Create a Bootable USB Drive Using dd Command on Linux

In this article, you will learn how to Create a Bootable USB Drive Using dd Command on Linux. As a server administrator who wants to run an operating system directly or install a new operating system. You will need a bootable USB drive. And as you know the CLI is more powerful than the GUI, so we can achieve this with the dd command. In Windows systems, we have applications to use (my personal favorite is Rufus). Please see this guide on how to create a bootable USB using Rufus on Windows.

Please see how to Add a new partition to an existing Linux server, and how to create a Windows 11 Bootable USB drive. Also, see how to Create a Windows 10 or 11 bootable USB with UEFI support, and how to Disable and Enable USB Usage for Certain Users in Windows.

The ‘dd’ Command

dd means data duplicator, and it is used to convert and copy files. It is a versatile tool that can be used for many purposes. Such as cloning data from one disk or partition to another.

Furthermore, disk backup and restore, converting data formats, etc. This powerful utility can also be employed when it comes to creating a Bootable USB Drive Using dd Command.

However, The dd command is preinstalled on most Linux distributions. Moreover, To make a Bootable USB Drive Using dd Command, follow the steps below.

lsblk

From the above command, the USB has not been inserted. insert the USB and try again.

mkfs.vfat -I /dev/sdb ----> Format the USB drive

Run the dd command to make the usb drive bootable

dd if=/path/to/isofile of=/dev/sdb status=progress  --------> Make sure you are root or you have sudo privileges

I hope you found this blog post on how to Create a Bootable USB Drive Using dd Command on Linux helpful. Please let me know in the comment session if you have any questions.