Bootable USB stick#

This is how to create a bootable USB drive.

Preferably, opt for the same OS for this operation as the bootable USB you want to burn (Windows-stick on Windows, Ubuntu-stick on Ubuntu). It is possible to do it the other way around but it's just more hassle...

Before you start, check your USB stick is empty or you've already backed up the files!

Ubuntu boot#

1. Download Ubuntu image (ISO file) that you want to install
2. Plug in USB stick, open it and ensure it actually contains what you believe!
3. Create a bootable USB drive for Ubuntu.
   • on Windows: use Rufus. Usage is pretty straight-forward, but you can find instructions on the site.

   • on Ubuntu

     dd bs=4M oflag=sync status=progress if=ISO_FILE of=USB_DEVICE
     
     where:
     ISO_FILE            Ubuntu image file
     USB_DEVICE          USB drive device (e.g. /dev/sdb)
     

Windows boot#

1. Plug in USB stick, open and confirm its contents match your expectation!
2. Create Windows bootable USB drive
   • on Windows: use "MediaCreationTool", the native Windows tool for this purpose
   • on Ubuntu: it's a bit complicated, but you can use WoeUSB
     1. Download Bash script from WoeUSB releases and make executable

        wget https://github.com/WoeUSB/WoeUSB/releases/download/v5.2.4/woeusb-5.2.4.bash
        chmod +x woeusb-5.2.4.bash
        

     2. Install dependencies

        apt install wimtools
        

     3. Download Windows ISO

     4. Burn ISO to USB

        sudo ./woeusb-5.2.4.bash --device ISO_FILE USB_DEVICE
        
        where:
        ISO_FILE            Windows image file
        USB_DEVICE          USB drive device (e.g. /dev/sdb)