How to Create Bootable USB Drives and SD Cards For Every Operating System

How to Create Bootable USB Drives and SD Cards For Every Operating System

Creating installation media for your operating system of choice used to be simple. Just download an ISO and burn it to CD or DVD. Now we’re using USB drives, and the process is a little different for each operating system.

You can’t just copy files form an ISO disc image directly onto your USB drive. The USB drive’s data partition needs to be made bootable, for one thing. This process will usually wipe your USB drive or SD card.

From a Linux ISO

Ubuntu recommends the Universal USB Installer for creating bootable Linux USB drives on Windows. This tool can create bootable disc images for many different Linux distributions.UNetbootin is another popular alternative.

Download the Linux distribution you want to use in .ISO form. Run the tool, select your desired distribution, browse to your downloaded ISO file, and choose the USB drive you want to use. The tool will do the rest.

You can use similar tools on Linux. For example, Ubuntu includes a Startup Disk Creator tool for creating bootable Ubuntu USB drives. UNetbootin also runs on Linux, so you can use that too.

From an IMG File

Some operating system projects provide an IMG file instead of an ISO file. An IMG file is a raw disk image that needs to be written directly to a USB drive.

Use Win32 Disk Imager to write an IMG file to a USB drive or SD card. Provide a downloaded IMG file and the tool will write it directly to your drive, erasing its current contents. You can also use this tool to create IMG files from USB drives and SD cards.

Linux users can use the dd command to directly write an IMG file’s contents to a removable media device. Insert the removable media and run the following command on Ubuntu:

sudo dd if=/home/user/file.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M

Replace /home/user/file.img with the path to the IMG file on your file system and /dev/sdX with the path to your USB or SD card device. Be very careful to specify the correct disk path here — if you specify the path to your system drive instead, you’ll write the contents of the image to your operating system drive and corrupt it

From a Windows 7 ISO

Provide the ISO file and a USB flash drive and the tool will create a bootable drive.

From a Windows 8 or 8.1 Product Key

If you have a Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 product key, you can download installation media directly from Microsoft and create a USB drive all at once. Download the appropriate tool from the Upgrade Windows with only a product key page. Run it, provide your product key, and tell the wizard you want to create a bootable USB drive.

Note that Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have different product keys, so you’ll need to jump through hoops if you want to install Windows 8.1 with a Windows 8 product key. You may just want to install Windows 8 and upgrade to Windows 8.1 from within Windows 8 — that’s Microsoft’s officially supported method.

From a Windows 8 or 8.1 ISO

If you already have a Windows 8 or 8.1 ISO file and you want to create installation media without redownloading anything, you can actually use the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool for this.

Just provide the Windows 8 or 8.1 ISO file when prompted. The tool will happily create Windows 8 or 8.1 installation media if you provide the appropriate ISO file.

If you need to boot into DOS to use a low-level firmware upgrade, BIOS update, or system tool that still requires DOS for some reason, you can use the Rufus tool to create a bootable DOS USB drive.

Rufus uses FreeDOS, an open-source implementation of DOS that should run whatever DOS program you need to use.

From Mac OS X Installation Files

You can create a bootable drive with Mac OS X on it by downloading the latest version of OS X from the Mac App Store. Use Apple’s included “createinstallmedia” tool in a terminal or by run the third-party DiskMaker X tool.

The Mac OS X drive can be used to install OS X on other Macs or upgrade them to the latest version without any long downloads.

From a Windows ISO for Mac

If you plan on installing Windows on a Mac via Boot Camp, don’t bother creating a bootable USB drive in the usual way. Use your Mac’s Boot Camp tool to start setting things up and it will walk you through creating a bootable Windows installation drive with Apple’s drivers and Boot Camp utilities integrated.

You can use this drive to install Windows on multiple Macs, but don’t use it to install Windows on non-Apple PCs.

Some of these tools overlap — for example, Rufus can also be used to create bootable drives from Linux ISOs, IMG files, and even Windows ISO Files. We suggested the most popular, widely recommended tools for each task here.

Image Credit: USBMemoryDirect on Flickr

Taken From: http://www.howtogeek.com/191054/how-to-create-bootable-usb-drives-and-sd-cards-for-every-operating-system/

How to Create a Windows 8 Portable (USB Stick)

 How to Create a Portable Version of Windows 8 Without Extra Software

For a long time Linux users have been able to install their OS onto a portable USB drive, but Windows just caught up. Read on to find out how you can install Windows 8 onto a USB drive so you can take it wherever you go.

