Bootable USB flash drive from Linux iso image. Creating a bootable USB flash drive on Windows
In this article we will look at creating a bootable USB flash drive for Linux. Two programs will help us with this, which will automatically create bootable USB drives. The distribution is based on the Debian Wheezy operating system image.
If you are interested in information about creating a bootable USB flash drive for the Windows family of operating systems, then you can read the information at this link “how to make a bootable USB flash drive for Windows”.
BOOT FLASH DRIVE using the UNetbootin program (I method)
The program allows you to create both an online bootable USB drive with a distribution of Linux-like operating systems, and with an existing Linux distribution downloaded earlier. The program can be downloaded from the official website http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
Attention: Before you start working with this program, you need to format the USB drive, it is advisable to select the FAT32 file system (default), see how to do this in the image below.
After formatting the Flash drive, run the program UNetbootin. As mentioned earlier, the program allows you to burn a Live CD/DVD from the Internet, indicating only the distribution and its version.
But we will not use this option for creating a bootable USB flash drive for Linux, since we have already downloaded the Debian Wheezy distribution from the official website. You can download the distribution and learn about installing the Debian OS in the article: “Installing DEBIAN Wheezy”.
In order to write a disk image of the Debian Wheezy operating system to a USB drive, you need to select the “Disk Image” radio button, then activate “ISO Standard” in the list, then specify the path to the distribution kit with the .ISO extension, and then select the device type and itself from the list carrier. The parameters have been selected, now click the “OK” button and the process of extracting and copying files will automatically begin, which may take a long time.
After extracting and copying the files, the program will install the bootloader and complete the installation with the prompt “Reboot now?” If you want to install Linux OS on the same computer, then you need to click the “Reboot now” button. After reboot, select the USB boot option in the BIOS.
Otherwise, if the Linux OS will be installed on another computer, then you need to click on the “Exit” button.
Bootable Linux flash drive is ready!!!
BOOT FLASH DRIVE using the Universal USB Installer program (II method)
Let's move on to the second method of creating a bootable Linux flash drive using a program from foreign enthusiasts. Unlike the first method of creating bootable media, this program has the ability to format removable media yourself.
Continuing, we launch the program Universal USB Installer and configure it to the required parameters. The first step presents a list of Linux operating systems; select “Try Unlisted Linux ISO” - this means that we will use an operating system image not included in this list. In the second step, we need to specify the path to the location of our image; Debian Wheezy is an example to follow. The third step involves selecting a USB drive and activating the checkbox for formatting the flash drive. The settings are all done, click the “Create” button.
A window appears that says what you need to do: close all Windows windows, the program will format the USB drive, create an MBR boot area, change the volume label to the UUI name and install the Linux operating system image. We confirm “Yes”!
The process of installing data onto removable media has begun, we are waiting for some time...
...after a while the program completes the installation process and will look like the image below.
A bootable Linux flash drive has been created! You can download the program from the official website: http://www.pendrivelinux.com/
Ubuntu is an operating system based on the Linux kernel. It is used on desktop computers, laptops and servers. Contains programs for viewing text documents and tables, as well as for accessing the Internet and others. The set of applications is similar to the usual Windows. A distinctive feature of this software is its non-commercial distribution, incl. and for corporate use. Creating a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive will be required if you are installing the OS on your computer.
ISO image
Making a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive is no more difficult than choosing another operating system. You will need an ISO disk image. You can download it on the official Russian website of the OS. To do this you should do the following:
- Go to Ubuntu.ru;
- On the first page, at the top, find the “Download” button and click it;
- Choose the version that suits you;
- Download the system directly or through a torrent tracker.
Please note that versions are provided for 64-bit and 32-bit systems, as well as for servers and computers. Advanced users can download the mini.iso operating system image. Based on it, you can create a system yourself.
On the same page there are other operating systems made on this template. They differ in the set of pre-installed software and graphic design. You can learn about the features of each by following the “Family” link at the bottom of the page. If you are going to create a bootable Ubuntu flash drive while in one of the CIS countries, then it is better to download the distribution from a mirror from the Yandex repositories. This will make loading faster.
