Burn ISO to USB

How to Burn an ISO File to a USB Drive (Windows, macOS, Linux)?

In IT environments, deploying operating systems, running recovery tools, or launching live environments seamlessly, with minimal delay, is crucial for managing a vast fleet of endpoints. Using USB drives to boot and provision systems is one of the most sought-after methods, although it can be less efficient than using PXE boot.

This article talks about how you can burn an ISO file to a USB device, which can then be used to boot Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. This step-by-step guide walks you through the process of burning ISO to a USB on various operating systems.

Table of Contents

What is an ISO file?

An ISO file is a digital replica of an optical disc, i.e. a sector-by-sector copy of data from CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs - all stored in a single file. ISOs are commonly used for operating systems like Windows, and Linux distros (Ubuntu, Fedora), as well as rescuing disks.

To use an ISO file for booting or OS deployment, the ISO files must be written to a USB drive - commonly referred to as burning on the USB drive - to make it bootable.

What are the benefits of burning ISO to USB?

  • Portability: USB drives are faster to load into the systems and more convenient to be carried around than DVDs.
  • Reusability: USBs can be erased and reused, contrary to DVDs, thus reducing costs in the long term.
  • Speed: USB drives have flash memory that stores data even without power and offers quicker read/write times, thereby speeding up the OS installations.
  • Compatibility: Most modern BIOS/UEFI setups and newer laptops and hardware support USB booting. Additionally, newer systems do not offer the CD/DVD tray, and hence, USB drives are the only solution.

How to create ISO from USB on different operating systems?

Here's a step-by-step process to create ISO from USB. The steps mentioned below have been performed via native methods offered by the operating systems:

Before getting started:

Here are the things that you need before getting started with creating a bootable USB from ISO:

  • A USB drive with at least 8 GB of space.
  • The ISO file of the operating system is to be booted.
  • Command-line utility or platform-specific tool for burning the ISO.

On Windows

  1. Insert the USB drive
  2. Open Command Prompt as Administrator
  3. Launch Diskpart:
    4. diskpart
  4. List and select the USB disk:
    5. list disk
    select disk X   (replace X with the USB number)
  5. Clean and format the USB:
    6. clean
    create partition primary
    format fs=ntfs quick
    active
    assign
    exit
  6. Mount the ISO (right-click > Mount)
  7. Copy contents to USB:
    8. xcopy X:\*.* Y:\ /E /F /H   (X = ISO mount, Y = USB)

On macOS

  1. Insert USB Drive
  2. Convert ISO to DMG (if needed):
    3. hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o ~/path/converted.img ~/path/original.iso
  3. Identify the USB device:
    4. diskutil list
  4. Unmount the disk:
    5. diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN
  5. Burn the image to USB (rdiskN is the raw disk identifier, which speeds up the process.):
    6. sudo dd if=~/path/converted.img.dmg of=/dev/rdiskN bs=1m
  6. Eject USB (Double-check disk numbers—dd will erase everything on the target):
    7. diskutil eject /dev/diskN

On Linux

  1. Insert USB and find its device name:
    2. lsblk
  2. Burn ISO to USB (Replace /dev/sdX with the correct USB device (not a partition like /dev/sdX1):
    3. sudo dd if=/path/to/iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync
  3. Flush changes:
    4. sync

How to use USB boot post burning the ISO to USB?

  • Insert the USB drive into the system
  • Reboot/restart the system
  • While the system boots, navigate to the BIOS/UEFI settings (the boot menu differs across vendors)
  • Set the boot order to prioritize USB over the existing hard disk
  • Save and exit

The system automatically reboots using the USB.

Best practices to follow while creating bootable USB

  • To avoid corrupted boots, always verify the checksum of the ISO before writing to the USB drives.
  • USB 3.0 drives are generally recommended for faster read speeds during deployment.
  • The ISOs should be correctly labeled stating the various OS versions and architectures.
  • Customized operating systems should at first be tested on test systems or virtual environments for functional correctness.

Simplifying ISO to USB creation and OS deployment with ManageEngine

While manually burning ISO files to USB works for one-off installations, it becomes complex and impractical when it comes to managing and provisioning hundreds of systems in an organization. ManageEngine OS Deployer makes this process significantly easier and faster—especially at scale.

With OS Deployer, admins can:

  • Create and maintain bootable USB media directly from the web console.
  • Deploy operating systems to multiple endpoints simultaneously across remote locations.
  • Integrate vendor-recommended drivers and automate post-deployment tasks.
  • Provision of live machines with an operating system via zero-touch deployment and automated booting, without physical interactions.
  • Create and store images for operating systems that can be deployed across the network.

OS Deployer is the all-in-one solution for OS image creation, backup, and deployment as well as the creation of bootable media. Try out a 30-day free trial to know more.

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