- How to Write ISO to USB on Linux
- Way 1: Burn ISO to USB Linux Using UNetbootin
- Way 2: Write ISO to USB Linux Use Using DD Tool
- Way 3: Linux Create Bootable USB from ISO Using Gnome Disks
- Way 4: Make Bootable USB from ISO Linux Using Etcher
- Additional Tips: Best Way to Burn ISO to USB on Windows
- Wrapping Up
- 10 Useful Tools to Create Bootable USB from an ISO Image
- 1. Rufus
- 2. UNetbootin
- 3. Balena Etcher
- 4. Ventoy
- 5. Universal USB Installer
- 6. Yumi
- 7. PowerISO
- 8. GNOME Multiwriter
- 9. MultiBootUSB
- 10. ImageUSB Writer
How to Write ISO to USB on Linux
Traditionally, the Linux system users used to burn the ISO to a CD or DVD. However, these days, there are several computers which do not have any disc drives at all. This is why it is better to burn the ISO to a bootable USB drive. This is a better solution because the USB drive will work on almost every computer system out there. Not just this, but it will run, boot and install at a much faster rate too. This article will talk about the different ways in which you can burn the ISO to USB Linux system.
Way 1: Burn ISO to USB Linux Using UNetbootin
One of the most user-friendly tools to burn ISO to USB linux is UNetbootin. You can use this tool in the following way for burning Linux ISO to USB bootable.
Step 1: Download the Linux distribution ISO image which you require.
Step 2: Install and launch UNetbootin on your system.
Step 3: Select the space provided in front of «Diskimage» on the window open.
Step 4: Locate the ISO file by clicking on «. » icon.
Step 5: Click on «Open» once you have selected the ISO file which you need to burn.
Step 6: Connect your USB flash drive to the system on which UNetbootin is running.
Step 7: Select the USB drive from the «Type» drop down menu.
Step 8: Click on «OK» and then on «Exit» when prompted.
The entire process will take a little while to get completed based on the size of the ISO file which you are burning.
Way 2: Write ISO to USB Linux Use Using DD Tool
Unix-like operating systems like Linux use dd command line for converting and copying files. You can use this tool to burn ISO to USB in Linux systems by following the steps mentioned below to write ISO to USB linux.
Step 1: Insert the USB drive into your system and find the name of the inserted USB by using the following command: $ df -hT .
Step 2: Enter the following command once you have found your USB drive name: $ sudo dd if=/dev/sdb1 of=/home/tecmint/Documents/Linux_Mint_19_XFCE.iso
Replace » /dev/sdb1 » with the name of your USB drive and replace » /home….iso » with the location of your ISO file.
Step 3: Once you are done with this, verify if the ISO image by typing the following command: $ ls -l /home/tecmint/Documents/Linux_Mint_19_XFCE.iso
Although this way is pretty effective, it is a little complicated for the novice users.
Way 3: Linux Create Bootable USB from ISO Using Gnome Disks
Gnome disk is a tool which is used in the Linux systems to manage the media and disk drives. You can install Gnome disk and then use it for the process of linux create bootable USB from ISO by following the steps below.
Step 1: Run the command as mentioned in the image on your Linux system to install Gnome disk.
Step 2: Launch this tool and select the bootable device from the list on the left side of the screen and then click on the disk options to select «Create Partition Image».
Step 3: On the pop-up window, set the name of ISO file, select its location and then click on «Start Creating…».
This is a much simpler way but if you still want to try out a different way, move on to the next option.
Way 4: Make Bootable USB from ISO Linux Using Etcher
Etcher is a relatively new tool which can be used for cross-platform image burning process. You can navigate to the official website of Etcher and follow the instructions on screen to burn ISO to USB drive.
This tool is presently in the Beta stage and does have some technical issues. Therefore, this solution would not be 100% effective in giving you the desirable outcome.
Additional Tips: Best Way to Burn ISO to USB on Windows
One of the best ways to burn ISO to USB on Windows is by using PassFab for ISO which is a highly effective tool. This tool does not just successfully help you in burning ISO to USB on Windows but it also carries out this process in a much faster and safer way. In order to know how you can burn ISO to USB on Windows using this tool, you follow the steps mentioned below.
Step 1: Download the tool on your computer, install it and then launch it.
Step 3: Click on the space provided before «USB Flash Drive» and then click on «Burn».
Step 4: Confirm the process by clicking on «Yes» on the pop-up dialogue box.
Step 5: The progress of the process of burning ISO to USB will be shown on the screen.
Step 6: Once the process is complete, you will be notified, click on «OK» to finish.
This is the best way to burn ISO to USB on your Windows system.
Wrapping Up
Through this article, you can now easily carry out the process of burning ISO to USB on a Linux system easily. Although some of the above mentioned procedures lack in certain areas, they are pretty effective. Some of the methods are way too complicated while some of them take a long time to complete. In order to overcome these fallbacks, you can opt to download PassFab for ISO and experience faster burning of ISO to USB. Not only is this method fast, but it is also very simple too. This is why it is highly recommended to be used whenever you want to burn ISO to USB.
10 Useful Tools to Create Bootable USB from an ISO Image
CD and DVD writers are a thing of the past. You are not likely to find them in modern-day laptops. If your goal is to create a bootable medium, then creating a bootable USB drive from an ISO file remains your best option.
There are quite a number of tools that can help you create a bootable USB drive. Some will even go further and let you create a multi-boot USB drive where you get to choose the OS that you want to install.
Here are some of the widely-used utilities for creating a bootable USB drive from an ISO file in Linux desktop systems.