For those who need to install Ubuntu from Windows from physical media, there is a service for ordering a “boxed” version on the official website or through local resources that provide Linux. The disadvantage of this method is delivery costs, which can sometimes be significant. In addition, you will have to wait quite a long time to receive the disk. A bootable USB flash drive will also provide a faster installation than a disk.
Creating a bootable USB flash drive on Windows
Creating a bootable one is impossible without downloading additional utilities for working with disk images. This method is suitable for recording Ubuntu to a USB flash drive under Windows 7 and 8.
Many users of computers running Windows or Linux are accustomed to installing their OS from disk drives. This is a fairly convenient and reliable option. But now, updated versions of distributions are increasingly being released, the recording of which will require the purchase of DVD blanks. In turn, finding blank discs becomes quite difficult, since, unfortunately, you won’t be able to find them in the supermarket opposite your house.
A bootable Ubuntu flash drive has a number of advantages over the disk edition of the system. The most significant is the ability to install Linux on computers that do not have hardware for reading DVDs, for example, in the case of a compact netbook. Another plus is faster data reading with USB 3.0 ports, which will reduce system installation time.
Where to get the Ubuntu image
Before you make a bootable Ubuntu flash drive, you need to arm yourself with the system distribution itself. In addition to the torrent trackers familiar to many Internet users, where various images of Microsoft Windows and UNIX-like systems are distributed, Ubuntu can also be downloaded for free on the official website. The manufacturer’s website contains both Russian and international English image download pages, separated by ru and com domain zones. After selecting the desired version of the system, the user is given the option of downloading using a torrent client or directly from the Ubuntu server. Residents of the CIS countries are recommended to find mirrors with the distribution in Yandex repositories for faster downloading.
There is also an option for fans of boxed editions. You can order this version on the official website or on local resources representing Linux. But in this case, not only the cost of delivery and the disk with the free system itself will be required, but also a fairly long waiting time. Unlike the disk edition, the Ununtu bootable USB flash drive will be a faster option both in creation and during the installation itself.
Recording an image using Ubuntu
Creating a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive in a native operating system is done in several ways. Some of them may seem very difficult, others, on the contrary, will be intuitive. But here, to a greater extent, everything depends on a person’s habits. Many users of Unix and similar systems are accustomed to using the command line. This is explained by one of the first versions of Linux, where all the necessary driver settings were performed only using the terminal. For this category of users, it will be convenient to create a bootable Ubuntu flash drive using system commands.
Creating a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive using a standard utility
Nevertheless, in order not to deprive newcomers who have recently encountered the use of UNIX systems, we first need to talk about the simplest visualized version of recording an image. Any modern version of Ubuntu has a specialized utility for this purpose in its standard installation package. In order to launch it and start recording, you need to go to the “System” tab, select the “Administration” section, where the “Create a boot disk” option will be available. The disadvantage of this method is the likelihood of error. If this happens, you will need to use another method.
Terminal application
When telling how to make a bootable Ubuntu flash drive using the terminal, it is immediately necessary to clarify that in this method you will definitely need to use the keyboard and the symbols located on it. If this does not suit the user, then it is recommended to pay attention to the method described above.
A bootable Linux Ubuntu flash drive will require the destruction of all data to create it, so it is recommended that you remember to save it. The process itself is quite concise and simple. Having launched the terminal, in its cat you need to type dmesg | tail, after which information about the connected devices with their identifiers like sdb or sdc will appear on the screen. Having remembered the designation of the flash drive prepared for recording, proceed to entering the following command: dd if=/path_to_downloaded_image/image.iso of=/dev/device_identifier. After checking the completed data, you must confirm their entry, after which the recording process will begin. Unfortunately, you won't be able to see it yet. To monitor data copying in a separate terminal window, you will need to enter watch -n 10 killall -USR1 dd.
Creating a USB flash drive in Windows using Unetbootin
A bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive from Windows is created only with the help of specialized programs. One of them is Unetbootin. After downloading the utility on the Internet, you must run it with administrator rights. After this, a window will open in front of the user with an available choice of Ubuntu version, where there is the ability to directly download the desired operating system. The option of selecting a distribution from a local disk is also available.
