Linux Live Usb Creator Alternatives
Luar Ehria
Note: If you do not have the tool for some reason, you could use one of the commands below (appropriate for your system). It should be in the standard repositories for all major distributions:
Yes, there is UNetbootin itself. UNetbootin can be installed from the default Ubuntu repositories. UNetbootin from the default Ubuntu repositories will run natively in Ubuntu without any problems. UNetbootin is more versatile than you might think. Many Linux distros that are not on UNetbootin's supported list of distros can be installed successfully on a USB flash drive using UNetbootin. There is one big thing that UNetbootin can't do however. UNetbootin sometimes has trouble booting Ubuntu on certain models of older hardware. In such cases the Ubuntu Mini CD can often be used to install Ubuntu. Since the Ubuntu Mini CD is small (less than 40MB) and text only, it can often boot successfully, even when a full-sized Ubuntu DVD/USB can't boot.
UNetbootin has been dropped from the Ubuntu 18.04 repositories. When I tested the built-in Startup Disk Creator application as a UNetbootin replacement app with 5 non-*buntu live .iso images it worked in Ubuntu 18.04.
mkusb works in and with all current versions and flavours of Ubuntu. It works also in and with several other linux distros, and can create boot drives with Windows 7-10. (Creating persistent live drives is limited to Ubuntu, Debian Jessie and distros with the same boot structure.)
The classic mkusb version 11 has many features and is polished and debugged. The next/new mkusb version 12 (alias dus with the graphical user interface guidus) has a simplified user interface, that is very easy to use. It is getting ready to become the default version very soon, after a period of testing and debugging.
I'm trying to create a bootable USB stick of ubuntu-11.10-desktop-i386.iso using usb-creator-gtk on my ThinkPad X220. Usb-creator-gtk appears to work OK, but the resulting stick fails to boot either of my laptops. I tried two different USB sticks. Boot just shows a blinking cursor.
One more clue: After usb-creator-gtk exits, the activity light on my USB drive continues to blink for a minute or so, and even after that's done, /media/XXXX-XXXX and /tmp/tmpXXXXXX remain mounted. I have been manually umounting them before pulling out the stick.
It uses dd under the hood to clone the content of a hybrid iso file to a target block device (USB drive, memory card ...). Most current linux iso files are hybrid iso files. You can say that mkusb-nox (as well as mkusb with a GUI) 'wraps a safety belt' around dd.
Rufus is an open-source utility to create bootable USB drives. It is straightforward to use, with available options to tweak as per your requirements. Not just the ease of use, it is also incredibly fast to make bootable USB drives.
I did not find it in the software center for Ubuntu, but it was available in the community repositories (Manjaro) and AUR. So, you can take a look at it if it is available for your Linux distribution.
UNetbootin is a live USB creator that supports Linux, Windows, and macOS. You get a few options to tweak, in case you want to explore all the available drives, and can also select a distribution to download the ISO file automatically.
You only have to install Ventoy to the USB drive, which makes two separate partitions. One of the partitions is used to store ISO images that you can simply paste into the USB drive to make it bootable.
There are multiple desktops available for use with Fedora. Each has a slightly different look and feel and offers varying levels of customization. You can use the Fedora Workstation image, which comes with the GNOME desktop by default, and then change your environment afterwards by installing additional packages, or you can download a spin image which will give you a different environment out of the box. Visit Fedora Spins for more information.
You can also take advantage of Fedora Labs. Fedora Labs is a selection of curated bundles of purpose-driven software and content as curated and maintained by members of the Fedora Community. These may be installed as standalone full versions of Fedora or as add-ons to existing Fedora installations. Visit Fedora Labs for details.@
The official and supported tool to create a Fedora USB stick is the Fedora Media Writer utility, which was formerly known as LiveUSB Creator. See Fedora Media Writer guide in Fedora User Documentation overview.
Fedora Media Writer destroys all data on the USB stick. If you need a non-destructive write method (to preserve existing data on your USB stick) or support for 'data persistence', you can use the livecd-iso-to-disk utility on Fedora.
