How to create bootable USB thumb drive with iso file

[Peter Flynn]

[deliberate top post]

Thanks for documenting the problems with Startup Disk Creator. I am 
assuming that it needs to be run with admin privileges, but I agree it's 
a mess, and the documentation is enthusiastic but inaccurate.

I use unetbootin, which I installed from the Mint repos (this is Mint 
19.2 here) so it's version 677-1~bionic1

It's pretty ugly (æsthetically) but it works. You insert your USB stick 
and then run the program from the command line with

    sudo unetbootin

and give your password. I have never used its option to go and download 
the ISO from their menu: I always go to the site I want and download the 
.iso file manually, then run unetbootin.

P

On 29/04/2020 00:09, Bret Busby wrote:
> On 28/04/2020, Bret Busby <bret.busby at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 28/04/2020, Bret Busby <bret.busby at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hello.
>>>
>>> In trying to find how to create a bootable USB thumb drive with an iso
>>> file, I found the web page at
>>> https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/tutorial-create-a-usb-stick-on-ubuntu#3-launch-startup-disk-creator
>>>
>>> which has
>>>
>>> "
>>> 3. Launch Startup Disk Creator
>>>
>>> We’re going to use an application called ‘Startup Disk Creator’ to
>>> write the ISO image to your USB stick. This is installed by default on
>>> Ubuntu, and can be launched as follows:
>>>
>>> Insert your USB stick (select ‘Do nothing’ if prompted by Ubuntu)
>>> On Ubuntu 18.04 and later, use the bottom left icon to open ‘Show
>>> Applications’
>>> In older versions of Ubuntu, use the top left icon to open the dash
>>> Use the search field to look for Startup Disk Creator
>>> Select Startup Disk Creator from the results to launch the application
>>> "
>>>
>>> But, on the system (UbuntuMATE 19.10) to which I downloaded three iso
>>> files; for each of UbuntuMATE, Lubuntu, and Xubuntu, each of version
>>> 20.04, in the sub-menu's to the Applications menu, no entry for
>>> Startup Disk Creator, is visible, and, the Applications menu and each
>>> sub-menu, do not have a search facility.
>>>
>>> Is the application still available?
>>>
>>> In searching for the application in synaptic, the application was not
>>> found, but, v0.3.7 of usb-creator was the only result returned.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Bret Busby
>>> Armadale
>>> West Australia
>>> ..............
>>>
>>
>> I found it...
>>
>> I found it on my 16.04 installation (the tutorial gives the impression
>> it did not exist before 18.04), then I went bank and found it on the
>> 19.10 installation.
>>
>> It is not within the Applications menu hierarchy; it is listed in
>> System (separate menu hierarchy) -> Administration.
>>
>> Perhaps, the tutorial could be made clearer?
>>
>>
>> --
>> Bret Busby
>> Armadale
>> West Australia
>> ..............
>>
> 
> But the application does not work anyway.
> 
> I tried to run it, and a dialogue box "Writing disk image", with the
> title bar greyed out, and, which dialogue box is immovable, is
> superimposed over a dialogue box that is active (blue title bar), and
> which is also immovable; "System policy prevents writing a disk image
> to this" and the rest of the message is concealed by the immovable
> dialogue box superimposed upon it.
> 
> So, the application is unusable, without any explanation.
> 

-- 
Peter Flynn
Cork 🇪🇺 Ireland