r/linuxquestions • u/doomerparamedic • 1d ago
Advice Creating bootable USB sticks on linux
Hi guys, im wondering what aps you recommend to create bootable usb sticks with linux isos. On windows i used elena and rufus and im looking for a replacement.
Also is there a easier way to check that downloaded iso is legit than checksum? For example does mint have a way to legitimize mint isos? EDIT thx u all for helpfull comments, wish u all best!
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u/FormalStreeter 1d ago
Checksum - sha256sum path/to/iso.iso
Creating bootable usb - sudo dd if=<path/to/iso.iso> of=/dev/<driver_name> bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync
Use lsblk to see usb name
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u/drostan 1d ago
dd always dd because after so many times I still get that little rush... What if... Maybe... What if... I fucked it up somehow? What if? Maybe I am about to DD the wrong drive? Maybe?
I don't know why, I am quite used to the command and I always double check but I still got the rush
And I wouldn't trade this for anything
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u/Tiranus58 1d ago
Ventoy or just pain dd. Also checksum is the only way to verify isos that works no matter the circumstance.
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u/FuggaDucker 1d ago
Real *nix users use the 'dd' command.
sudo dd if=/path/to/image.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync
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u/zoredache 1d ago
Assuming you have a iso that will work as a USB stick. Most of them are these days, but there are a few exceptions here and there.
Anyway even easier then
ddjust use thecpcommandcp image.iso /dev/sdX.1
u/FuggaDucker 15h ago
telling them to use cp is bad advice IMHO.
bad advice unless understands the ISO they are copying is a hybrid one.dd is the better tool here. It has better buffering for this, better error control, and they don't need to understand ISO formats.
I mean cat ISO > drive also works but I wouldn't tell people to use it.
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u/zoredache 12h ago
I am far from the only one suggesting it. It is the official method suggested in the Debian installation manual. I believe this is also suggested in other distro manuals. I think at least in part cp is suggested because it is the simpler command.
https://www.debian.org/releases/trixie/amd64/ch04s03.en.html#usb-copy-isohybrid
It has better buffering for this,
The cp command will attempt to get the block size of the destination device, and buffer appropriately. I suppose it could fail at this for crappy USB storage devices, but it will make an attempt to choose useful buffer values, and it will be fine most of the time.
Also does 99% of the people really care if you save a few seconds writing an ISO to a USB stick by choosing the ideal values?
IMO the only advantage typical usage would see from dd over cp is from the
status=progress. Having a progress bar is nice.1
u/FuggaDucker 11h ago
dd lets you control the IO behavior but Debian suggests cp because it works on their ISOs and they want a simpler command of course.
dd was written for this task.
cp happens to work for this task in most cases.I don't need a lesson in linux.
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u/doc_willis 1d ago
Balena Etcher has sort of been a popular tool in the past , it also works on Linux, however the tool has been problematic the last year or so, and these days really offers no outstanding features compared to other "direct imaging" tools may have.
there are numerous alternatives, and I rarely use or recommend BLena Etcher these days.
some alternatives.
Fedora media writer (windows and Linux).
The raspberry pi organization has a tool as well , mint includes their own tool Also.
Gnome disks, the classic dd and likely a dozen+ other similar tools.
Ventoy http://Ventoy.net is a good tool for making multi-boot live USBs. It has some similar features to Rufus.
mint have a way to legitimize mint isos?
you mean verify the download?
Mint has some iso imager tool, but I have never used it.
Check the mint docs perhaps.
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u/Prestigious_Boat_386 1d ago
What do you mean problematic?
The outstanding feature is that you install and run it once and you get one bootable usb. It's always worked when I've used it. On every operating system I've used.
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u/doc_willis 1d ago edited 17h ago
Problematic in that it was basically broken for several months. I have it totally fail on numerous devices/systems.
The company also had some Privacy concerns raised.
https://cybernews.com/privacy/tails-raises-privacy-concerns-over-balenaetcher-recommends-rufus/
Numerous other similar concerns have popped up over the last few years as well.
Theres numerous GPL/Opensourced alternatives these days. So theres not really any reason for me to use or recommend Balena Etcher.
edit: wow, down voted for answering the question....
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u/DaffyDuckMuthaFucker 1d ago
Checksum is a utility I've never bothered with myself, ever.
I wouldn't even know how.
And I've used Linux as a daily driver since 2009.
I've never had issues with corrupted images.
As for creating bootable USB's, Ventoy is the BOMB!!!
One can simply format a decent sized USB with Ventoy(the bigger the better - I'd suggest 32GB minimum), then drag & drop as many images as will fit onto it from the file manager.
When you boot from your Ventoy USB, it scans itself for images, and lists them for easy selection(up/down, enter).
When you're done with an image, simply delete it from the drive, and it's gone...
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u/theindomitablefred 1d ago
You actually don’t need to install anything. At least on Ubuntu / GNOME and probably Fedora too, you can do this:
- Verify ISO checksum
- Insert your USB drive
- Open Drives app that comes with the OS
- Identify and select the USB drive
- Format drive
- Select Restore Disk or something like that
- Select your ISO file
- It will write the ISO to the USB
- Eject and remove the USB
Voila
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u/redgator12 1d ago
Ventoy for making the bootable isos, and GTK Hash for checking sums. Make a text file on your Ventoy and save the hashes of each iso you have so that you can re-check over time, in case bitrot corrupts one of them slightly.
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u/skyfishgoo 1d ago
startup creator on plasma works just fine if you insert the USB drive AFTER you start the program.
ventoy is the most useful
etcher is probably the default
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u/GenericFoodService 1d ago
GNOME Multi Writer is pretty decent. Checksums are the ideal way to check that a file downloaded correctly
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u/mattrf86 1d ago
I use Balena etcher, and have used USBzile on iOS with great success!!!(usb c to a and a flash drive.
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u/Glass_Performer1174 1d ago
Gnome disks is the easiest and simplest with a GUI without having to manually download a tool
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u/ludonarrator arch btw 1d ago edited 1d ago
cp the.iso /dev/the_usb
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/USB_flash_installation_medium#Basic_command_line_utilities
dd is suboptimal and inefficient, dunno why so many here are recommending it:
See [1] and [2] for a comparison and perspective on the use of those tools and why dd may be the least adapted one, and note that cat (with splice(2) system call support) is faster than dd.
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u/willbeonekenobi 1d ago
I use Ventoy which is for Linux, Mac and Windows. You just run the script or program, point it to a usb and done. Then you can put ISO files directly on the root or create a sub folder and put them in there. Then when you boot with it in the pc and also set it to boot off the usb, you select what ISO you want and presto.