Create a Bootable USB in Ubuntu using Startup Disk Creator

In this article, we cover how to make a USB bootable with the help of Ubuntu’s Startup Disk Creator. With the help of a bootable USB we can install an Operating system, which in our case is Ubuntu. Apart from that, there are live disk images are also available. If we opt to go ahead making bootable USBs with live images then, we can use the use the OS without even installing it on physical storage. But, there is a downside. We need to save our work in a separate disk. Anything we do with live disk won’t survive system reboot. Lastly, bootable USBs can also be used to repair an already installed operating system.

To go ahead, we require the following –

1. USB stick,
2. Download .iso image of any Ubuntu flavor.
3. Ubuntu 14.04 or newer installed.

Word of caution: Take backup of data on USB stick. Making a bootable USB would erase everything stored on the USB. Also, we can’t after making the USB bootable it can’t be used as a regular storage device. To revert it to previous state, either use various command-line tools or GParted.

Install USB creator in Ubuntu

The package is a part of Main repository of Ubuntu, therefore update that first –

sudo apt update

Next, to install Ubuntu creator in Ubuntu –

sudo apt install usb-creator-gtk

Insert USB stick and Launch Startup Disk Creator

Next, insert USB stick. And, launch Startup Disk Creator from our systems’ main menu.

Locate .iso extension file of any Ubuntu flavor by clicking on Other button. It detects our USB stick on its own. We don’t have to do anything. If you have already plugged in two or more USB sticks then, select the USB stick you want to make bootable. Then, click on Make startup disk button. That’s all we have to do.

Conclusion

We have discussed how to create a bootable USB in Ubuntu using Startup Disk Creator.

Additional Info –

The focus of this article was on making a USB bootable using Startup Disk Creator (a GUI utility). In case, you would want to do the same using Command-line interface then – Create a bootable USB in Ubuntu. In the same article we have also covered how to Restore bootable USB disk to its original state through GParted.