How to Install Ubuntu 8.10 via USB Flash Drive

Posted by Saad Hamid on October 31, 2008

Everyone seems to be loving the new release of Ubuntu i.e. Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex which launched yesterday.

It is a lot more secure and stable as compared to previous releases of Ubuntu. What I personally liked so far is the new 'Carry on a USB' feature which lets you download and install Ubuntu via a USB flash drive instead of burning it to a CD.

Here I have a little tutorial on how to install Ubuntu 8.10 via USB Flash Drive. I used the same tutorial to install Ubuntu on my Acer laptop without writing or burning it to a CD.

All you will be requiring is the Ubuntu 8.10 ISO which can be downloaded from http://ubuntu.com/ and a USB flash drive with at least 1GB of memory.

Here is what you need to do.

  1. Connect your USB flash drive to your PC and format it in FAT32 by right clicking it and selecting format.
  2. Download the Ubuntu 8.10 conversion script and execute it. A folder named Ubuntu810 shall be created.
  3. Place the Ubuntu 8.10 ISO in the Ubuntu810 folder.
  4. Select and run the Ubuntu810.bat file inside the Ubuntu810 folder and follow the onsreen instructions.
  5. Once the script has finished, restart your PC and set your BIOS or Boot Menu to boot from the USB device, save your changes and reboot.

If everything goes well, you should now be able to test the LiveCD version of Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex and even install it. This method is non-persistant so it won't save any changes you make while running Ubuntu in the LiveCD mode.

Thanks to PendriveLinux for the tutorial.

  • Thanks, really helped our company!!
  • Worked awesome for me!
  • Can it be installed within XP, and also i have a wireless connection, and its not hooking up to download its resources.

    please help.

    Thanks, jaime.
  • Jimmy
    Fred I had that prob too... I think what we are looking is http://www.pendrivelinux.com/downloads/u810/Ubu...

    Thx for the info Saad
  • Fred
    By the way, the link to the Ubuntu 8.10 conversion script appears to be broken.
  • Fred
    Well, I had a look at the tutorials on http://www.pendrivelinux.com/ and they seem to aim at installing Ubuntu *ON* a USB stick, rather than *FROM* it.

    Of course, the Live Desktop CD also lets you install the system onto a HDD, but the Alternate ISO is not for a Live CD, I just need it to install Kubuntu onto an encrypted HDD.
  • I am not sure, but I don't see a reason why it won't.
  • Fred
    Hello, does this work with the Ubuntu/Kubuntu 8.10 Alternate 64-bit ISO, too?
  • Enjoyed your post, helped a lot thanks ;)
  • Michael Leuchtenburg
    Needs editing to convert the amd64 version. Not much, fortunately. Thanks for the tool!
  • Ali
    Just perfect. It worked like a charm! thanks
  • Alifaan, I mean its for me, Not for all. I am a great supporter of open source.
  • "Everyone seems to be loving the new release"? I wouldn't say that...I haven't upgraded yet because, if you check the Ubuntu Forums, you will see that for many people this release broke their entire ubuntu installation and they can't even get a graphical GUI now.

    So backup and be prepared before updating to this new version...
  • How do you make the install to USB...persistent? In other words, where changes you make on the live session are saved to USB?

    I'd like to run from USB flash drive with all my settings.

    Thanks in advance,
    Miguel
  • I'm always using the Live CDs to install Ubuntu, but now I get something new.
    Thanks.
  • @Anish K.S think you are wrong, Ubuntu is user friendly, and already have one award about that, if not believe check this http://www.ubuntu.com/news/MostUserFriendlyAward
  • Once i installed Ubuntu, But its not User friendly.
  • awesome, and new tool from Ubuntu for putting your system to USB stick is cool.
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