Note: This was written on the RTM version of Windows 8 Enterprise and you will need to have an RTM build of the Enterprise edition to complete the steps in this article.

Using Windows To Go to Create a Portable Workspace

Press the Win + X keyboard combination and select Control Panel from the context menu.

You will need to change your Control Panel view to the Small Icons view.

You should now see Windows To Go near the bottom of the Control Panel, click on it.

You will now need to select the USB drive you would like to turn into a portable workspace, then click next.

The wizard will automatically scan your CD\DVD and Removable drives for valid Windows installation files, once you have selected a version of Windows click next.

Note: If you store your installation files elsewhere you will need to add it as a search location.

You can optionally set a BitLocker password, but we’ll pass on this option for now.

Once you have reached the end of the wizard, you will be warned that your USB drive will be formatted. You can then click on create to kick of the creation process.

That’s all there is to it, you now have a bootable USB with Windows on it.

Note: Your portable USB will not show up in Explorer, this leaves us with a problem later on when you don’t need to use it as a Portable Workspace anymore.

How To Reformat Your Windows To Go USB Drive

If you’re done using Windows on a drive, you can reformat the drive, but you’ll need to open a command prompt and type diskpart, then press enter.

Once you enter Diskpart you will need to find out which drive is the one you need to format, the list disk command will show you all the drive currently connected to your system. Take note of your drive number because we will need it in the next step.

We now need to select the disk, you can simply use the select disk command along with your drive number from the previous step.

Now that the disk is selected we can go ahead and wipe it.

Note: Clean is a ruthless command that will wipe all the file systems off your drive without any warnings, if you have selected the wrong drive previously this will result is a loss of data so make sure you have the right drive selected.

We can now use the Win + R keyboard combination to bring up the run box  and open Disk Management.

As soon as the Management console opens you will need to initialize the disk.

Then you can go ahead and create your drives partition.

That’s all there is to it.

Taken From: http://www.howtogeek.com/121322/how-to-create-a-portable-version-of-windows-8-without-extra-software/

Windows 8 Portable USB Drive (No Extra Tools)

For a long time Linux users have been able to install their OS onto a portable USB drive, but Windows just caught up. Read on to find out how you can install Windows 8 onto a USB drive so you can take it wherever you go.

Note: This was written on the RTM version of Windows 8 Enterprise and you will need to have an RTM build of the Enterprise edition to complete the steps in this article.

Using Windows To Go to Create a Portable Workspace

Press the Win + X keyboard combination and select Control Panel from the context menu.

You will need to change your Control Panel view to the Small Icons view.

You should now see Windows To Go near the bottom of the Control Panel, click on it.

You will now need to select the USB drive you would like to turn into a portable workspace, then click next.

The wizard will automatically scan your CD\DVD and Removable drives for valid Windows installation files, once you have selected a version of Windows click next.

Note: If you store your installation files elsewhere you will need to add it as a search location.

You can optionally set a BitLocker password, but we’ll pass on this option for now.

Once you have reached the end of the wizard, you will be warned that your USB drive will be formatted. You can then click on create to kick of the creation process.

That’s all there is to it, you now have a bootable USB with Windows on it.

Note: Your portable USB will not show up in Explorer, this leaves us with a problem later on when you don’t need to use it as a Portable Workspace anymore.

How To Reformat Your Windows To Go USB Drive

If you’re done using Windows on a drive, you can reformat the drive, but you’ll need to open a command prompt and type diskpart, then press enter.

Once you enter Diskpart you will need to find out which drive is the one you need to format, the list disk command will show you all the drive currently connected to your system. Take note of your drive number because we will need it in the next step.

We now need to select the disk, you can simply use the select disk command along with your drive number from the previous step.

Now that the disk is selected we can go ahead and wipe it.

Note: Clean is a ruthless command that will wipe all the file systems off your drive without any warnings, if you have selected the wrong drive previously this will result is a loss of data so make sure you have the right drive selected.

We can now use the Win + R keyboard combination to bring up the run box  and open Disk Management.

As soon as the Management console opens you will need to initialize the disk.

Then you can go ahead and create your drives partition.

That’s all there is to it.

Taken From: http://www.howtogeek.com/121322/how-to-create-a-portable-version-of-windows-8-without-extra-software/

Make Your Own Portable Apps - Cameyo

Portable application are rapidly gaining popularity among the computer lovers.

