Ubuntu-style options work well. I suggest trying Ubuntu Mate and note that Ubuntu is built on Debian.