Tech Throes

Kingston Digital DataTraveler 101 Generation 2 - 16 GB Flash Drive DT101G2/16GBZET

Installing the CD image of Ubuntu onto a USB stcik is quite handy in certain situations. Say you need to install the latest and greatest version of Ubuntu in a Netbook. Or maybe you need to do emergency recovery and your optical drive chose the most inopportune moment to conk out on you. Or you may be like me, with shelves of burnt media and running out of storage. Whatever the case, you can try Ubuntu before you commit. It's just handy (and dandy, Joe) that you can do it from a USB stick.

1. Download Ubuntu from http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download. Remember the location where you downloaded the .ISO file. Using the default location under My Documents works best, the installer will automatically scan those folders.

2. Download PendriveLinux's Universal USB Installer from http://www.pendrivelinux.com/downloads/Universal-USB-Installer/Universal-USB-Installer.exe

3. Launch the Universal USB Installer and agree with the terms:

4. Start configuring the Options:

5. Select the flavor of Linux you want to install using the drop-down menu on Step 1. For our case it's Ubuntu 11.04:

6. If the Universal USB Installer can't find the ISO automatically, specify the location by clicking the Browse button on Step 2. In the sample below, I downloaded it to Drive D:\ :

7. Choose the drive letter of your USB drive in Step 3. You can tick the option to format the drive before you install Ubuntu on it:

8. Click on the Create button to start installing:

9. Confirm your options by clicking on Yes on the next notification:

10. Grab a cup of joe while you let the installer do it's work:

11. You'll see another window where the status is tracked. Caution should be exercised, as this can be hypnotic for geeks like me:

12. And we are done!

Now, reboot your computer, go into BIOS and choose the options to boot into USB devices before the hard drive or optical drive. You can use the 'Live CD' in the USB stick to try out Ubuntu or choose to install it to your hard drive from there. Enjoy with a second cup of coffee!