Having decided on the system image, you need to mark the type - “USB device” and the media - /dev/identifier_of_required_media. If difficulties arise with its selection, it is recommended to disconnect unnecessary drives. A bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive may contain disk space that is used to store files after the computer is rebooted. It will need to be determined at the user’s discretion, based on the activity of using the live version of the operating system. After clicking the "OK" button, the recording process will begin.
Recording using Linux Live USB Creator
Working with Linux Live USB Creator is very similar to the previous program. The main differences are related only to the interface. It is worth mentioning that on many forums the utility can also be simply called LiLi. The advantage of the program is that it automatically checks the recorded distribution for errors, which will save time due to the absence of the need for personal testing during the installation process. If any malfunctions are detected, the distribution kit will offer to rewrite the program itself. A bootable Ubuntu flash drive can be created here either by automatically downloading the system or an image on a local disk, or from a DVD, if available. To start recording the distribution, the user will need to click on a button made in the form of a lightning bolt.
Creating a flash drive in Universal USB Installer
There are quite a lot of options for how to make a bootable Ubuntu flash drive on the Windows operating system thanks to various manufacturers of specialized software for computers running products from Microsoft. This is justified by the fact that many people use Linux in parallel with another system that has design and office applications that are not supported in Ubuntu. One of the many utilities for creating distribution media is the Universal USB Installer. The program has identical functionality and a similar design to the options discussed above.
Setting BIOS Settings
Before booting from a flash drive, you need to make adjustments to the BIOS settings of your computer's motherboard. By default, booting occurs from the hard drive where the boot sector of the previous operating system is stored. To go to basic settings, each manufacturer uses its own hot key located on the panel - F1-12 or Delete. It is worth mentioning that many motherboards are equipped with additional options that allow you to bypass the trip to the BIOS menu, switching the device to boot one time.
Live version of Ubuntu
Created using any of the methods described above, a bootable Ubuntu flash drive allows you to take advantage of its live functionality. Usually, if you have not too old equipment, this system selects all drivers automatically. This allows you to boot into the so-called live mode and work on any computer. Both professionals providing service for personal computers and ordinary users who need to copy files on equipment without an operating system or when it fails will be very pleased with this functionality.
To create a bootable USB flash drive with Ubuntu Linux, you need to have the distribution kit of this OS with you. Downloading a version of the Ubuntu ISO image is available to everyone, it is free. But only the official website can guarantee secure downloading; for downloading, we recommend using this link http://ubuntu.ru/get. The site has a separate link for downloading http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download, but in the first version the page is in Russian and by visiting it you will see additional features:
- download Ubuntu from a torrent;
- download using FTP Yandex;
- You can use a large list of mirrors required to download the Ubuntu ISO.
Well, if you have already downloaded the Ubuntu image on your PC, we will show you in detail how you can create an installation USB drive.
Creating a flash drive in Windows OS
First of all, you will need to install a free Unetbootin program, to create a bootable drive from Windows. This program can only be safely downloaded from the official website http://sourceforge.net/projects/unetbootin/files/latest/download.
IMPORTANT! The flash drive must be formatted in FAT32; to do this, apply the standard set of formatting settings in the OS
The installation process of Unetbootin will not take much time and effort, everything is simple. All you need to do is download and perform a simple installation. After, you need to launch the application and perform several actions:
Note: During processing, the program may freeze for 5-10 minutes, do not cancel the task, wait a little.
To boot from media for the Ubuntu program on a PC or use a flash drive like LiveUSB, you need to boot from the drive into the BIOS.
Bootable USB flash drive in Ubuntu OS
Sometimes a situation may arise. When someone you know asks you to create Ubuntu installation media, and you already have this operating system installed. This is not difficult to do, the main thing is to follow our recommendations.
First of all, you will need to find the program “ Startup Disk Creator"(create a boot disk). 
Further, exactly the same: indicate the path to the image and to your media that you want to make bootable. Confirm the action " Create a boot disk" That's all, wait a bit for the process to complete.
Now we will tell you How to make a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive in the easiest way.
Optical disks are a rather outdated technology. Flash drives are becoming increasingly popular. Due to their capabilities, memory capacity and relative cheapness. Many laptops already come without an optical drive, leading to the need to strive for lighter and more necessary things. In principle, this is correct, remember those wonderful Floppy floppy disks that came before? So they were once replaced by the disks that are common to us now. Considering the fact that even the new operating system from Microsoft comes on a flash drive, the era of a complete transition to flash memory is already very close.
