"Usually, Zorin 18 extracts archives as zip files by doubleclicking on it. "
I may not fully understand your post abt Zorin 18 which I am trying to install from USB in dual-boot mode. The Linux laptop is currently running ONLY LMDE 7.
Will you clarify my confusion. Thanx
Sorry, my mistake. Then right-click on the .zip file and select "extract here". But you wrote, that you have already a balenaetcher folder at Downloads, I think, it is the extracted .zip file. Open it and open the next balenaEtcher folder in it, and then doubleclick click on the file "balena-etcher" to launch Balena Etcher.
As Swarfendor said, Balena Etcher is not always the best tool, it can damage USB drives.
In Linux Mint, you should have a preinstalled tool to create bootable USB drives, named USB Image Writer. Open it, select the downloaded .iso file you want to put on the USB drive, and select your USB drive.
[quote="Forpli, post:22, topic:67378"]
In Linux Mint, you should have a preinstalled tool to create bootable USB drives, named USB Image Writer. Open it, select the downloaded .iso file you want to put on the USB drive, and select your USB drive[/quote]
There is a menu option for burning the ISO to USB but it is not labeled "Image Writer". I tried running it but cannot get the chksum to cooperate. There is no entry for URL or Local Files or Checksum to help simplify.
Since I have been warned abt using Balena Etcher, either Image Burn or Ventoy is preferred but as usual there are problems downloading & installing Ventoy. So if I can resolve the chksum issue, Image Burn is my first choice. What am I doing wrong ? Thanx.
LMDE should support Flatpak. So, You could simply install Impression. I use it on Zorin for creating Bootsticks. It is a really simple Program, not complicated. But it will only work for UEFI BIOS.
Imgburn is only available for Windows.
With regards the checksum issue for Rescuezilla, if you scroll down to the bottom of his GitHub page you will find them there under Assets:
The checksums for Zorin OS are here:
In terms of an image writer I can recommend the Gnome one. It is the first item here:
To install it via the terminal on Mint:
sudo apt install gnome-multi-writer
Why do I recommend it? I was wanting to have a play with KDE's own distribution which is only available as a .raw file. I was advised to use any KDE distro that had Image Writer installed - it never worked, ironically the Gnome one did. I did not pursue testing KDE distro because it used Wayland creating a blurry screen and having to scale the desktop as the display resolution was all wrong.
Thanx for the recommendation but help me understand why Ventoy was previously also recommended as an "image writer" Thanx.
Well, Ventoy is a it special. It is not directly an Image Writer. When You look for Rufus, Popsicle or Impression what I named, they take an ISO and write the on a Stick to make it bootable.
Ventoy gets installed on the USB Stick and works as the Boot Interface because when You start it, You get the Ventoy Interface. When You now want to get an ISO on a Ventoy Stick, You simply move the ISO on the Stick; that's it. It will be simply copied on the Stick, not writen like with the other mentioned Tools. And it will be started from the mentioned Ventoy Interface.
The good Thing about it is: You can put as many ISO's on the Stick as the Stick has Storage. So, You can easily have several Distro ISO's on the Stick and You can try them.
There are too many choices for a Linux NEWBIE like me who is also a Windows user like me. IMHO a summary of my current environment and plan to learn Linux will be helpful for those wonderful folks who are helping. My "Linux laptop" is running LMDE-7 which is updated daily using Update Mgr (so far so good). I'd also like to install Zorin-18 (dual boot) and Rescuezilla from USB. The ISO for Rescuezilla is available in Downloads but needs an "image writer" before it can be used on USB (I think). However it cannot be installed without chksum checking and apparently also "verification". The Rescuezilla ISO Verification window displays the file's calculated SHA256sum (hopefully correctly ??) for comparison but there is also another small section shown for: (1) URLs (2) Local Files (3) Checksum. However ALL of the specific entries for these items unfortunately contain a blank field. What a rotten thing to do to a beginner and former Windows user !!! Isn't there an easier way to create a bootable USB drive from an ISO ??
Also in Downloads is Ventoy 1.1.17-linux.tar.gz which I believe is an "archive" or "zip" (in Windows jargon) file. How can it be used to begin installation of Ventoy on USB? ?
Thanx again for all the helpful advice provided.
Yes, this is an Archive. I'm not sure how LMDE handles that, so I would suggest to make a Right-Click on it and choose the Option ''Open with Archive Manager'' or ''Open with another Application'' and then select on the List the Archive Manager.
When it is open this Way, You should see a Folder with a . as Name. Double Click it and then You should see a Folder named ''Ventoy''. Make a Right-Click on it and choose ''extract''.
