Haven't used a Linux distro in a few years but having trouble now with ISO file on USB stick

Ricardo Maxwell

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In the past, I have installed Ubuntu and several releases of Mint on older laptops and desktops. Now I can only seem to find ISO files of operating systems. I want to help a friend who is not computer savvy at all install a linux distro on his old laptop. Probably Xubuntu for starters. I downloaded several distros, Mint, Bhodi, Xubuntu,etc...to a USB stick. I tried twice to burn the ISO file to DVD with express burn. Two failures. DVD would not load after burning. I cannot right click on the ISO file on the USB stick and get the MOUNT option. Even tried adding to the registry (I know that is dangerous but I am desperate) so the the MOUNT option appears (using Windows 10).Is there any other option than ISO files? There must be an easy answer. Thanks. R
 


Here's a sure fire method although written for Linux Mint works for most Linux distros.

Have a read and read as many times as needed.

 
In the past, I have installed Ubuntu and several releases of Mint on older laptops and desktops. Now I can only seem to find ISO files of operating systems. I want to help a friend who is not computer savvy at all install a linux distro on his old laptop. Probably Xubuntu for starters. I downloaded several distros, Mint, Bhodi, Xubuntu,etc...to a USB stick. I tried twice to burn the ISO file to DVD with express burn. Two failures. DVD would not load after burning. I cannot right click on the ISO file on the USB stick and get the MOUNT option. Even tried adding to the registry (I know that is dangerous but I am desperate) so the the MOUNT option appears (using Windows 10).Is there any other option than ISO files? There must be an easy answer. Thanks. R
Did you create a sha256 checksum from the downloaded .iso and compare it with the one published on the download site?

Make sure to use a new, blank DVD and not a DVD-RW. DVD+R should work fine.

Burn the DVD at the slowest speed your DVD drive will accommodate.
 
Did you create a sha256 checksum from the downloaded .iso and compare it with the one published on the download site?

Make sure to use a new, blank DVD and not a DVD-RW. DVD+R should work fine.

Burn the DVD at the slowest speed your DVD drive will accommodate.
Thanks for your response.
I have no idea what that (sha256 checksum) is but Express burn said the disc was verified after burning. Used 2 brand new DVD-R verbatim discs. Burned at the only speed I think was offered.
 
Thanks for your response.
I have no idea what that (sha256 checksum) is but Express burn said the disc was verified after burning. Used 2 brand new DVD-R verbatim discs. Burned at the only speed I think was offered.
A "checksum" or "hash" is a calculation made from the file(s) in question. Each checksum is unique to the file or files being checked. If anything changes to the file being checked then the subsequent checksum would be different. If the checksum does not match the 'published' checksum then the file is of 'questionable' integrity. Sometimes bits go astray when downloading large files. Sometimes they are 'important' bits! :)

There are whole web sites and forums dedicated to the discussion of optical media (DVD's/CD's) and which ones work well and which do not. We'll assume you have good, quality discs and that is not the cause of the issue (although I have read that "+R" often works better that "-R").

Although I have not used "Express Burn" I would be surprised if the program did offer an option to choose a "burning speed". I'm not sure how important the actual burning speed is - but after 15 years of running Linux and making literally hundreds of DVD's I can state unequivocally that every Linux site and forum I read always recommended the slowest speed possible (usually 4x although my discs wont burn that slow). YMMV

One other thing I was going to mention in my previous post but did not: I wonder if the process of burning the .iso file from the USB though the PC bus to the DVD may be causing an issue? ( <-- you can see why I did not mention it before ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

To calculate the file "hash" from within Windows I believe you can use Windows Power Shell https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/po...rshell.utility/get-filehash?view=powershell-7 or download, install and use the "Microsoft File Checksum Integrity Verifier" https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=11533
On Windows I used to use "HashCalc" and liked it very much; https://www.slavasoft.com/hashcalc/

In Linux the "hash" or "checksum" can be generated from the Terminal. Very easy to do.
linuxmint_checksum.png

From the Linux Mint downloads page:
Integrity and authenticity checks:
Once you have downloaded an image, please verify its integrity and authenticity.
Anyone can produce fake ISO images, it is your responsibility to check you are downloading the official ones.

Please read and follow the steps at https://linuxmint.com/verify.php
Link to the sums: sha256sum.txt
Link to the signed sums: sha256sum.txt.gpg

[The above applies to pretty much all Linux .iso's unless you use a Torrent app for downloading (which checks file integrity and hashes as it downloads)]
 
@Vrai
Although I have not used "Express Burn" I would be surprised if the program did offer an option to choose a "burning speed". I'm not sure how important the actual burning speed is - but after 15 years of running Linux and making literally hundreds of DVD's I can state unequivocally that every Linux site and forum I read always recommended the slowest speed possible (usually 4x although my discs wont burn that slow). YMMV

One other thing I was going to mention in my previous post but did not: I wonder if the process of burning the .iso file from the USB though (sic) the PC bus to the DVD may be causing an issue? ( <-- you can see why I did not mention it before ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
,

One must pay for Express Burn, I see. I should hope it checks integrity, for the money! (Sounds like a good one for MS users, though)

We know what you meant -- and, I would prefer to burn ISO image directly from downloaded image, wherever it may have been downloaded to. Copied ISOs are a no-no in my book. Moved ISOs okay, usually. My preferences, only!

