How to Install Linux/BSD without a CD

Posted by Pubudu Kodikara on Aug 30, 2009 in Linux, Software | 0 comments

I don’t know about others but these days Im getting away from CDs and DVDs, I used to use my USB instead, because it won’t get damaged like CDs easily and its very…very portable! Thats when storing data… but can we install an operating system without a CD?

Why not? Sure we can install an OS from a USB! There are lots of software on the net which we can use for this purpose, today we are going to talk about one those software… UNetbootin!

We can use Unetbootin to to make a Bootable Live USB drive (Linux/BSD) or you can use it to make a “frugal install” on your local hard disk if you don’t have a USB drive…pretty cool isn’t it?

How to install :

1. Download from SourceForge or Launchpad (Use launchpad if you have linux)
2. If using Windows, run the file, select a distribution, floppy/hard disk image, or kernel/initrd to load, select a target drive (USB Drive or Hard Disk), then reboot once done.
3. If using Linux,(if you didn’t get a specific linux version from Launchpad to suit your system) make the file executable (using either the command chmod +x ./unetbootin-linux, or going to Properties->Permissions and checking “Execute”), then start the application, you will be prompted for your password to grant the application administrative rights, then the main dialog will appear, where you select a distribution and install target (USB Drive or Hard Disk), then reboot when prompted.
4. After rebooting, if you created a Live USB drive by selecting “USB Drive” as your install target, press the appropriate button (usually F1, F2, F12, ESC, or backspace) while your computer is starting up to get to your BIOS boot menu and select USB drive as the startup target; otherwise if there’s no boot selection option, go to the BIOS setup menu and change the startup order to boot USB by default. Otherwise, if you did a “frugal install” by selecting “Hard Disk” as your install target, select the UNetbootin entry from the Windows Boot Menu as the system boots up.