Linux – How to write ISO image to usb memory stick from linux command-line

Ubuntu now includes a "install to USB" option in the system menu. This is your best bet and does not require trying to cram a large file onto the stick - instead, files are stored "normally", which means you'll be able to get around the 4Gb barrier.

Install gparted to assist with this:

sudo apt-get install gparted
sudo gparted

If the GUI method doesn't work, try directly formatting through the command line instead.

The file size limitation still applies, so if you plan on having large files, Ext2 is still your best choice. Format it as Ext2 and then use the provided tool to do the install.

If you're stuck in a chicken-and-egg situation (only have a Windows install to work with but no live Linux install) you could burn the ISO to a CD, boot the CD, download and install the partition program, run it to partition the stick, and then run the USB install from there.

The problem is that apt/dpkg can't look inside the image files for the .deb package files. You need to get the .deb files themselves to your USB source.

I would do this as follows:

1. Install Ubuntu server on another computer (or into an empty partition or into a virtual machine) that does have a network connection.
2. Run 'aptitude clean' to clear out the package directory at /var/cache/apt/archives
3. Run 'aptitude install xfce'
4. /var/cache/apt/archives will now have the .debs you need. Copy these over to your drive and run the install on the original computer.

There's also a program called apt-offline that that handles this kind of situation but probablly not worth learning for just one install.