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# USB Flash Installation Media

From ArchWiki

Summary
Mutiplatform instructions on creating a bootable USB stick which can be used for installing Arch Linux, system maintenance or for recovery purposes.
Related
CD Burning

Note: If you can't boot on a UEFI system with the instructions below, create a bootable USB stick by following these instructions. That is due to the "exotic" implementations of UEFI by some hardware manufactures.

This page discusses various methods on how to write an Arch Linux release to a USB drive (also referred to as "flash drive", "USB stick", "USB key", etc) for booting in BIOS systems. The result will be a LiveCD-like system ("LiveUSB", if you will) that, because of the nature of SquashFS, will discard all changes once the computer shuts down.

If you would like to run a full install of Arch Linux from a USB drive (i.e. with persistent settings), see Installing Arch Linux on a USB key. If you would like to use your bootable Arch Linux USB stick as a rescue USB, see Change Root.

## On GNU/Linux

### Overwrite the USB drive

Warning:

- This will irrevocably destroy all data on `/dev/sdx`.
- This method does not work with UEFI boot.

Tip: Check that the USB flash installation media is not mounted with `lsblk`.
Note: Use `/dev/sdx` instead of `/dev/sdx1`.

    # dd bs=4M if=/path/to/archlinux.iso of=/dev/sdx && sync

#### How to restore the USB drive

Because the ISO image is a hybrid which can either be burned to a disc or directly written to a USB drive, it doesn't include a standard partition table.

After you install Arch Linux and you're done with the USB drive, you should zero out its first 512 bytes (meaning the boot code from the MBR and the non-standard partition table) if you want to restore it to full capacity:

    # dd count=1 bs=512 if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdx && sync

Then create a new partition table (e.g. "msdos") and filesystem (e.g. EXT4, FAT32) using gparted, or from a terminal:

- For EXT2/3/4 (adjust accordingly), it would be:

    # cfdisk /dev/sdx
    # mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdx1
    # e2label /dev/sdx1 USB_STICK

- For FAT32, install the dosfstools package and run:

    # cfdisk /dev/sdx
    # mkfs.vfat -F32 /dev/sdx1
    # dosfslabel /dev/sdx1 USB_STICK

### Without overwriting the USB drive

This method is slightly more complicated than writing the image directly with `dd`, but it does keep the drive usable for data storage. Before you begin, make sure that your USB device is formatted as either FAT32, EXT2/3/4 or Btrfs. For UEFI boot and/or interoperability with other operating systems you should use FAT32. Also, make sure that you have the syslinux package (version 4.04 or newer) installed.

1. Extract the `arch` folder from the ISO to the USB drive. For UEFI motherboards follow these instructions.

2. Install the Syslinux bootloader:

Warning: Be very careful where you point `dd` and please use the drive itself in the following commands, not the first partition. This is a very common mistake.
Note: On some distributions `mbr.bin` may be available as `/usr/share/syslinux/mbr.bin`.

    $ cd /path/to/folder/arch/boot/syslinux #Where path/to/folder is the USB drive's mount point
    # extlinux --install .                       #Type it exactly as you see it, including the dot (.)
    # dd bs=440 conv=notrunc count=1 if=/usr/lib/syslinux/mbr.bin of=/dev/sdx
    # parted /dev/sdx toggle 1 boot

3. Adjust the configuration files:

Warning: Failure to label the drive "`ARCH_2013XX`" (with the appropriate release month) or to use an UUID (to re-label it to whatever you like) will get you the infamous "30 seconds" error.

Here's how you can replace the `archisolabel=ARCH_2013XX` part with your equivalent of `archisodevice=/dev/disk/by-uuid/47FA-4071` for both config files at the same time, using a single command:

Note: Adjust `/dev/sdx1` before running it, else it will become blank (since drive `sdx` doesn't exist).

    $ sed -i "s|label=ARCH_.*|device=/dev/disk/by-uuid/$(blkid -o value -s UUID /dev/sdx1)|" archiso_sys{32,64}.cfg

If the syslinux package on your distribution is older than version 4.06, as a workaround for FAT32 filesystems (unnecessary for EXT4), the `APPEND` line from `syslinux.cfg` should also be replaced:

    $ sed -i "s|../../|/arch|" syslinux.cfg

#### Using UNetbootin

UNetbootin can be used on any Linux distribution or Windows to copy your iso to a USB device. However, Unetbootin overwrites syslinux.cfg, so it creates a USB device that does not boot properly. For this reason, Unetbootin is not recommended -- please use `dd` or one of the other methods discussed in this topic.