This method is for people running Linux, or another unix with GNOME, Nautilus, and GNOME Disks installed. Particularly, if you are using a distribution other than Fedora which does not support Flatpak, this may be the easiest available method. A standard installation of Fedora, or a standard GNOME installation of many other distributions, should be able to use this method. On Fedora, ensure the packages nautilus and gnome-disk-utility are installed. Similar graphical direct-write tools may be available for other desktops, or you may use the command-line direct write method.
The livecd-iso-to-disk method is slightly less reliable than Fedora Media Writer and can be used reliably only from within Fedora: it does not work in Windows or macOS, and is not supported (and will usually fail) in non-Fedora distributions. However, it supports three advanced features which FMW does not include:
You may use a non-destructive method to create the stick, meaning existing files on the stick will not be destroyed. This is less reliable than the destructive write methods, and should be used only if you have no stick you can afford to wipe.
On live images, you can include a feature called a persistent overlay, which allows changes made to persist across reboots. You can perform updates just like a regular installation to your hard disk, except that kernel updates require manual intervention and overlay space may be insufficient. Without a persistent overlay, the stick will return to a fresh state each time it is booted.
It is not a good idea to try and write a new Fedora release using the version of livecd-iso-to-disk in a much older Fedora release: it is best to only use a release a maximum of two versions older than the release you are trying to write.
To make an existing USB stick bootable as a Fedora image, without deleting any of the data on it, make sure that the USB drive is not mounted before executing the following, and give the root password when prompted:
To enable 'data persistence' support - so changes you make to the entire live environment will persist across boots - add the --overlay-size-mb parameter to add a persistent data storage area to the target stick. For example:
Here, 2048 is the desired size (in megabytes) of the overlay. The livecd-iso-to-disk tool will not accept an overlay size value greater than 4095 for VFAT, but for ext[234] filesystems it is only limited by the available space.
The output will contain something like snapshot 42296/204800, indicating that 4229 of 204800 512-byte sectors are allocated. Because of these limitations, it is advisable to use the system-level persistence sparingly, for configuration changes and important security updates only. Or, if you have sufficient disk space available, changes to the LiveOS root filesystem snapshot can be merged into a new copy of the root filesystem.
This method will destroy all data on the USB stick. If you need a non-destructive write method, to preserve existing data on your USB stick, and/or support for data persistence, you can use the livecd-iso-to-disk utility on Fedora.
This method directly writes the image to the USB stick much like Fedora Media Writer or GNOME Disk Utility, but uses a command line utility named dd. Like the other direct write methods, it will destroy all data on the stick and does not support any of the advanced features like data persistence, but it is a very reliable method. The dd tool is available on most Unix-like operating systems, including Linux distributions and macOS, and a Windows port is available. This may be your best method if you cannot use Fedora Media Writer or GNOME Disk Utility, or just if you prefer command line utilities and want a simple, quick way to write a stick.
Unmount all mounted partition from that device. This is very important, otherwise the written image might get corrupted. You can umount all mounted partitions from the device with umount /dev/sdX*, where X is the appropriate letter, e.g. umount /dev/sdc*.
UNetbootin may work in some cases but not others - for instance, it will likely create a stick that is bootable in BIOS mode, but not UEFI mode. Fedora cannot guarantee support for UNetbootin-written images.
While your results may vary, it is usually the case that the Fedora Media Writer, livecd-iso-to-disk, GNOME, and dd methods give better results than UNetbootin. If you encounter problems with UNetbootin, please contact the UNetbootin developers, not the Fedora developers.
UNetbootin is a graphical, bootable USB image creator. Using it will allow you to preserve any data you have in the USB drive. If you have trouble booting, however, you may wish to try with a blank, cleanly FAT32-formatted drive.
Download the latest UNetbootin version from the official site and install it. On Linux, the download is an executable file: save it somewhere, change it to be executable using chmod ugo+x filename or a file manager, and then run it.
As the machine starts to reboot, watch carefully for instructions on which key to press. Usually a function key, Escape, Tab, F11, F12 or Delete is to be pressed to enter the boot device selection menu, BIOS setup, firmware, or UEFI. Press and hold that key. If you miss the window of opportunity, often only a few seconds, then reboot and try again. (If this does not work, consult the manual of your computer)
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