Deploy ISO Image on an USB Stick

In KIWI NG all generated ISO images are created to be hybrid. This means, the image can be used as a CD/DVD or as a disk. This works because the ISO image also has a partition table embedded. With more and more computers delivered without a CD/DVD drive this becomes important.

The very same ISO image can be copied onto a USB stick and used as a bootable disk. The following procedure shows how to do this:

  1. Plug in a USB stick

    Once plugged in, check which Unix device name the stick was assigned to. The following command provides an overview about all linux storage devices:

    $ lsblk

  2. Dump the ISO image on the USB stick:

    Warning

    Make sure the selected device really points to your stick because the following operation can not be revoked and will destroy all data on the selected device

    $ dd if={exc_image_base_name}.x86_64-1.15.3.iso of=/dev/<stickdevice>

  3. Boot from your USB Stick

    Activate booting from USB in your BIOS/UEFI. As many firmware has different procedures on how to do it, look into your user manual. Many firmware offers a boot menu which can be activated at boot time.