UNetbootin
Encyclopedia
UNetbootin is a cross-platform utility that can create live USB
systems and can load a variety of system utilities or install various Linux distribution
s and other operating system
s without a CD.
creates bootable USB flash drive
s and bootable USB Hard Disk Drives; it is a Live USB
creator.
At this time multiple installs on the same device are not supported, although you can do it manually by editing files.
performs a network installation or "frugal install" without a CD, similar to that performed by the Win32-Loader
.
UNetbootin's distinguishing features are its support for a great variety of Linux distributions, its portability, its ability to load custom disk image
(including ISO image
) files, and its support for both Windows and Linux. Unlike Wubi, and similar to the Win32-Loader
, when installing to hard disk, UNetbootin installs to a partition
, not a disk image
, thus creating a dual-boot setup between Linux and Windows.
Live USB
A live USB is a USB flash drive or a USB external hard disk drive containing a full operating system that can be booted. Live USBs are closely related to live CDs, but sometimes have the ability to persistently save settings and permanently install software packages back onto the USB device...
systems and can load a variety of system utilities or install various Linux distribution
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
s and other operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s without a CD.
USB Install
This installation modeMode (computer interface)
In user interface design, a mode is a distinct setting within a computer program or any physical machine interface, in which the same user input will produce perceived different results than it would in other settings....
creates bootable USB flash drive
USB flash drive
A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
s and bootable USB Hard Disk Drives; it is a Live USB
Live USB
A live USB is a USB flash drive or a USB external hard disk drive containing a full operating system that can be booted. Live USBs are closely related to live CDs, but sometimes have the ability to persistently save settings and permanently install software packages back onto the USB device...
creator.
- Cross-platform (available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X)
- Non-destructive install (does not format the device) using SyslinuxSYSLINUXThe SYSLINUX Project is a suite of lightweight IBM PC MBR bootloaders for starting up computers with the Linux kernel. It is the work of H. Peter Anvin, and consists of several separate systems, the best-known of which is ISOLINUX.-List:...
. - Supports mainstream Linux distributions, such as UbuntuUbuntu (operating system)Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
, FedoraFedora (operating system)Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...
, openSUSEOpenSUSEopenSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...
, CentOSCentOSCentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...
, DebianDebianDebian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
, GentooGentoo LinuxGentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...
, Linux MintLinux MintLinux Mint is a Linux-based computer operating system best known for its usability and ease of installation, particularly for users with no previous GNU/Linux experience...
, Arch LinuxArch LinuxArch Linux is an independently developed, Linux-based operating system for i686 and x86-64 computers. It is composed predominantly of free and open source software, and supports community involvement....
, MandrivaMandriva LinuxMandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...
, MepisMEPISMEPIS is a set of Linux distributions, distributed as Live CDs that can be installed onto a hard disk drive.MEPIS is developed and maintained by an active community begun by Warren Woodford and the eponymous company MEPIS LLC....
, SlackwareSlackwareSlackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...
as well as FreeDOSFreeDOSFreeDOS is an operating system for IBM PC compatible computers. FreeDOS is made up of many different, separate programs that act as "packages" to the overall FreeDOS Project...
, FreeBSDFreeBSDFreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
and NetBSDNetBSDNetBSD is a freely available open source version of the Berkeley Software Distribution Unix operating system. It was the second open source BSD descendant to be formally released, after 386BSD, and continues to be actively developed. The NetBSD project is primarily focused on high quality design,...
. - Can load a variety of system utilities, such as OphcrackOphcrackOphcrack is a free open source program that cracks Windows passwords by using LM hashes through rainbow tables. The program includes the ability to import the hashes from a variety of formats, including dumping directly from the SAM files of Windows...
, BackTrackBackTrackBackTrack is an operating system based on the Ubuntu GNU/Linux distribution aimed at digital forensics and penetration testing use. It is named after backtracking, a search algorithm...
. - Other operating systems can be loaded via pre-downloaded ISO imageISO imageAn ISO image is an archive file of an optical disc, composed of the data contents of every written sector of an optical disc, including the optical disc file system...
or floppy/hard drive disk imageDisk imageA disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, or USB flash drive, although an image of an optical disc may be referred to as an optical disc image...
files. - Automatically detects all removable devices.
- Supports LiveUSB persistence (preserving files across reboots; this feature is for Ubuntu only)
Hard Drive Install
This installation modeMode (computer interface)
In user interface design, a mode is a distinct setting within a computer program or any physical machine interface, in which the same user input will produce perceived different results than it would in other settings....
performs a network installation or "frugal install" without a CD, similar to that performed by the Win32-Loader
Win32-loader (Debian)
win32-loader is a component of the Debian-Installer that runs on Windows and has the ability to load the actual installer either from the network or from CD-ROM media ....
.
UNetbootin's distinguishing features are its support for a great variety of Linux distributions, its portability, its ability to load custom disk image
Disk image
A disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, or USB flash drive, although an image of an optical disc may be referred to as an optical disc image...
(including ISO image
ISO image
An ISO image is an archive file of an optical disc, composed of the data contents of every written sector of an optical disc, including the optical disc file system...
) files, and its support for both Windows and Linux. Unlike Wubi, and similar to the Win32-Loader
Win32-loader (Debian)
win32-loader is a component of the Debian-Installer that runs on Windows and has the ability to load the actual installer either from the network or from CD-ROM media ....
, when installing to hard disk, UNetbootin installs to a partition
Disk partitioning
Disk partitioning is the act of dividing a hard disk drive into multiple logical storage units referred to as partitions, to treat one physical disk drive as if it were multiple disks. Partitions are also termed "slices" for operating systems based on BSD, Solaris or GNU Hurd...
, not a disk image
Disk image
A disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, or USB flash drive, although an image of an optical disc may be referred to as an optical disc image...
, thus creating a dual-boot setup between Linux and Windows.
See also
- List of tools to create Live USB systems
- Windows To GoWindows To GoWindows To Go is a feature in Windows 8 that allows the entire system to run from USB mass storage devices such as flash drives and external hard drives....
- FUSBi- Based on UNetbootin, it only downloads distributions endorsed by the FSF.