Burn speed for DVDs -- no more than 4X; for CD-R -- no more than 8X --
guidelines, somewhat dependent on the hardware used and CPU priority set prior to burn, IMHO. For example, my old hardware burns DVDs at 2X only, which is somewhat irritating at times, but it's better than getting a bad burn!
 
etcher.io tool to write .ISO file to USB Flash drive works on Windows, MACos, Linux or rufus.ie Rufus is .ISO writer tool works on Windows. Balena Etcher is 70 megabytes in size and will hold your hand and keep you from making mistakes. Rufus is 1.5 megabytes in size and is quick and easI y.

Another tool is ISOrecorder that works directly with your Windows OS ISOrecorder web page and tool. This free tool works and allows you to burn .ISO files directly to a CDrom or DVD from a windows menu entry.
I suggest starting your friend with PuppyLinux, small quick, fast, easy. Large 17+ year support history.
MS Windows users consider Lick installer to test drive PuppyLinux
Goggle custom search for answers in PuppyLinux forums

Fatdog64 810 Release blog post

I wish you and your friend success on your use of Linux
 
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Search ISOrecorder for a free tool to burn .ISO files to DVD or CDROM.
ISO Recorder is a Windows 7/8/10 tool that allows the user to create ISO 9660 images out of an existing CD/DVD as well as master them from a file directory on disk. Its main feature is writing these ISO images to a blank or rewritable disk.
Copyright ® Alex Feinman, 2000-2017

Search Balena Etcher etcher.io or Rufus rufus.ie for a couple free tools to write a .ISO file to USB flash drives.

Consider looking at using Puppylinux.com in a frugal install method where you boot up live from the USB flash drive. In the BIOS change the boot drive order to select booting from a USB flash drive first, CDROM drive second, Hard disk drive third. Or Hit the F12 key or ESC key or other key to select which drive to boot from.
.
Use the Lick installer to install any version of puppylinux into most all versions of Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10. web Search 'lick puppy installer'. works with Fatdog64 too (only 460 megabytes). Puppylinux Bionic 8.0 32 bit version is only 237 megabytes download.
Notes

LICK is home-grown project from long-time Puppy Linux user and enthusiast, Lukas Lorimer (Puppy Linux forum name noryb009). It is an open-source project with MIT license.

This way you don't need a CDROM or DVD or USB Flash drive. Does not change Windows, so you can boot into either Windows or Puppylinux.
 
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Unetbootin or similar booting from a flashdrive. Haven't burned to cd or dvd in years.

Puppy works well from that method.
 
Hi darry1966, Puppylinux does work well booting from a USB flash drive. So does the Lick Installer, too.
Use the Lick installer to install any version of puppylinux into most all versions of Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10. web Search 'lick puppy installer'. works with Fatdog64 too (only 460 megabytes). Puppylinux Bionic 8.0 32 bit version is only 237 megabytes download.
Notes

LICK is home-grown project from long-time Puppy Linux user and enthusiast, Lukas Lorimer (Puppy Linux forum name noryb009). It is an open-source project with MIT license.

This way you don't need a CDROM or DVD or USB Flash drive. Does not change Windows, so you can boot into either Windows or Puppylinux.

After using Puppy for a while, you can try out other Linux Distros. Puppy is great way to get started and is wicked fast on older hardware.

ps. sorry for my multiple forum posts with same information. But the first two where blocked when I placed URLs Links. I wanted to share information so you can test drive a linux of your choosing for you and your friends.

web search for ISOrecorder tool made by Alex Feinmen. Its a easy install and can write .ISO files to CDROMs and DVDs.
Balena Etcher is nice easy tool to write .ISO files to USB Flash drive. works on Windows, MACos, Linux.
Rufus is small nice utility for writing .ISO files to USB Flash drive for Windows.
 
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@Wb7odyFred
I'll look into LICK -- thankshttps://osdn.net/projects/miyolinux/!
Unetbootin or similar booting from a flashdrive. Haven't burned to cd or dvd in years.

@darry1966
Puppy works well from that method.
Burn my own custom pups (Slacko 6.3 and 5.7) and install from CDs.
Haven't DDed a flash drive in years! LOL!
 
If you are using Windows 10 to burn an ISO to some drive, the best solution is to burn to a USB thumb drive using Rufus or Etcher. The thumb drive has to be present when booting the machine and must be selected as the first bootable drive during the process.

While there are Linux distros that will run as Windows processes, that's a horribly inefficient way to do run Linux. So mounting and trying to run the installer in Windows won't work for about 99.9% of distros.

So download an ISO, burn it to a thumb drive, use the thumb drive to install on the target machine. DVD burning is still an option, but quite frankly it's as slow as mud in Winter. A USB thumb drive is so much faster.
 
Thanks for your response.
I have no idea what that (sha256 checksum) is but Express burn said the disc was verified after burning. Used 2 brand new DVD-R verbatim discs. Burned at the only speed I think was offered.
to burn one DVD bootstrap need, very fast, BURNAWARE. ,Voila free and speed to make' no other,sure
 


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