Warning: This will erase the contents of the target USB drive. Check your Linux distribution’s documentation-you can search for it online-for more information.įor Windows users, we recommend Rufus for creating a live USB drive the easy way. If you’re using another Linux distribution, it may include a similar utility. The default Ubuntu installation includes an application called Startup Disk Creator, which we shall use to create our bootable USB drive. How to Make a Bootable USB Drive Graphically While we’re using Ubuntu as an example here, this will work similarly with other Linux distributions. (On some PCs, you may also have to disable Secure Boot, depending on the Linux distribution you choose.) Just insert the resulting USB drive into any computer and boot from the USB device. If you want to be able to save changes and data you need to create a bootable USB drive with persistent storage.

Each time you boot into the Ubuntu from this USB drive it will be a fresh instance of Ubuntu. To be clear, this bootable USB drive will boot into a working copy of Ubuntu Linux but it will not save any changes you make. You will require an Ubuntu installation ISO image to create the bootable USB drive, so make sure you have downloaded the version of Ubuntu you wish to use.

When you are ready to install Ubuntu, you can use the USB drive as the installation medium. It allows you to try out the popular Unix-like operating system without making changes to the computer.

A bootable USB drive provides the same experience to the user as an Ubuntu Live DVD. Whichever method you choose, you’ll need the Linux distribution’s ISO file.įor example, Ubuntu Linux has two built-in methods for creating a bootable USB drive. You can also use the dd command to do this from a terminal on any Linux distro. There are two ways to do this: Some Linux distributions include a graphical USB startup disk creator tool that will do it for you. While you don’t technically “burn” the ISO file to a USB drive, there’s a special process required to take a Linux ISO file and make a bootable USB drive with it. You can’t simply copy or extract the ISO file to the USB drive and expect it to work, however. You can also install a Linux distribution on your PC from it-no CD or DVD drive required.

Like a live CD or DVD, a bootable USB drive lets you run practically any Linux distribution without affecting your computer.

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