How to create a bootable USB drive
Making a bootable drive means writing an operating system image to a USB drive in a way a computer can start from. It is not the same as copying files across.
The usual method
- Download the system image (an ISO file) from the official website of the operating system.
- Verify the checksum if the site provides one.
- Use a writing tool such as Rufus on Windows, balenaEtcher on Windows, Mac and Linux, or Ventoy to write the image.
- Check that the drive starts the computer.
Common problems
- Wrong partition scheme for your computer (GPT for UEFI, MBR for older BIOS).
- Interrupted downloads that give a damaged image.
- Cheap or failing drives that cause random errors.
The shortcut
If you would rather skip the downloading and writing, a ready-made drive such as Ubuntu or Linux Mint arrives set up and ready to start.