J
Jarret W. Buse
Guest
UNetbootin – Bootable USB Thumb Drives
Large companies which use Linux for their desktop systems need to have the preferred Linux distro readily available. For most, this is a bootable CD which may not be too handy to carry around. The best way to manage is to have a bootable USB thumb drive with your Linux distro.
One nice solution is UNetbootin. The application's Home Page can be found at http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ where you can also download the application for one of the following Operating Systems:
NOTE: The bootable USB drive can be created on a Mac, but only run on PCs.
The nice thing about Unetbootin is that you can specify the distro you want from a list and the application will download the necessary files for you if you have internet access on the system running the application. If you have the required ISO image file already, then you can use it.
NOTE: Be aware that UNetbootin can also use utilities, instead of Linux distros, like Gparted.
To start, you need to download UNetbootin from the site mentioned before and install it. After the install starts, you will be asked to provide the Root password to perform the install.
NOTE: A version of PeaZip or compatible 7z archive utility is also required. PeaZip can be found at http://peazip.org/.
After the Root password is supplied, you should see a screen similar to Figure 1. You can see there is a choice to use specify the Distribution type and version, or specify a Diskimage. Once selected, you specify the output type which can be USB or Hard disk.
FIGURE 1
The Distribution's list is as follows:
Let's create a bootable USB thumb drive to load Clonezilla. In the Distribution, select “CloneZilla”. The version has only the one choice. At the bottom, set the Type: to USB Drive. Specify the USB Drive:. If you need to verify that you have the correct drive, use a program like Gparted to show the specific drive mapping. Your screen should look like Figure 2.
NOTE: Make sure your USB drive is formatted as FAT32 and it is empty, or contains items which can be deleted since everything on it will be erased.
FIGURE 2
Once you select the OK button, you should see a screen similar to Figure 3.
FIGURE 3
The necessary files should be downloaded, extracted and placed onto the specified drive. The Bootloader should be installed as well; then you are asked to Reboot Now or Exit as shown in Figure 4.
FIGURE 4
At this point you can reboot and boot from the USB drive as needed on your specific machine to perform the selected boot process.
Now, to perform another USB install by using a downloaded ISO file. I will download the ISO for the Rescatux rescur CD from http://www.supergrubdisk.org/rescatux/. I will save the ISO file and start UNetbootin. Next I will select Diskimage and specify the location of the downloaded ISO as shown in Figure 5.
FIGURE 5
Once everything is set correctly, select OK. The process should run as it did before.
NOTE: Be sure to reformat the USB drive before using with UNetbootin.
If a download location is moved for a specific application on the Distribution list, you will have to manually download it and then use the Diskimage option to create the bootable USB drive.
NOTE: Not all ISO files can be made into bootable images.
Large companies which use Linux for their desktop systems need to have the preferred Linux distro readily available. For most, this is a bootable CD which may not be too handy to carry around. The best way to manage is to have a bootable USB thumb drive with your Linux distro.
One nice solution is UNetbootin. The application's Home Page can be found at http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ where you can also download the application for one of the following Operating Systems:
- Linux
- Windows
- Mac OS X
NOTE: The bootable USB drive can be created on a Mac, but only run on PCs.
The nice thing about Unetbootin is that you can specify the distro you want from a list and the application will download the necessary files for you if you have internet access on the system running the application. If you have the required ISO image file already, then you can use it.
NOTE: Be aware that UNetbootin can also use utilities, instead of Linux distros, like Gparted.
To start, you need to download UNetbootin from the site mentioned before and install it. After the install starts, you will be asked to provide the Root password to perform the install.
NOTE: A version of PeaZip or compatible 7z archive utility is also required. PeaZip can be found at http://peazip.org/.
After the Root password is supplied, you should see a screen similar to Figure 1. You can see there is a choice to use specify the Distribution type and version, or specify a Diskimage. Once selected, you specify the output type which can be USB or Hard disk.
FIGURE 1
The Distribution's list is as follows:
- Arch Linux
- BackTrack
- CentOS
- CloneZilla
- Damn Small Linux
- Debian
- Dreamlinux
- Dr. Web Antivirus
- Elive
- Fedora
- FreeBSD
- FreeDOS
- FreeNAS
- Frugalware
- GeeXboX
- gNewSense
- Gujin
- Kaspersky Rescue Disk
- Kubuntu
- Linuxconsole
- Linux Mint
- Lubuntu
- Mandriva
- MEPIS
- NetbootCD
- NimbleX
- NTPasswd
- openSUSE
- Ophcrack
- Parted Magic
- Puppy Linux
- Sabayon Linux
- Salix
- Slax
- SliTaz
- Smart Boot Disk
- Super Grub Disk
- Super OS
- Ubuntu
- xPUD
- Xubuntu
- Zenwalk
Let's create a bootable USB thumb drive to load Clonezilla. In the Distribution, select “CloneZilla”. The version has only the one choice. At the bottom, set the Type: to USB Drive. Specify the USB Drive:. If you need to verify that you have the correct drive, use a program like Gparted to show the specific drive mapping. Your screen should look like Figure 2.
NOTE: Make sure your USB drive is formatted as FAT32 and it is empty, or contains items which can be deleted since everything on it will be erased.
FIGURE 2
Once you select the OK button, you should see a screen similar to Figure 3.
FIGURE 3
The necessary files should be downloaded, extracted and placed onto the specified drive. The Bootloader should be installed as well; then you are asked to Reboot Now or Exit as shown in Figure 4.
FIGURE 4
At this point you can reboot and boot from the USB drive as needed on your specific machine to perform the selected boot process.
Now, to perform another USB install by using a downloaded ISO file. I will download the ISO for the Rescatux rescur CD from http://www.supergrubdisk.org/rescatux/. I will save the ISO file and start UNetbootin. Next I will select Diskimage and specify the location of the downloaded ISO as shown in Figure 5.
FIGURE 5
Once everything is set correctly, select OK. The process should run as it did before.
NOTE: Be sure to reformat the USB drive before using with UNetbootin.
If a download location is moved for a specific application on the Distribution list, you will have to manually download it and then use the Diskimage option to create the bootable USB drive.
NOTE: Not all ISO files can be made into bootable images.