Warning: UNetbootin writes over the default `syslinux.cfg`; this must be restored before the USB device will boot properly.

Edit `syslinux.cfg`:

    sysconfig.cfg

    default menu.c32
    prompt 0
    menu title Archlinux Installer
    timeout 100

    label unetbootindefault
    menu label Archlinux_x86_64
    kernel /arch/boot/x86_64/vmlinuz
    append initrd=/arch/boot/x86_64/archiso.img archisodevice=/dev/sdx1 ../../

    label ubnentry0
    menu label Archlinux_i686
    kernel /arch/boot/i686/vmlinuz
    append initrd=/arch/boot/i686/archiso.img archisodevice=/dev/sdx1 ../../

In `/dev/sdx1` you must replace x with the first free letter after the last letter in use on the system where you are installing Arch Linux (e.g. if you have two hard drives, use `c`.). You can make this change during the first phase of boot by pressing `Tab` when the menu is shown.

## On Mac OS X

To be able to use `dd` on your USB device on a Mac you have to do some special maneuvers. First of all insert your usb device, OS X will automount it, and in `Terminal.app` run:

    $ diskutil list

Figure out what your USB device is called with `mount` or `sudo dmesg | tail` (e.g. `/dev/disk1`) and unmount the partitions on the device (i.e., /dev/disk1s1) while keeping the device proper (i.e., /dev/disk1):

    $ diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk1

Now we can continue in accordance with the instructions above (but use `bs=8192` if you are using the OS X `dd`, the number comes from `1024*8`).

    dd if=image.iso of=/dev/disk1 bs=8192

    20480+0 records in
    20480+0 records out
    167772160 bytes transferred in 220.016918 secs (762542 bytes/sec)

It is probably a good idea to eject your drive before physical removal at this point:

    $ diskutil eject /dev/disk1

## On Windows

### Win32 Disk Imager

Warning: This will destroy all information on your USB flash drive!

First, download the program from here. Next, extract the archive and run the executable. Now, select the Arch Linux ISO under the `Image File` section and the USB flash device letter (for example, [D:\]) under the `Device` section. Finally, click `Write` when ready.

Tip: By default, the Win32 Disk Imager's file-browser assumes disk image files end with a `.img` extension. However, you can simply change the `Files of type` drop-down list to `*.*` and continue on to selecting your Arch Linux ISO.
Note: After installation, you may need to restore the USB flash drive following a process as outlined here.

### USBWriter for Windows

Download the program from http://sourceforge.net/projects/usbwriter/ and run it. Select the arch image file, the target USB stick, and click on the `write` button. Now you should be able to boot from the usb stick and install Arch Linux from it.

### The Flashnul way

flashnul is an utility to verify the functionality and maintenance of Flash-Memory (USB-Flash, IDE-Flash, SecureDigital, MMC, MemoryStick, SmartMedia, XD, CompactFlash etc).

From a command prompt, invoke flashnul with `-p`, and determine which device index is your USB drive, e.g.:

    C:\>flashnul -p

    Avaible physical drives:
    Avaible logical disks:
    C:\
    D:\
    E:\

When you have determined which device is the correct one, you can write the image to your drive, by invoking flashnul with the device index, `-L`, and the path to your image, e.g:

    C:\>flashnul E: -L path\to\arch.iso

As long as you are really sure you want to write the data, type yes, then wait a bit for it to write. If you get an access denied error, close any Explorer windows you have open.

If under Vista or Win7, you should open the console as administrator, or else flashnul will fail to open the stick as a block device and will only be able to write via the drive handle windows provides

Note: Confirmed that you need to use drive letter as opposed to number. flashnul 1rc1, Windows 7 x64.

### The Cygwin way

Make sure your Cygwin installation contains the `dd` package.

Tip: If you do not want to install Cygwin, you can download `dd` for Windows from here. See the next section for more information.

Place your image file in your home directory:

    C:\cygwin\home\John\

Run cygwin as administrator (required for cygwin to access hardware). To write to your USB drive use the following command:

    dd if=image.iso of=\\.\[x]: bs=4M

where image.iso is the path to the iso image file within the `cygwin` directory and `\\.\[x]`: is your USB flash drive where x is the windows designated letter, e.g. `\\.\d:`.

