Member Avatar for h(OM)e

I have prepared over a dozen USB thumb drives with various Linux distros only to have each of them fail to successfully boot.

Some of the techniques I have used:

  • I have verified the integrity of the iso images that I have downloaded (pgp signatures, hashes, etc).
  • I have used GParted to format with Fat32.
  • I have used Unetbootin to "create" the bootable disks from iso images that I already had on hand.
  • I have performed "builds" of the OS's onto the USB drives per official OS documentation.

BIOS appears to be able to boot from USB...

When the boot sequence finds the USB device, I receive an error message, something to the tune of "Boot Failed ... name_of_USB_drive "

I'm quite unsure as to why I have such results. Do any of you have input on the matter - if so, what is it? Thank you for your consideration.

  • 5 Contributors
  • 6 Replies
  • 249 Views
  • 1 Day Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by best4earn

Dani AI

Generated

Short diagnostic note: given 's report that the firmware finds the stick but reports "Boot Failed ...", the problem is usually one of three things — the USB lacks an MBR/bootloader the firmware can use, the machine is running a different firmware mode (UEFI vs legacy) than the media expects, or the firmware's USB emulation/port behavior prevents proper handoff. Earlier replies touched on creation tools and firmware, but the checklist below covers practical fixes not yet discussed in detail.

  1. Isolate the fault — test the same USB on a second machine to tell whether the media itself is bootable.
  2. Use a raw block write for ISOs that are "hybrid" (most modern live images). Example (on a Unix-like host):
sudo dd if=/path/to/distro.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M conv=fsync status=progress

Confirm the target device (eg /dev/sdb) before running; writing to the wrong device will destroy data. Use the raw device (not a partition like /dev/sdX1).
3. Check partition/boot metadata — set a single primary partition and mark it bootable (active) and ensure an MBR is present for legacy BIOS boots; for UEFI boots the media must be FAT32 with an EFI/BOOT/*.EFI stub. Many creation utilities change layouts in ways that break one mode or the other.

  1. Firmware settings and ports — enable CSM/Legacy if the media is BIOS-style, or enable native UEFI if the stick is EFI-bootable. Disable Secure Boot if the distro lacks a signed shim. Try different USB ports (prefer a USB2 port or rear-panel ports on desktops; some controllers don't initialize early enough).

If these steps still fail, the next diagnostics are: remake the media with a different writing method, reinstall a bootloader (syslinux/GRUB) to the stick's MBR, or try a known-good tiny test image to prove the host can boot USB. Credits: for raising creation-tool possibilities, for the firmware/Secure Boot angle, and / for prompting firmware/boot-order checks.

Recommended Answers

All 6 Replies

Member Avatar for rubberman

I have also used unetbootin without problems in the past except that some older thumb drives don't seem to want to boot. I haven't had problems with newer drives. So, are your thumb drives just units that have been sitting around and you thought you'd use them? Or are they new?

Member Avatar for h(OM)e

Oh, I have used three different drives (two different vendors) that were brand new, which then failed.

Some of the others have been around, sure.

  • CimmerianX, thanks for the recommendation
Member Avatar for rubberman

Let us know how the pendrivelinux tool works for you. If it also fails, then there is something else going on. In such a case I would have to ask if this system came with Windows 8 installed on it, and whether or not it is UEFI with Secure Boot enabled?

Member Avatar for Rik_

What computer are you trying to boot?

Member Avatar for best4earn

If you check the bious seting which wil set on 1st boot from USB then need to change to your burner to make a bootable USB .

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.