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sorin
Asked: 2011-02-15 01:03:03 +0800 CST

How do I install Ubuntu from an USB drive / create a live USB-stick in Windows?

  • 772

I tried to use the usb-creator.exe from Ubuntu 10.10 desktop i386 ISO image and it does create an USB stick that doesn't boot. When I try to boot from it I get:

Operating System not found.

I try to do this from Windows 7 x64. I'm not looking to create a live Ubuntu media, only an installation USB disk.

I repeated the process several times and I even tried to reformat the USB drive (FAT32), no success yet.

The USB stick is a 8GB one.

live-usb

9 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Well you can create a Live-USB disk that can be used for installing the operating system with unetbootin. Here is the official documentation on USB installation.

    Make sure that you boot the USB disk at system startup, i.e. when you on your computer. That means the BIOS of your computer has to be set to try to boot from USB before it boots from hard drive and the stick has to be inserted before hard drive booting takes place.

    The usual procedure from within Ubuntu is to use Startup Disk Creator. With that you just select the Ubuntu image or LiveCD and the USB-Media and go ahead. See picture below:

    Startup Disk Creator usage

    • 10

  2. I like the Universal USB installer. Download it from here

    Then run the program double-clicking it with admin privilege. The program will run and you have to direct it to the downloaded iso file. Here is a screenshot below (credit goes to the site owner)

    enter image description here

    Please take caution to select the actual drive letter of the USB drive.

    enter image description here

    Now restart your PC to boot from the USB drive

    • 9

  3. There are lot of programs, My personal Fav:

    All does same to create the usb from windows machine.

    You point to the ISO, choose the usb and start. They will prepare the USB in 5-10 min.

    • 7

  4. Quoted: The recommended way to install Ubuntu from a USB flash drive is to use the usb-creator program, point it at a ISO image of a Ubuntu installation CD that you have downloaded, and let it create a bootable USB that you can use instead of the CD.

    Source: Ubuntu

    Below you can find more information that can help you in your process.

    Installation/FromUSBStick

    UNetbootin

    How to Put Ubuntu on a USB Thumb Drive

    • 4

  5. From what I see, you have downloaded an ISO file and burnt it to a USB stick. In other words, you have created a liveUSB. And, you expect it to install Ubuntu inside of Windows 7. That is only possible if you have downloaded a WUbI installer. To install Ubuntu using a WUbI, you can follow this link.

    If you are trying to install using a LiveUSB, check how to boot from USB for a better idea.

    • 1

  6. I recommend UNetbooting, you can read about it and others here:

    http://www.webupd8.org/2009/04/4-ways-to-create-bootable-live-usb.html

    Also, Ubuntu has a program installed by default called 'Startup Disk Creator'. This works great for installing Ubuntu (and derivatives) onto a USB.

    • 1

  7. I prefer using Startup Disk Creator on the Live CD, (or usb-creator for Windows, extracted from the Ubuntu iso). Unetbootin should also work if the version is up to date.

    The first thing you should do with either, is check the MD5SUM of the downloaded iso to confirm the download was not corrupted.

    If the MD5SUM checks out try the Live USB on a second computer. Some computers just will not boot Ubuntu.

    • 0

  8. Get a pendrive 8gb or larger then:

    • Partition using GPARTED on LiveCD. 4GB / - 3gb home rest for swap.
    • Grub on sdx (first partition of your pendrive)
    • Install on usb.
    • Configure your bios to boot from usb. If you have fast usb 3.0 pendrive it should be quite quick and work fine.

    If you need any further details/how to explanations, please ask ahead in the comments.

    • 0

  9. Set to boot from USB in BIOS. that is if you haven't set to it.

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