I was trying to create a USB bootable in Debian to install my new system. I couldn't find any easy to use tool in Debian. I tried downloading the hybrid ISO image from the Debian site and copied it to the USB using the dd command as said in Debian site, but it didn't boot.
Next, I used the Startup Disk Creator tool in Ubuntu and it worked like a charm. Is there any similar tool in Debian? I know that there is Unetbootin, but it's difficult to install.
6 Answers
For Debian Stretch (9.x) you can use gnome-multi-writer. The interface is a bit confusing (you need to click the [x] button on the left to select ISO) but in the end it does the trick.
Solution with cp
I have used the copy (cp) command for this. It did take me a couple of tries, though. The trick that seemed to make the difference for me was to plug the usb drive in, format it as MBR, but not create any partitions. In Debian (Gnome), this is easy to do from gnome-disks (called simply Disks in the GUI, while the package name is gnome-disk-utility). It can also be done using the gparted GUI program. Of course, you will lose any data currently on the USB drive when you format it.
Then, if your USB drive is /dev/sdd, just issue the copy command in the terminal:
sudo cp debian-xxx-yyy.iso /dev/sdd
So you're copying to a drive (that is unmounted), not to a particular partition. Then in the Disks GUI, when you click on the newly created partition on the USB drive, you should see (Bootable) next to the entry for Partition Type. If not, it may help to do the following:
- With the partition selected, click on the Gears icon
- Click Edit Partition...
- Check the Bootable box.