On Cygwin 6.0 find out the correct partition with:

    cat /proc/partitions

and write the ISO image with the information from the output. Example:

Warning: This will irrevocably delete all files on your USB flash drive, so make sure you do not have any important files on the stick before doing this.

    dd if=image.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M

### dd for Windows

Note: Some users have an "isolinux.bin missing or corrupt" problem when booting the media with this method.

A GPL licensed dd version for Windows is available at http://www.chrysocome.net/dd. The advantage of this over Cygwin is a smaller download. Use it as shown in instructions for Cygwin above.

To begin, download the latest version of dd for Windows. Once downloaded, extract the archive's contents into Downloads or elsewhere.

Now, launch your `command prompt` as an administrator. Next, change directory (`cd`) into the Downloads directory.

If your Arch Linux ISO is elsewhere you may need to state the full path, for convenience you may wish to put the Arch Linux ISO into the same folder as the dd executable. The basic format of the command will look like this.

    dd if=archlinux-2013-XX-xx-dual.iso of=\\.\x: bs=4m

Warning: This command will replace the drive's contents and its formatting with the ISO's. You will likely be unable to recover its contents in the event of an accidental copy. Be absolutely sure that you are directing dd to the correct drive before executing!

Simply replace the various null spots (indicated by an "x") with the correct date and correct drive letter.

Here is a complete example.

    dd if=ISOs\archlinux-2013.08.01-dual.iso of=\\.\d: bs=4M

### Loading the installation media from RAM

This method uses Syslinux and a Ramdisk (MEMDISK) to load the entire Arch Linux ISO image into RAM. Since this will be running entirely from system memory, you will need to make sure the system you will be installing this on has an adequate amount. A minimum amount of RAM between 500 MB and 1 GB should suffice for a MEMDISK based, Arch Linux install.

For more information on Arch Linux system requirements as well as those for MEMDISK see the Beginners' Guide and here.

Tip: Once the installer has completed loading you can simply remove the USB stick and even use it on a different machine to start the process all over again. Utilizing MEMDISK also allows booting and installing Arch Linux to and from the same USB flash drive.

#### Preparing the USB flash drive

Begin by formatting the USB flash drive as FAT32. Then create the following folders on the newly formatted drive.

- `Boot`
  - `Boot/ISOs`
  - `Boot/Settings`

#### Copy the needed files to the USB flash drive

Next copy the ISO that you would like to boot to the `Boot/ISOs` folder. After that, extract from the following files from the latest release of syslinux from here and copy them into the following folders.

- `./win32/syslinux.exe` to the Desktop or Downloads folder on your system.
- `./memdisk/memdisk` to the `Settings` folder on your USB flash drive.

#### Create the configuration file

After copying the needed files, navigate to the USB flash drive, /boot/Settings and create a `syslinux.cfg` file.

Warning: On the `INITRD` line, be sure to use the name of the ISO file that you copied to your `ISOs` folder!

    /Boot/Settings/syslinux.cfg

    DEFAULT arch_iso

    LABEL arch_iso
            MENU LABEL Arch Setup
            LINUX memdisk
            INITRD /Boot/ISOs/archlinux-2013.08.01-dual.iso
            APPEND iso

For more information on Syslinux see the Arch Wiki article.

#### Final steps

Finally, create a `*.bat` file where `syslinux.exe` is located and run it ("Run as administrator" if you're on Vista or Windows 7):

    C:\Documents and Settings\username\Desktop\install.bat

    @echo off
    syslinux.exe -m -a -d /Boot/Settings X:

### Universal USB Installer

The Windows tool [1] can be used to quickly create a Live USB media with multiple Installers of many Linux distros. Once created, Installers can be added or removed without reformatting the USB drive.

## Troubleshooting

Note: For the MEMDISK Method, if you get the famous "30 seconds" error trying to boot the i686 version, press the `Tab` key over the `Boot Arch Linux (i686)` entry and add `vmalloc=448M` at the end. For reference: If your image is bigger than 128MiB and you have a 32-bit OS, then you have to increase the maximum memory usage of vmalloc. (*)
Note: If you get the "30 seconds" error due to the `/dev/disk/by-label/ARCH_XXXXXX` not mounting, try renaming your USB media to `ARCH_XXXXXX` (e.g. `ARCH_201302`).

## See Also

- Gentoo liveusb document

Retrieved from "https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php?title=USB_Flash_Installation_Media&oldid=280276"
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