Create an Ubuntu Bootable USB or DVD on a Laptop or Desktop

Why Do You Need a Bootable Ubuntu USB or DVD Medium?

If you want to install Ubuntu Desktop or Ubuntu Server on your laptop or desktop, you need to create an Ubuntu bootable USB or DVD in advance. However, with an Ubuntu bootable USB drive or DVD, you can also do the following things:

• Upgrade Ubuntu to the latest version.
• Test the Ubuntu desktop without modifying the computer’s configuration.
• Use Ubuntu in a public location like a library or cafe.
• Use a bootable drive to repair or fix a broken configuration.

It is an easy job to create an Ubuntu bootable USB or DVD drive. NewsPivot will show a full guide in this post.

How to Create an Ubuntu Bootable USB?

Preparations

Before you make an Ubuntu bootable USB, you need to prepare the following things:

A 4GB or larger USB flash drive.

Why is a USB drive necessary to create a bootable Ubuntu USB drive? During the Ubuntu installation process, the USB drive serves as a medium through which the Ubuntu system has been installed and run. For Ubuntu, the USB drive should be no less than 4GB. A larger capacity is recommended.

A computer that can run normally and has a USB port.

The creation process of an Ubuntu bootable USB or DVD involves several steps that require computing power and software tools. So, you need to do this on a normal working computer. Once created, it will be used to install Ubuntu on other computers.

Choose a Proper Ubuntu Bootable Media Builder.

You can make an Ubuntu bootable USB or DVD on Ubuntu, Windows, or Mac. However, you need to choose a suitable Ubuntu bootable media builder.

If you want to create an Ubuntu bootable medium on Ubuntu, you can use Startup Disk Creator, which is installed by default on Ubuntu.

However, if you want to create an Ubuntu bootable medium on Windows or Mac, you can use balenaEtcher or Rufus. Go to this page https://etcher.balena.io/ to download balenaEtcher or go to this page https://rufus.ie/en/ to download Rufus.

Step 1: Download Ubuntu ISO Image

You’d better download the latest version of Ubuntu ISO. So, just go to this page https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop to download the Ubuntu Desktop ISO image. The current latest version is Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and the size is about 5.8GB.

However, if you want to install Ubuntu Server, you can go to this page https://ubuntu.com/download/server to get the Ubuntu Server ISO image. The current latest version is Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS and the size is about 2.6GB.

The downloading process will last for some minutes. You should wait patiently or do other thing during the process.

Step 2: Create an Ubuntu Bootable USB Drive

#1 Create an Ubuntu Bootable USB Drive on Ubuntu

1. Connect the USB flash drive to your computer.

2. Click Show Applications from the bottom-left corner and then select Startup Disk Creator from the app list. On the other hand, you can type startup disk creator into the top search box to locate and open this tool directly.

2. Once launched, Startup Disk Creator can automatically detect the downloaded Ubuntu ISO image and display it in the Source disc image section. The attached USB drive can also be detected and show up in the Disk to use section.

However, if the ISO image selection is not correct, you can click on the Other… button and select the right ISO image from your device. The same goes for the USB drive.

3. Click Make Startup Disk to start the creating process.

Before making further changes, this tool will let you confirm the USB drive you select is the correct one, because all files on the USB drive will be destroyed. So, this is important.

After confirming, the toll will start the writing process and you can see the progress bar.  Wait until the process ends.

#2 Create an Ubuntu Bootable USB Drive on Windows

1. Download the Ubuntu ISO image on your Windows PC.

2. Connect the USB drive to your device.

3. Run Rufus.

4. The USB drive should automatically appear on the tool’s interface. However, a wrong USB drive may be selected by default. If so, you need to expand the option under Device and manually select the right one.

5. Click the SELECT button under Boot selection and then select the download Ubuntu ISO image from the Downloads folder or your specific location.

6. Click the START button.

7. A window will pop up with the following message:

lSOHybrid image detected
The image you have selected is an ‘lSOHybrid’ image. This means it can be written either in lSO Image (file copy) mode or DD lmage (disk image) mode.
Rufus recommends using lS0 lmage mode, so that you always have full access to the drive after writing it.
However, if you encounter issues during boot, you can try writing this image again in DD Image mode.
Please select the mode that you want to use to write this image:
Write in ISO Image mode (Recommended)
Write in DD Image mode

The Write in ISO Image mode option is selected by default. Then click the OK button to continue.

8. A warning will pop up, saying all data on the device will be destroyed. If you are ensure that there is no important data, click OK to start the writing process.

After that, the Ubuntu bootable USB drive creation process starts and ends within minutes.

#3 Create an Ubuntu Bootable USB Drive on Mac

If you want to get the maximum compatibility with your Apple hardware, you can first go to Apple’s Disk Utility to reformat the USB flash drive. However, if you use the USB drive with only generic PC hardware, reformatting is not necessary.

Here is how to make an Ubuntu bootable USB using Etcher:

1. After downloading Etcher and clicking to mount the package, you can run Etcher in place or drag it into your App folder. However, macOS blocks the running of applications from unidentified developers.

To solve this issue, you can enable App Store and identified developers in the Security & Privacy pane of System Preferences. If you still receive the warning, you can select Open Anyway in the same pane.

2. Click Select Image and then choose the downloaded Ubuntu ISO image from your computer.

3. Click Select drive and then select the connected USB drive.

4. Click Flash! to start flashing the ISO file to the USB drive.

How to Burn Ubuntu ISO to DVD?

You can also create an Ubuntu bootable DVD for Ubuntu installation.

Preparations

• A blank DVD.
• A Windows computer.

How to Create an Ubuntu Bootable DVD?

1. Right-click the Ubuntu ISO image you have downloaded and select Burn disc image.

2. If you receive the Open File -Security Warning, you need to click the Open button to continue.

3. Select a Disc burner and then choose Burn. If you select the bottom Verify disc after burning option, it will confirm that the ISO image has been burned correctly.

Bottom Line

Here are the ways to create an Ubuntu bootable USB or DVD drive. After reading, you can just select one way according to the operating system you are running and the storage drive you have.