They give us a lot of flexibility because we can carry our favorite applications along with us. They also come handy during operating system crash when we need to install all the applications again.There are a number of portable applications available on the net but they are not enough to meet our needs.

So why shouldn’t we try to make our own portable applications?

Now you must be thinking what the hell I am talking about. Building our own portable applications-Have I gone mad? I am talking like it’s a child play. OK guys! Stop doubting on my IQ and believe me or not-it’s really a child’s play. Guys when you are with me there can’t be any tension as I am a fun-loving guy. So just stay with me and watch the action with nude eyes.

Let’s start the work. So please download a cool software Cameyo Application Virtualization from this link and install it. Now the first phase is completed so let’s proceed.

Now just start the application and you will see the screen like this. Now click on Capture Installation button. Now be patient as it will take some time to get the snapshot of your system.

Once this process is completed you’ll get the instruction to install the software whose portable version you want to create. So just install the desired software and when it’s finished click on the Install Done button. Now it will again take the snapshot of your system. So be patient till the process completes.

That’s all you need to do guys and our portable application is ready. But where it is? Chill guys and just see your Documents folder and there you’ll see a folder named Cameyo Packages. Open it and you’ll see a your portable installer ready. Wow! It’s cool. Now you can carry that portable software anywhere. Now I can bet that you’ve enjoyed this post. So now I’d leave but be back again with another show stopper.

Taken From: http://hackstips.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/make-your-own-portable-applications/

Configurações 3G e MMS (Portugal)

Abaixo têm as configurações da internet 3G e MMS extraidas de telemoveis android (http://www.androidpt.info/index.php?title=Categoria:APN).

Com estas é possivel configurar Internet e MMS em vários telemoveis desbloqueados, adicionalmente servem também para configurar PENs 3G desbloqueadas ou ligadas a um router Wifi.

TMN – Internet e MMS

Internet

Name: tmn internet
APN: internet
Dial Number: *99#
Authentication Mode: PAP
Proxy: not set
Port: not set
Username: not set
Password: not set
Server: *
MMSC: not set
MMS proxy: not set
MMS port: not set
MCC: 268
MNC: 06
APN type: default

MMS

Name: mms tmn
APN: mmsc.tmn.pt
Proxy: not set
Port: not set
Username: tmn
Password: tmnnet
Server: *
MMSC: http://mmsc
MMS proxy: 010.111.002.016
MMS port: 8080
MCC: 268
MNC: 06
APN type: mms

Optimus - Internet e MMS

Internet

Name: Optimus;
APN: myconnection; or umts;
Dial Number: *99#; or *99***1#;
Authentication Mode: ???
Proxy: 62.169.66.5;
Port: 8799;
Username: Deixar em branco;
Password: Deixar em branco;
Server: umts;
MMSC: portal.optimus.pt;
MMS Proxy: Deixar em branco;
MMS Port: Deixar em branco;
MCC: 268;
MNC: 03;
APN type: nenhuma;
Prima tecla de Menu;
Seleccione Save.
Desligue e volte a ligar o aparelho.

MMS

Nota: configuração deverá ser efectuada em letra minúscula.
Prima tecla de Menu;
Settings;
Wireless Controls;
Mobile Networks;
Access Point Names;
Prima tecla de Menu;
Seleccione New APN;
Name: Optimus MMS;
APN: umts;
Proxy: 62.169.66.5;
Port: 8799;
Username: Deixar em branco;
Password: Deixar em branco;
Server: umts;
MMSC: mmsc:10021/mmsc;
MMS Proxy: 62.169.66.5;
MMS Port: 8799;
MCC: 268;
MNC: 03;
APN Type: nenhuma;
Prima tecla de Menu;
Seleccione Save;
Desligue e volte a ligar o aparelho.
Envie a primeira MMS para activar recepção.

Existem 3 APN kanguru:
kanguru-portatil - tarifários móveis
kangurufixo - tarifários fixos
kanguru-tempo - tarifários pré-pagos 
  
  
Vodafone - Internet e MMS

Internet

Name: Vodafone Internet
APN: net2.vodafone.pt (ou internet.vodafone.pt)
Dial Number: *99#
Authentication Mode: CHAP
Proxy: not set
Port: not set
Username: vodafone
Password: vodafone
Server: *
MMSC: not set
MMS proxy: not set
MMS port: not set
MCC: 268
MNC: 01
APN type: default

MMS

Name: Vodafone MMS
APN: vas.vodafone.pt
Proxy: not set
Port: not set
Username: vas
Password: vas
Server: *
MMSC: http://mms/servlets/mms
MMS proxy: 213.030.027.063
MMS port: 8799
MCC: 268
MNC: 01
APN type: mms

Nota: Os Magic vendidos pela Vodafone PT têm configurado como APN net2.vodafone.pt.
Definição alternativa de APN
A seguinte configuração também é válida.

