Create a bootable USB stick on Ubuntu

Create a bootable USB stick on Ubuntu 

You will need:

  • A 4GB or larger USB stick/flash drive
  • Ubuntu Desktop 14.04 or later installed
  • An Ubuntu ISO file.

We’re going to use an application called ‘Startup Disk Creator’ to write the ISO image to your USB stick. This is installed by default on Ubuntu, and can be launched as follows:

  1. Insert your USB stick (select ‘Do nothing’ if prompted by Ubuntu)
  2. On Ubuntu 18.04 and later, use the bottom left icon to open ‘Show Applications’
  3. In older versions of Ubuntu, use the top left icon to open the dash
  4. Use the search field to look for Startup Disk Creator
  5. Select Startup Disk Creator from the results to launch the application

It’s likely that both your Ubuntu ISO and the correct USB device will have been detected and set as ‘Source disc image’ and ‘Disk to use’ in the application window. If not, use the ‘Other’ button to locate your ISO file and select the exact USB device you want to use from the list of devices.

Click Make Startup Disk to start the process.

Before making any permanent changes, you will be asked to confirm the USB device you’ve chosen is correct. This is important because any data currently stored on this device will be destroyed.

After confirming, the writing process will start and a progress bar appears.

USB write progress

That’s it! You now have Ubuntu on a USB stick, bootable, and ready to go.

Popular Posts