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Creating a bootable Linux live disk with Rufus on Microsoft Windows

basaam0 edited this page Jun 9, 2018 · 2 revisions

Background

A Linux Live installation media is any external disk that can be booted into to run a user session or install the operating system.

Preparation

Before following this guide, download your Linux ISO image. Most USB flash drives with more than 2 GB capacity should work. If the flash drive is not empty, back up the files to a safe location as all content on the flash drive will be overwritten.

Usually unimportant warnings you can most likely ignore

Most other online guides will urge you to verify download integrity with a checksum, though this is most largely unnecessary if you have a stable and secure internet connection. Rufus 2.17 method only works with images that have a bootloader; most popular distros are fine.

You can use any kind of disk, like a CD, though it's not recommended. Once you burn a CD you can't reuse it.

After flashing your USB with a live image, you must recreate the partition table and make a FAT32 partition to restore its original function as a storage device.

Procedure

1. Download the latest version of Rufus

download Rufus screenshot Link: https://rufus.akeo.ie/

2. Launch Rufus from Windows File Explorer.

Rufus in Explorer

3. Click on this icon to select your ISO image file.

Select ISO icon

4. Select your ISO image file.

Choose image from Windows Explorer

5. Change the mode to DD.

Change mode

The final settings should look something like this:

Final settings

Verify these settings. If you have multiple flash drives plugged in, writing to the wrong disk will cause permanent data loss.

6. Click Start and Confirm

Confirm Rufus Rufus writing

7. Depending on your specs, this could take a long time. For me, burning the Ubuntu 17.04 ISO (1.6 GB) took less than three minutes.

Rufus done

8. Eject the USB flash drive.

Eject USB