Name: Vodafone Net2
APN: net2.vodafone.pt
Proxy: iproxy.vodafone.pt
Port: 80
Username: vodafone
Password: vodafone
Server: <Not set>
MMSC: http://mms.vodafone.pt/servlets/mms
MMS proxy: iproxy.vodafone.pt
MMS port: 80
MCC: 268 MNC: 01
Authentication type: <Not set>
APN type: default,supl,mms

 

Zon Mobile - Internet e MMS

NOTA: Se estas configurações não funcionarem, aconselhamos a que experimente as APNs da Vodafone. Várias fontes indicam que essa configuração funciona para os cartões ZON.

Internet

Name: Zon Internet
APN: internet.zon.pt
Dial Number: *99#
Authentication Mode: CHAP
Proxy: not set
Port: not set
Username: vas
Password: vas
Server: *
MMSC: not set
MMS proxy: not set
MMS port: not set
MCC: 268
MMNC: 01
APN type: default

MMS

Name: Zon MMS
APN: vas.zon.pt
Proxy: not set
Port: not set
Username: vas
Password: vas
Server: *
MMSC: http://mms/servlets/mms
MMS proxy: 213.030.027.063
MMS port: 8799
MCC: 268
MNC: 01
APN type: mms

Baseado em: http://www.androidpt.info/index.php?title=Categoria:APN

Booting ISOs From a USB Flash Drive With Grub4Dos

Introduction
Section 1 - Installing Grub4DOS
Section 2 - Setup Booting an ISO File (Acronis ISO)
Additional Notes


Introduction

Grub4DOS is a boot manager that can be easily installed to a flashdrive or hard drive. It allows booting multiple operating systems directly as well as booting into bootable partitions.

For the purpose of this guide, Grub4DOS will be used to setup a flashdrive to boot the Acronis Resuce Media. This can be done by booting to the partition on the flashdrive (as setup by the Acronis Media Builder program) or by directly booting the Acronis ISO file. When you use the ISO method, you can put as many Acronis ISO images as required on the same flashdrive. This allows you to easily be able to boot into True Image Home 9, 10, 11, 2009, Echo Workstation, etc. by just selecting the desired menu entry.

Tip: It is highly recommended that you read through the entire instructions before you begin this procedure.
Note: Either of these methods work equally well on USB hard drives or internal drives too as long as another boot manager (such as BootIt NG) is not installed on the drive

While it is always recommended to have backups of any important data before making any changes to your drives, installing Grub4DOS is not a destructive procedure. Existing partitions and data on the flashdrive should not be erased or corrupted in any way.


Section 1 - Installing Grub4DOS

Before Grub4DOS can be installed, several files need to be downloaded and unzipped. One is the Grub4DOS program and the other is the Installer. Click on the links below to download the files. Save them to a known location (My Downloads, for example) so they're easy to find.

Download

Grub4DOS (ver. 4.4 11-19-2008)
Installer (ver 1.1)

Tip: For those interested, more information on Grub4Dos can be found at the following locations:
Grub4Dos Main Page
Grub4Dos Tutorial
Grub4Dos Guide (hosted by boot-land.net)
Grub4Dos GUI Installer Downloads


Extract the downloaded zip files into separate folders. For example, you may unzip Grub4DOS to C:\Grub4DOS and the Installer to C:\Grub4DOS-Installer. You may also choose to unzip them into a folder named after the zip file's name.

If your flashdrive is not already plugged into the computer, plug it in now.

The next step is to run the Grub4DOS Installer on the flashdrive. Browse to the Installer's unzipped folder using Windows Explorer.

In Windows XP, just run the grubinst_gui.exe program.

In Vista, you'll need to run grubinst_gui.exe in Administrator mode. Right-click on the program file and select Run as administrator from the pop-up menu.

You may get a security pop-up window asking if you want to run the program. Select Run to start the program.















In Vista, if you have UAC turned on (the default setting), you'll get another warning. Select Allow to let the program start.
