1. Rufus
We start off our list with Rufus which is arguably one of the most popular bootable USB creation utilities. It’s a free tool that you can download and create bootable USB pen drives, memory sticks, etc. It is particularly helpful when you want to create a USB installation medium from an ISO image or work on a system with no OS installed.
Rufus is a portable utility that comes with a small footprint – 1.3MB only. No installation is required. You just need to double-click on the executable file to launch the UI and start creating your USB bootable medium from an ISO image of your choice (both Windows and Linux).
Unfortunately, Rufus is only supported on Windows and the developer has not yet ported it to Linux as yet. If you are looking for an alternative that works on Linux, read on.
2. UNetbootin
UNetbootin is a free and cross-platform utility for creating live bootable USB drives using an ISO image from all the major Linux distributions, even the lesser-known ones such as Tails, and AntiX.
It doesn’t employ distribution-specific rules for creating bootable USB drives, and therefore, most of the Linux ISO images should load without a problem.
Apart from creating a Live bootable medium, you get other system repair tools and utilities for example:
- Parted Magic
- SystemRescueCD
- Smart Boot Manager
- Dr.Web AntivirusF-Secure Rescue CD
- Super Grub Disk
- Backtrack
- Ophcrack
3. Balena Etcher
Developed & Maintained by the Balena team, Balena Etcher is a free and open source for writing image files such as .img and .iso onto USB drives and creating Live bootable pen drives and SD cards.
Etcher is a cross-platform tool and is available for download on Windows, macOS, and Linux (both 32-bit and 64-bit). It provides a very elegant yet simple UI that provides a smooth experience while writing your image files.
4. Ventoy
Ventoy is yet another utility that lets you not only create an ordinary USB bootable medium but also allows you to create a multiboot USB drive with several OS options.
In fact, Ventoy takes away the need to format your USB drive over and over again. Simply copy the ISO file to your Pendrive drive and boot it. You can copy multiple ISO files concurrently and Ventoy will provide a boot menu to select your preferred image to boot from. Ventoy supports over 420 ISO files.
- Cross-platform (Windows, Linux).
- Support for both Legacy and UEFI BIOS modes.
- Support for ISO images larger than 4GB.
- MBR and GPT partition style supported (1.0.15+).
- USB drive write-protected support.
- You can directly boot from ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files. No extraction is required.
And many more. Check out Ventoy’s additional features.
5. Universal USB Installer
Abbreviated as UUI, Universal USB Installer is a Live Linux Bootable USB Creator Software that allows you to easily create a bootable USB from your favorite Linux distribution or Windows installer. It runs only on the Windows operating system.
In addition to that, you also get additional tools such as USB Boot Rescue tools such as Comodo and BitDefender Rescue CD, and bootable software such as Hirens Boot CD.
6. Yumi
Yumi – short for ‘Your Universal Multiboot Installer’ – is another tool that you can leverage to create a multiboot USB drive. It’s the predecessor of the Universal USB installer and allows you to create a Multiboot USB Flash Drive containing multiple ISO files on the fly and start using it to boot your preferred Live Linux OS.
Key features of Yumi USB creator include:
- Runs only on the Windows operating system.
- An option to reformat your USB drive.
- Support for both Legacy and UEFI BIOS modes.
- Affinity for Ubuntu-derived Distributions.
- Download links to make it easy to get the related ISO files.
- A website link to help you learn more about the YUMI.
- A feature to remove installed items on the USB drive to facilitate cleanup.
7. PowerISO
PowerISO is a robust and fully-featured application for burning CDs/DVDs. In addition, It allows you to extract, burn, create, encrypt, compress, and convert ISO images and mount them on an external drive.
It provides an all-in-one solution allowing you to do whatever you want with your files.
At a glance, PowerISO allows you to:
- Supports Windows, Linux, and macOS.
- Create a bootable USB drive from an ISO image.
- Create bootable ISO files and create bootable CDs and DVDs.
- Open and extract ISO files with a single click.
- Rip multimedia files including audio files such as MP3, WMA FLAC.
- Burn audio files from MP3, and WMA FLAC to CDs / DVDs.
- Ability to edit ISO files directly.
- Create ISO or BIN files from CDs / DVDs.
8. GNOME Multiwriter
GNOME Multi-writer is a utility for Linux systems that is used to write an ISO file to multiple USB devices at a go.
It supports USB drives of up to 32GB in size. It was originally written as part of the ColorHug project, but later on, shifted direction and became an independent application in 2015.
9. MultiBootUSB
MultiBootUSB is a free and open-source cross-platform tool that also allows users to install multiple Live Linux distributions on a USB drive and boot from it. It provides a simple and user-friendly UI that enhances the seamless creation of the bootable USB drive.
- Supports Windows, Linux, and macOS.
- Automatic detection of ISO files.
- Works on both USB and external hard drives.
- Preservation of files on the USB drive without deletion.
- Installed images can be uninstalled without affecting other files in the drive.
- Ability to install multiple distributions at a time on the command line.
- The list of supported distributions is constantly updating.
10. ImageUSB Writer
Last on the list is the ImageUSB Writer. Just like GNOME multi-writer and multi-boot USB, this is a free utility for Windows systems only that allows you to write an ISO file concurrently to several USB devices. It also supports direct imaging between the devices.
ImageUSB writer is also a perfect tool for mass duplication of USB flash drives. The application is also capable of reformatting a USB device, as well as MBR and GPT entries for wider disk space.
That was a roundup of some of the utilities that you can leverage to create a bootable USB drive from an ISO image in Linux. We have compiled tools that work on both Linux and Windows in case you are working on either system. That is all for now. Your feedback is highly welcome.