Do I necessarily need rufus or another tool to install an OS iso on a laptop with a usb boot?

RazlyTwo

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Do I necessarily need rufus or another tool to install an OS iso on a laptop with a usb boot?
 


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for direct to HDD or V/M you will normally download the ISO as an image, this has to be written to a usb as a bootable iso image or it will not load
BUT there ia a way to install to a vm without the usb Link to article but its a bit more complicated

If your using Windows 10/11 you can install some distributions using WSL
 
Do I necessarily need rufus or another tool to install an OS iso on a laptop with a usb boot?
If you're asking whether you need to use any tool at all as opposite to some manual setup then yes,
the only pure blood manual setup I can think of is burning the ISO to a DVD.

If your using Windows 10/11 you can install some distributions using WSL
I'm not aware of install via WSL, but I had only bad experience with WSL, it was buggy to setup last time I used it and didn't even start properly.
 
I'm not aware of install via WS
Options read carefully
 
Options read carefully
This is new to me, the question is, does WSL modify the ISO like rufus and other similar tools...

Also I'm really surprised MS would offer an official method on how to install Linux on Windows, it's rather strange, isn't Linux their competition? it's really odd.
 
Rufus doesn't work in Linux...use Etcher. Don't take notice of anything m$ says...it's very easy to download a Linux ISO and install it from the Distros web site..eg Linux Mint...
https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

1717133481315.gif
 
If it doesn't pass the double test of loading from a 'YUMi-exFAT' USB flash unit then survive rebooting after an install (from its "live" RAMDisk) that's just too bad but i've started to feel very selective these days. By chance there's enough to get busy with periodic updates and all... Think of it, the select OSes that prove compatible ARE obviously "aware" of elements responsible for the critical phase of its EFi System Partition - one reason why i always leave that of Microsoft/Windows alone: sometimes the setup procedure fails before it's viable. YUMi-exFAT manages with that, the machine dealing with the machine and i like it that way!

:cool:
 
Asking just for clarification. Does the USB image writer supplied with Mint Cinnamon still work well? With the exception of the very first time I downloaded a Linux iso, it's what I've always used. But it's been a while. :D
 
A couple years ago i had a habit of manually "patching" ISOs, incl. Mint' with 'ia32' components so to self-install on my former Atom 32/64 hybrid tablet. It worked at 1st but then auto-updates caused it to self-destroy, eventually... Idem for MX of which 1 release worked out of the box once but i'm afraid Linux's credo happens to be « Fix once, break many »! That means plenty of downloads and trials rendering "image" writers a moot option when in fact very few selections even from a same flavour will guarantee nothing, like the usual Mint vs its LMDE alternative exactly: one succeeds where the other dies early.

Parallel to that, some more questions impose themselves during a new installation, as when a need to modify BiOS options may arise from the BitLocker security feature; which is how i finally managed to brick my Atom tablet despite all of the previous practice.

Good luck finding a new pair of linuxian shoes in any case!

:rolleyes:
 
The USB Image Writer in Linux Mint works just as well as Etcher but remember to verify the ISO... otherwise you might get this...
1717222841021.png

The above was from the Clarkson University mirror on Mint's site...if you get this...try another one.
1717223087915.gif
 
Thanks folks. With all the talk of the various super duper applications used for an install I was wondering if I have been missing something important by using the OEM application supplied with the OS. ;)
I don't use it much. I started my Linux experience with Mint Cinnamon and never felt any need to try a different distro. I did run Ubuntu in Virtualbox for a bit but didn't find anything that seemed like an improvement to me. I just deleted the thing after a while as I couldn't figure out how keep the file manager from displaying icons rather than a directory tree with details.
But I have been thinking of creating a new install medium as the one I have is Mint 21.2. Getting a bit dated. ;)
 
I'm not sure when Mint 22 will come out, but I would imagine in the next month or two. Might be worth holding off until then? Just my $0.02. You can always do a LM 21.3 install medium that's for sure. You'd at least have the latest in that case. :)
 


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