Once the program is started, select the Disk option, then click the Disk Refresh button and then select your flashdrive from the dropdown box.












You should be able to tell which disk is your flashdrive by the size shown for each drive. In this example, my 8GB flashdrive is easy to pick out.







IMPORTANT: Make sure you select your flashdrive from the dropdown list and not a different drive (if installing to a USB hard drive or an internal drive, make sure it's the correct one). If you accidentally select the wrong drive, you may not be able to boot your system without doing a boot repair.

Now click the Part List Refresh button, then the dropdown box and finally select the Whole disk (MBR) option.












Check the Don't search floppy option, leave all the other options unchecked and cleared and then click the Install button to install Grub4DOS to the MBR of the flashdrive.






















Hopefully, you'll get the message that the installation was successful.

Press Enter to close the Command Prompt window. The Grub4DOS MBR and booting code is now installed on the flashdrive.

The next step is to copy the grldr file to the flashdrive's root folder. Using Windows Explorer, browse to the folder where you unzipped the Grub4DOS program and copy the file to the flashdrive.

Grub4DOS is now installed on the flashdrive. Next we will show howt to boot an ISO from Grub4DOS.


Section 2 - Setup Booting an ISO File (Acronis ISO)

The ability to boot ISO files directly is one of the newer features of Grub4DOS. It is still a work in progress and has problems with some types of ISO files. However, in my use and testing, it hasn't had any problems with the Acronis ISO files.

The flexibility allowed by being able to boot the ISO file directly makes keeping multiple versions and/or different builds on the same flashdrive an easy task. Adding them is as simple as putting the ISO file on the flashdrive and adding the menu entry to boot it.

As with the partition method, there are only two steps needed to use your Grub4DOS flashdrive in this fashion.

First, run the Acronis Media Builder. However, instead of specifying the flashdrive as the destination device, select to create an ISO file. You can save the ISO file directly to the flashdrive if you wish.

Second, create the Grub4DOS menu.lst file with the entry to start the Acronis Media. The menu.lst file is a plain text file created using the Windows Notepad program. This file must be located in the root folder of the flashdrive. Start the Notepad program and type (or copy and paste) in the following text:

timeout 10
default 0

title Acronis True Image Home 2009 (9,615)
map (hd0,0)/ti-12-9615.iso (hd32)
map --hook
chainloader (hd32)
boot

title CommandLine
commandline

title Reboot
reboot

title Halt
halt















Note: In this example, I've used Acronis True Image Home 2009 (9,615) as the menu entry's title for the Acronis Media. Feel free to use whatever name you want. Also note that I used ti-12-9615.iso for the ISO filename. You can use whatever name is appropriate, however I would recommend you don't put spaces into the ISO's filename.

Save the file to the root folder of the flashdrive with the name: menu.lst

Tip: If Notepad appends a ".txt" to the filename, just rename the file to menu.lst using Windows Explorer

If you have the Windows Explorer option set to hide filename extensions for known file types, you may need to disable it. Otherwise, explorer may display menu.lst when the actual filename is menu.lst.txt. Click here for instructions.

A sample menu.lst file can be downloaded below. If you use it, make sure to rename it to menu.lst once it's on the flashdrive. You will also need to edit it as necessary for your ISO's filename.

Download

Sample menu.lst file

To update this flashdrive to a different version or build of the Acronis Media, just rerun the Media Builder program and save the new ISO file to the flashdrive. If you are replacing an existing ISO file, no other changes are needed. If you are adding an ISO file, edit the menu.lst file and add the new menu entry. For example: If you want to add your True Image Home 10 build 4,942 ISO (ti-10-4942.iso) to the flashdrive, you would put the ISO file on the flashdrive and add the following menu entry:

title Acronis True Image Home 10 (4,942)
map (hd0,0)/ti-10-4942.iso (hd32)
map --hook
chainloader (hd32)
boot


Additional Notes

• In these instructions, the timout value for booting the default Grub4DOS menu entry is 10 seconds. If you want a shorter or longer time, change the value.

• If you setup to boot the ISO files, you can place the ISO files into folders instead of having them in the root folder. For example: If you want all of your Acronis ISO files to be in the \acronis folder, just modify the entry in the menu.lst file to include the folder in the path to the ISO file: map (hd0,0)/acronis/ti-12-9615.iso (hd32)

Taken From: http://themudcrab.com/acronis_grub4dos.php

An alternative method, to boot an ISO from a USB Flash Disk (PEN), can be found in this Blog here