15 Best Bootable USB Tools For Windows, Linux and MAC OS. Here is a list of the best programs with which we can create bootable USB drives from different operating systems, either in Windows 10 or GNU/Linux or macOS. Related: Best Software for Data Recovery From USB & SD Card. Make bootable USB with unetbootin ubuntu. UNetbootin is a free program for both Windows, Linux and MacOS X that allows the user to create bootable Live USB drives for Ubuntu, Fedora, and other Linux distributions instead of burning a CD. It runs on both Windows and Linux. How do I create an Ubuntu live USB using a Mac? Download Ubuntu Desktop. Open the Terminal (in /Applications/Utilities/ or query Terminal in Spotlight) Convert the.iso file to.img using the convert option of hdiutil. Example: Run diskutil list to get the current list of devices. Insert your flash.
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- Create Bootable Ubuntu Usb For Mac On Windows
- Create Bootable Usb For Mac Ubuntu Windows 10
CDs are long gone and if you want to reinstall an operating system, a bootable USB drive is the one required. Let’s learn how to create a bootable USB disk from Ubuntu using terminal today. We’ll be creating a bootable USB of the Ubuntu ISO file, but you can work with any ISO file that was designed to be written to a CD to be bootable.
The Steps to Create a Bootable USB Disk
So as I mentioned, we’re working with the Ubuntu ISO file here to create a bootable USB disk, but you can replace the ISO with any other ISO that’s built to be bootable and then follow the tutorial exactly as is.
For Ubuntu, we need a USB disk that’s 8GB so we can have all the files. If you’re working with any other ISO or operating system, the storage requirements will be different.
1. Download the ISO File
To create a bootable USB disk from the Ubuntu terminal, we need to download the ISO file first. In my case, I’m downloading the Ubuntu ISO file for version 20.04. You can choose to download the ISO for another operating system that you want to write to USB. You can follow this link to reach the Ubuntu download page – https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
Select the package which you wish to set up your bootable USB drive with. For this demonstration, we are using the Ubuntu 20.04 (Codename Focal Fossa). You can either directly download the file by clicking on the Download link on the page or use the wget command to get the file on your system.
2. Connect the USB drive
Once we have downloaded the correct disk image file, we will open the terminal and connect our USB drive. One that’s done, our next step is to figure out the drive name using the Linux fdisk -l command
This will give you a list of all the disk drives that are available on the system. You’ll see a separate section with just a single disk path like /dev/sdb1 with a mount path that’s different from the common ones in Linux (like /home/, /etc/, /boot/ etc.). With Ubuntu, the default mount point is in the /media/ directory. Mine was mounted on the /mnt/
3. Unmount the USB stick
Since Ubuntu automounts any external device that’s connected, we need to unmount it so we can proceed to write the ISO to the USB. We use the umountcommand for this purpose. This action can be executed in two different methods.
The first method will involve using the path at which our USB device has been mounted. This command should look like this.
In this particular case, we will use the command as given below.
This will unmount the USB disk from our system.
Alternatively, we can use the device’s name in this format.
In this particular case, we will use the command as given below to unmount the USB disk.
Now that the device has been unmounted, we will make a bootable drive using it.
4. Write the ISO to the USB Disk
Our USB disk has been unmounted and our ISO file is already downloaded on our system. Now we will make this USB drive bootable for Ubuntu 20.04 using one single command. This is how you enter this command in the terminal.
- This command requires us to use sudo privileges.
- The bstag reads the number of bytes which will be read from the source and written to the destination at a time.
- The second tag, if denotes the path of the input file for the function
- Whereas ofdenotes the path where the file has to be output to.
The thing about the dd command in Linux is that it will do anything you ask it to do without asking any questions. Hence, we need to use the command carefully. Before you begin writing, ensure that the output path is the path that you want to write the data to. There’s no turning back once the data has been written.
For our system, we will use the command as given below to create our bootable USB disk for Ubuntu 20.04.
This should start the process of writing the ISO image file on your USB disk and converting it into a bootable drive. You should see a screen as given below. Once you are done, which should take only a few minutes, your USB disk is ready to work as a USB bootable disk for Ubuntu 20.04.
Wrapping up
There are multiple methods to create a bootable USB disk for the Ubuntu OS. Using the terminal for the task is a commonly used method because it eliminates the need for you to install any additional software. Further, it often takes less time to create a bootable USB disk from the Ubuntu terminal as compared to other methods like using the Startup Disk Creator or installing some other software.
Hence this method is advisable even if you are not much comfortable with the terminal-based commands. It eliminates the need for any GUI software, which may be unavailable in some situations. The only major flaw in this method is the lack of a safe-check with the dd command, but it can be eliminated by carefully entering the command. This tutorial aimed to help you create a bootable USB disk from the Ubuntu terminal. If you have any feedback, queries or suggestions, feel free to reach out to us in the comments below.
Linux has long been synonymous with bootable flash drives, whether it’s to fix some sort of problem with your primary operating system, or for trying various distros.
There are a few ways to create an Ubuntu (or other Linux) bootable USB drive for Mac. You can go the freeware route for an easy option, or put a little bit of time into creating the drive yourself using Terminal. Let’s look at both methods.
First: Prepare Your USB Drive
When you’re looking to create a bootable Linux USB drive on a Mac, the first step is to make sure you’ve got the right USB drive for the job, and that it’s formatted correctly to avoid any problems.
