Are you tired of constantly having to burn CDs or DVDs to install Linux on your computer? Or maybe you don’t have a CD/DVD drive on your computer at all? Fear not, because with a bootable USB drive, you can easily install Linux on your computer without the hassle of burning discs. In this article, we will guide you through the process of making a Linux bootable USB drive.
What You Will Need
Before we get started, you will need a few things:
- A USB drive with at least 4GB of storage
- A computer running Linux (we will be using Ubuntu for this tutorial)
- An ISO file of the Linux distribution you want to install (e.g. Linux Mint, Ubuntu, etc.)
Step 1: Format the USB Drive
The first step is to format your USB drive. This will erase all the data on the drive, so make sure you have backed up any important files. To format the drive, open the “Disks” application on your Linux computer. Select your USB drive from the list on the left, then click on the “Format Disk” button. Choose a name for your drive and select “FAT” as the file system. Click “Format” to begin the process.
Step 2: Download and Install UNetbootin
Next, you will need to download and install UNetbootin, a free and open-source tool for creating bootable USB drives. You can download it from the official website or install it using the command line on your Linux computer. Once installed, open UNetbootin.
Step 3: Select the ISO File
In UNetbootin, select the “Diskimage” option and click on the “…” button to browse for the ISO file of the Linux distribution you want to install. Once you have selected the ISO file, make sure your USB drive is selected in the “Drive” dropdown menu.
Step 4: Create the Bootable USB Drive
Click on the “OK” button to begin the process of creating the bootable USB drive. This may take a few minutes, depending on the size of the ISO file and the speed of your USB drive.
Step 5: Boot from the USB Drive
Once the process is complete, restart your computer and enter the BIOS settings. You can usually access the BIOS by pressing a key (such as F2 or Delete) during the boot process. In the BIOS settings, change the boot order so that your computer boots from the USB drive first. Save the changes and exit the BIOS.
Step 6: Install Linux
Your computer should now boot from the USB drive and you will be presented with the installation process for your chosen Linux distribution. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Congratulations, you now have a bootable USB drive for installing Linux on your computer! This method can also be used to create a bootable USB drive for installing Windows 10 on a computer running Linux. Simply download the Windows 10 ISO file and follow the same steps outlined above.
Have you successfully created a bootable USB drive using this method? Let us know in the comments.