We will look at the best ways to make a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive in Linux, and it doesn’t matter which one, the distributions in question are very easy to find in the official repositories. We will also talk about how to make a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive in Windows.
Why did we choose Ubuntu? This is usually the most popular Linux-based system when it comes to installation. If you need to create an image of some other system, then this guide should suit you. Unless the amount of memory on your flash drive should vary depending on the size of the Linux distribution.
How to create a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive on Windows
Let's assume that you have already downloaded the Ubuntu image and want to create a bootable USB flash drive. If you are doing this from Windows, then most likely you still do not know how to write images to flash drives. Everything is very simple here.
The best program for this matter is the Rufus utility. It is very easy to use and even a beginner can handle its settings. But just in case, we will tell you how to do it. By the way, you can download it from the official website.
You need to connect the USB flash drive to your device and run the utility.
Now select the device to record on.
It will also be important to check the boxes: Quick format, create a boot disk and select ISO image from the drop-down menu.
Now you will need to find an image with Ubuntu or another Linux distribution, just click on the button:
Click on the “Start” button to start recording.
Now all you have to do is wait for the image to be written, and the bootable USB flash drive is ready. Then you can restart the system and begin installing Ubuntu.
How to make a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive in Linux
Now let's move on to the more extensive item How to make a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive in Linux. In this paragraph we will look at several ways to create a bootable USB flash drive.
And the first way is the Terminal. Using the standard copying program dd.
Let's connect the flash drive to your device and determine its name. Usually this is dev/sdb1, but it may vary. To be absolutely sure. you need to enter the command:
Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1 * 2048 15693823 15691776 7.5G with W95 FAT32 (LBA)
and check. As you can see for the flash drive, the file system is FAT32 and the space on it is 7.5 GB.
Point 2
The next step is to start copying the system image to the USB flash drive:
$ dd if=~/Downloads/ubuntu.iso of=/dev/sdb1
This means that /Downloads/ubuntu.iso is the path to your image with the operating system. But dev/sdb1 is your flash drive.
Point 3
Now you need to wait until the creation of a bootable USB flash drive with Ubuntu is completed and everything will be ready.
Of course, it is much more convenient to write images to a flash drive using graphical utilities. Of course, Linux also has such programs, for example, we chose Unetbootin. This is a very good program that can be downloaded from the official repositories. The name is the same.
For example in Ubuntu:
$ sudo apt install unetbootin
Let's look at how to use it to make a bootable USB flash drive with Ubuntu.
Point 1
Connect your flash drive to the device and run the utility with the command:
The next step is to select the device to record from the list. Once selected, click on the “OK” button.
Everything is ready, Ubuntu is recorded on your flash drive and you can start installing the system. It is also possible to make a full-fledged bootable flash drive with the ability to install programs on it, install or change system files; for this you need to install Ubuntu on the flash drive.
Installing Ubuntu on a USB flash drive
As you may have noticed, installing an image on a flash drive is very simple. Now if you decide to make a full-fledged boot system out of your flash drive, then we can get started:
First, everything needs to be done as during a normal installation, until it comes to disk partitioning. In the window for choosing a disk partitioning method, you will need to select another option:
By the way, we have already talked about the main advantages of Ubuntu for beginners. You can read and learn about the main advantages of the system over its competitors.
Unlike a standard operating system installation, a bootable Ubuntu installation does not require a special swap partition and it is even, to some extent, contraindicated, since the system will very often overwrite files. And this can significantly reduce the lifespan of a flash drive. The remaining partitions do not need to be divided as during a normal installation; it will be important to specify the ext2 file system. You need to choose this particular file system if you want to extend the life of the flash drive.
Next you need to perform the installation as usual. The bootable USB flash drive will be successfully created and you will be able to use the system. Also, after installation, it is recommended to make several changes to the system parameters in order to reduce the number of writes to the disk.
You need to specify the notime and nodiratime options for all sections. As well as files with temporary files, connect to RAM.
To do this, you will need to open a file called /etc/fctab/ and add the following lines to it:
If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.