Some Linux variants may require larger volumes, so pay attention to the requirements when downloading. Generally speaking, anything above 4GB will do the job. Others don’t have any strict requirements, but formatting to FAT beforehand is a good idea regardless.
Warning: Everything on your drive will be erased when you do this!
- Insert your USB drive into your Mac and launch Disk Utility (under Applications > Utilities, or search for it using Spotlight with Cmd + Space).
- Select your USB device in the menu on the left, then click Erase.
- Give it a name and choose MS-DOS (FAT) under Format and GUID Partition Map under Scheme.
- Hit Erase to apply the changes. If it fails, try again—sometimes the system doesn’t unmount the volume in time and the process will be unable to complete.
If you have persistent problems, try another USB drive. Now download a Linux distro to install on your USB stick, and you’re ready to get started.
Make a Bootable Linux USB Drive With Etcher
balenaEtcher is a free open source tool for burning disc images onto USB and SD drives. It makes creating bootable devices completely foolproof:
- Grab your desired Linux image, then download Etcher and install it.
- Insert your USB stick, then launch Etcher.
- Click Select image and find the Linux image you downloaded—Etcher supports IMG, ISO, and ZIP, among others.
- Ensure the correct USB device is selected—hit Change to see a list of connected devices.
- Finalize the process by clicking Flash and wait for the process to complete.
You’ll likely see an error message warning that your USB drive isn’t compatible with your Mac. That’s normal—simply eject and go. Your bootable Linux USB drive is now ready; you can now skip to the Booting Your USB Drive section below.
Create a Live USB Using the Terminal
If for some reason you don’t want to use Etcher (maybe you’re on an incompatible version of macOS), you can accomplish this task using the command line. It’s possible using Terminal, your Mac’s built-in command line interface.
While this method requires a little more thought and patience, it’s actually pretty straightforward. You might even learn something new, plus you’ll feel smart afterwards. Assuming you’ve formatted your drive per the earlier instructions, here’s how it works:
1. Convert Your ISO
Launch Terminal and take note of where your Linux disc image is stored in Finder. Convert your image (usually an ISO) to an IMG file using the hdiutil convert command:
Replace [/path/to/downloaded.iso] with the location of your own ISO (you can drag and drop directly into the Terminal window if you want) and [/path/to/newimage] to wherever you want the new image file to be created.
Note: Modern versions of macOS will automatically create a .DMG file. If your version doesn’t do this, try appending IMG to the end of your new image file name, such as [/path/to/newimage.img]
2. Write the Image to USB
Next, you’ll need to identify your drive’s mounted location so you can tell the Mac which drive to use. With Terminal open, use the following command to list all connected drives:
You’ll likely be able to identify the drive by its name, format, and size using a process of elimination. Take a note of the listing under the IDENTIFIER column, then unmount the drive using the following command:
You’ll need to replace [diskX] with the corresponding number, like disk3—if successful, Terminal will report that the disk was unmounted. If you’re having trouble unmounting a drive, you can launch Disk Utility, right-click on a drive, then choose Unmount (don’t eject the drive, though).
The final step is to write the image to your USB stick, using the dd command:
Replace [/path/to/newimage.dmg] with the path to the file created in the first step (again, drag and drop works best), and [diskN] with the location identified earlier. You’ll need to authorize with your administrator password immediately afterwards, since you used the sudo command.
You’re now done, and your drive is ready for booting.
Booting Your USB Drive
Assuming all went well, you’ll now have a USB drive that will let you boot into Linux. Plug it into the Mac you want to use it on, then shut down the computer.
Create Bootable Usb For Mac Ubuntu Usb
In order to access your Mac’s boot menu, you’ll need to hold the Option (Alt) key while it boots. The best way to do this is to shut down, hold the Option key, start your Mac, and wait. If you did it correctly, you’ll see a few options including your built-in hard drive and the USB device created earlier, titled EFI Boot.
To boot into Linux, select the USB device and click the arrow (or double-click it). Depending on what you’re using, you may get another menu which acts as a bootloader for your particular flavor of Linux.
If you have problems, or your USB drive won’t show up, try running the process again, using an alternative method above, running off a different USB stick or port, or consulting your respective distro’s help documentation.
The Best Way to Try Linux on Your Mac
Assuming all went well, you now have Linux running on your Mac and you can test it out or install it outright if you’re tired of macOS. You still have an Apple recovery partition which is accessible by holding Cmd + R while your machine boots. This can help you reinstall macOS (or apply other fixes) if you decide to go back.
There are other tools that claim to help you do this, but not all of them work, and some cost money. Unetbootin is still a popular choice for Linux and Windows users, but is not as good as Etcher on a Mac (and has some issues on newer versions of macOS).
There’s also our old favorite Mac Linux USB Loader, which is open source and actively maintained. It’ll cost you $5 for a pre-compiled binary, assuming you don’t want to download Xcode and compile it yourself. This low entry fee helps keep the project maintained, but it’s hard to justify paying for something when there are perfectly good free alternatives.
Create Bootable Ubuntu Usb For Mac On Windows
For more, check out how to install macOS from a USB flash drive. And if you’d prefer to install Linux on your internal drive, our guide on how to dual-boot Linux on your Mac is your essential next read.
Create Bootable Usb For Mac Ubuntu Windows 10
Read the full article: How to Create and Boot From a Linux USB Drive on Mac