"gparted" versus "partition magic": which is best for creating a bootable usb for debian disk imaging

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schorsch3000@reddit

neither gparted nor partition magic is any help in crating a bootable usb for anything that provides a ready made image.

There is no need to crate a partition wenn all you do is dumping the image directly onto the device.

You usually sat use cat, dd or pv to just put the image directly onto the device.

if you really need to use anything GUI, try balenaEtcher. there might be other tools out there giving a UI for that task, but im not aware of any.

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I probably wasn't very clear: (1) I have the Debian ISO image on my Debian PC. (2) I have a removable USB I have mounted on my Debian PC. (3) I want to copy the ISO image on to the USB so then, at reboot of the Debian PC, the live system will be on the USB.

At that point, the main PC file system should be unmounted and can be inspected from the live OS on the USB drive. If that is true, then I should be able to copy images from the big box onto the live USB without worrying about a live system interrupting the copy.

So, I don't know if that is possible. Otherwise, it sounds like a chicken-and-egg situation.

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schorsch3000@reddit

It's all good, that was what i was planing.

you'd either di it with dd, cat pv ore something else on the command line, or download and start balenaEtcher, choose your usb-drive, choose your iso-image and press the action button, (must be etch or flash or something like that)

when it's done, you can boot from that usb-drive

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tbrowder@reddit (OP)

Well, I finally got a live USB created using Debian tools, but my PC won't boot from it unless I get into changing the boot menu. That is something I haven't had to do for a long time and I'm not sure I want to go down that path again.

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CombJelliesAreCool@reddit

Just use the good ole disk duplicator.

dd if= of= status=progress

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rfc2549-withQOS@reddit

Ddrescue is more fun.

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tbrowder@reddit (OP)

I forgot to mention I do prefer the graphical approach for this task due to old age, shaky fingers, and poor eyesight. so of the 2 apps, i need one that will work best without a windows or macos available.

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CombJelliesAreCool@reddit

Oh, I dont know about any GUI disk utilities. You could ask in r/linuxquestions, this subreddit is for individuals working professionally with Linux, who overwhelmingly use CLI utilities.

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FormerlyUndecidable@reddit

Yeah, I started just using dd at some point and never went back.

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CombJelliesAreCool@reddit

Exactly, I dont need any fancy schmancy TUIs just put my bytes onto this other disk.

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tbrowder@reddit (OP)

but i see it recommended to unmount drives on the pc to be imaged. so how would i be able to run "dd"

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CombJelliesAreCool@reddit

Make a liveusb, I use mint for mine

Put the image.iso on the USB

Boot the PC using the usb

dd the .iso to your disk from there

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tbrowder@reddit (OP)

oops, sorry. i misread yr reply

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Bulky_Somewhere_6082@reddit

If you already have the ISO, check out balenaEtcher.

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tbrowder@reddit (OP)

My only problem with that is I don't see much in the way of a HOWTO text.

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Bulky_Somewhere_6082@reddit

There's not much need for a howto, at least on the version I have (2.1.4). You select the source under the +, then select the target and once you have the proper target, click the Flash button.

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cd109876@reddit

For direct imaging, bzt usbimager 100%, super simple and easy.

If you want multiple ISOs at once on a single drive, Ventoy is super good.

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tbrowder@reddit (OP)

Is Ventoy known to be safe for private data? No Trojan viruses?

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metalwolf112002@reddit

Ventoy is pretty much becoming a must-have tool for any self respecting geek.

Instead of having to reimage a usb stick every time you need a different install or boot stick, you can just boot the iso directly.

I would use a second usb storage device if you want to store anything besides isos on there.

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tbrowder@reddit (OP)

Now that looks like what I need--I'll check it out. Thank you!

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BloodyIron@reddit

Ventoy and put ISO tools on it that can give you disk imaging tools plus a lot more other stuff. The days of one device booting only one thing are over.

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dhsjabsbsjkans@reddit

# cp debian.iso /dev/sdX
# sync

4.3. Preparing Files for USB Memory Stick Booting4.3. Preparing Files for USB Memory Stick Booting4.3. Preparing Files for USB Memory Stick Booting4.3. Preparing Files for USB Memory Stick Booting