As of today, we all know that we can easily install any operating system from a USB flash drive. It’s a safer, faster and even easier method. Most of the modern computers now support USB boot. For the really old devices, the option for CD/DVD is still available, but in the case of modern hardware, USB flash drive is the easiest way.
Today, let’s take a look how to create a bootable USB flash drive for installing any OS. Note that I’ll be using “antergos-18.4-x86_64.iso” for the ISO choice. You can use ISO of any OS (Windows, Linux whatever you want). So, don’t panic. Take note
Windows
If you’re a Windows user, creating a bootable USB drive is really easy for you. To perform the action, you’ll be needing a tool named “Rufus”. It’s free of cost, lightweight and really powerful. Let’s start going!
- Download Rufus. It’s a portable software, no installation needed.
- Start Rufus.
- Connect your USB flash drive. It should automatically detect the drive.
- Click the disk icon shown in the picture.
- Locate the ISO of the OS and select it.
- Now, it’s all set. Click “Start” button.
- You might get an error. Just click “Yes”. Rufus will download and place “Syslinux” files. Don’t worry; it’s completely safe.
- Choose “ISO” mode.
Now, wait until the process is complete.
Voila! Your bootable USB flash drive is ready to boot & run the OS!
Linux
If you’re a Linux user, creating a bootable USB drive is not a big deal. There are 2 different tools to perform the action – Unetbootin and Etcher. I prefer Etcher as it’s always updated, free and cross-platform. You can also use Etcher on Windows. Unetbootin is a good software but outdated a bit. Download Etcher.
- Start Etcher.
- Select the ISO file.
- Connect your USB flash drive. It’ll automatically detect.
- Click “Flash”.
Just wait for the process to complete. Now, install or test the OS directly from the USB flash drive!
You can now easily detect the actual file size and identify fake USB flash drive easily. Learn how to check your USB drive.
