Creating the Fedora SoC bootable USB Stick
This page will explain how you can install Fedora-SoC on a bootable USB Stick.
Fedora-SoC is bootable from a USB stick. That is, all you need to do to run Fedora-SoC, is to plug in the stick into your computer, boot into that USB, and you're done!
Creating a bootable Fedora-SoC USB stick from Microsoft Windows, Apple's MacOS or any distribution of Linux is very simple. All you need are:
- A USB stick with a minimum capacity of 4GB
- A machine running Windows/MacOS/Linux
- An internet connection
- The Fedora-SoC ISO image // add the link to the ISO release here
Before you begin, create a backup of the files in your USB stick, as your USB stick will be wiped.
Refer to the following sections below based on your operating system.
NOTE: There are existing problems with MacOS, it is recommended to use a Windows PC if you have one.
Refer to the following steps to create a Fedora-SoC USB stick from Windows 7 or later.
The first step is to install Rufus, which is "... a utility that helps to format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB keys/pendrives, memory sticks, etc." (source: the Rufus official website )
Head over to the Rufus official website, and scroll down to the Downloads section. Download the latest version of the Rufus executable.
Run Rufus.
Insert your USB stick into your machine.
Within Rufus, select your USB stick under the "Devices" selection menu. Ensure that you have selected the right device.
To select the Fedora-SoC ISO file you downloaded previously, click the SELECT to the right of “Boot selection”.
Locate and select the appropriate ISO file and click on Open.
The Volume label will be updated to reflect the ISO selected.
The default selections for Partition scheme (MBR) and Target system (BIOS (or UEFI-CSM)) are appropriate. Likewise, the defaults for File system (FAT32) and Cluster size (4096MB) is just fine too. Leave them as-is.
Click START to initiate the write process.
You may be alerted that Rufus requires additional files to complete writing the ISO. If this dialog box appears, select Yes to continue.
You will then be alerted that Rufus has detected that the Fedora-SoC ISO is an ISOHybrid image. This means the same image file can be used as the source for both a DVD and a USB stick without requiring conversion.
Select Write in DD Image mode and click OK to continue.
Rufus will also warn you that all data on your selected USB stick is about to be destroyed. This is a good moment to double check you’ve selected the correct device before clicking OK when you’re confident you have.
The ISO will now be written to your USB stick, and the progress bar in Rufus will give you some indication of where you are in the process. With a reasonably modern machine, this should take around 10 minutes. Total elapsed time is shown in the lower right corner of the Rufus window.
When Rufus has finished writing the USB stick, the Status bar will be green filled and the word READY will appear in the center. Select CLOSE to complete the write process. Your USB stick is ready.
Now, you will need to boot into the Fedora-SoC ISO using the bootable USB stick you just created.
Refer to the following steps to create a Fedora-SoC USB stick from MacOS.
Fedora Media Writer is "...an easy way to make bootable USB media to install Fedora" (source: Fedora official documentation)
Head over to the Fedora official download page and download Fedora Media Writer for MacOS.
Open the .dmg file and copy the Fedora Media Writer file into your applications folder.
Right-click the Fedora Media Writer application and click "Open".
If you get an error saying "Fedora Media Writer can’t be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software.", just proceed to click "Open".
To select the Fedora-SoC ISO file you downloaded previously, click "Custom image".
Make sure you download the Mac version of the ISO
Locate and select the appropriate ISO file and click "Open" in the top right corner of the window.
Insert your USB stick into your machine and select that USB stick in the dropdown menu.
All data on your selected USB stick is about to be destroyed. This is a good moment to double check you’ve selected the correct device.
When you’re confident you have selected to correct device, click on the red "Write to Disk" button.
The ISO will now be written to your USB stick, and the progress bar in Fedora Media Writer will give you some indication of where you are in the process.
When Fedora Media Writer has finished writing the USB stick, the Status bar will be red filled and the word "Finished!" will appear in the center. Select CLOSE to complete the write process. Your USB stick is ready.
Now, you will need to boot into the Fedora-SoC ISO using the bootable USB stick you just created.
Refer to the following steps to create a Fedora-SoC USB stick from a Linux distribution.
Setup Flatpak on your Linux system Flatpak documentation page.
Open your terminal and run the command sudo mediawriter
// Insert screenshot of running mediawriter
To select the Fedora-SoC ISO file you downloaded previously, click "Custom image".
Locate and select the appropriate ISO file and click "Open".
// insert linux select ISO
Insert your USB stick into your machine and select that USB stick in the dropdown menu.
All data on your selected USB stick is about to be destroyed. This is a good moment to double check you’ve selected the correct device.
When you’re confident you have selected to correct device, click on the red "Write to Disk" button.
The ISO will now be written to your USB stick, and the progress bar in Fedora Media Writer will give you some indication of where you are in the process.
When Fedora Media Writer has finished writing the USB stick, the Status bar will be red filled and the word "Finished!" will appear in the center. Select CLOSE to complete the write process. Your USB stick is ready.
Now, you will need to boot into the Fedora-SoC ISO using the bootable USB stick you just created.