Connect the USB stick where You want Ventoy on it. then Open the extracted Ventoy Folder. There are a Bunch of Files included. Look for the File VentoyGUI.x86_64. this is a little GUI Interface with that You can install Ventoy on the Stick. Make a Right-Click on it and choose Properties. There look for something like ''Make it executable'' and enable that. Then Double-Click it and You should get the Interface. Doesn't look fancy but does the Job well.
When you don't want this whole Ventoy Experience, You can choose, as I mentioned before, Impression. It doesn't work like Ventoy. You can only wrote one ISO on a USB stick but it works good. I use it, too. The only Downside is that it is only for UEFI BIOS. When Your BIOS is in UEFI Mode, all is fine with it.
Thanx for the clarification. If I understand correctly Ventoy on USB stick will NOT be "bootable". Instead it will be a future "repository" for other ISOs. The Ventoy ISO is only COPIED to USB - not "burned" or "written" as are other ISOs containing an OS to become "bootable". TRUE ??
Thanx again. It sounds complicated but the good news is that the "boot mode" on my laptop is UEFI. So if Ventoy gives up on me, IMPRESSION may be a good alternative choice - TRUE ??
Interesting that in the Downloads fldr, Ventoy is shown as "TAR.GZ" which I believe means 'archive' or compressed file but BalenaEtcher is shown as "ZIP" which may (or maybe not) the same as archive (compressed) files. HELP !!!!!
UPDATE This is from Ventoy's website (Ventoy.net) apparently confirming that Ventoy is BOOTABLE. If so,is it true that ALL ISO files are intended to be "converted" to another format before become useful ???
Ventoy
+++++++ A New Bootable USB Solution ++++++
@Forpli wrote - "In Linux Mint, you should have a preinstalled tool to create bootable USB drives, named USB Image Writer." Is 'USB Image Writer' the same tool as ISO Image Writer which was also recommended apparently for beginners ??
No, if you mean the Iso image writer from kde, they are not the same.
.zip and .tar.gz are both archive files. By right-clicking on them and selecting "extract here", they should be extracted.
Ventoy is bootable. You install ventoy on the stick, and after ventoy is installed, you put the .iso files as they are on the stick, e.g. the downloaded Zorin .iso file (like normal files).
Ventoy creates two partitions, one for the Ventoy application and a blank partition for the isos.
After a reboot, if you launch the Ventoy stick in Mint you would see an empty Window. This is where you drag your .isos too. Give it time to copy the .isos completely.
Here is a picture of the Ventoy Menu once you have created the Ventoy USB and boot off it. You are presented with the isos you have created (dragged and dropped into the empty partition):
You use your cursor keys to move up and down the menu. When the one you want is highlighted, press the Enter key and you get the following options (this menu shows up whichever .iso you choose):
I have always chosen Boot in Normal mode without issue.
Closing the rescuezilla window reveals the desktop:
Snapshot of Menu:
If I am honest I have never used the checksum for any release of Rescuezilla, it has never failed me.
I suggested gnome-multi-writer as a secondary option as it is proving difficult for you to create the Ventoy thumb drive, no other reason.
In terms of Dual-booting I am wondering if virt-manager might be an easier alternative for you. I have multiple .isos in virt-manager that I have installed to virtual drives I have created. I created a folder for the .iso VMs to be created as opposed to the default location of /var as /var can soon fill up and lead to a non-bootable system.
These are both Archives. There are a couple Formats out there.
No, bo. It will be bootable. But it will be installed on the USB Stick. The other mentioned Image Writer write the Distro ISO directly on the USB Stick. With Ventoy, You only need to copy the Distro ISO on the Ventoy Stick.
When You then start the Stick, You see a Ventoy Menu with a List of all ISO of the Stick. And there You can start them and then the Distrostart begins.
When You use one of the other Image Writers and You start the Bootstick, the written Distro starts direct.
After extracting the Ventoy tarball, you need to look for the file named
VentoyGUI.X86_64:
A window will open asking for your login password to elevate you to root (adminstrator) in order to launch the program:
This is an old package that I still have hanging around on my Daily OS.
The current one is this:
Just make sure you don't have any other usb devices attached or you could end up creating Ventoy on a different device!
And this is gnome-multi-writer:
AH SO - i now know that the image can be written to USB media WITHOUT apparently optional checksum verification. Would you believe that I was able to create a bootable USB "stick drive" for Rescuezilla and it actually boots successfully. But 2 puzzling items - (1) there is now mention of UBUNTU on my Debian-based laptop (2) no apparent option for updating Rescuezilla. Since it is only on USB drive will the drive need "rewrite" for updated versions ?
If Ventoy (or equivalent) is installed, shd the checksum verification also be skipped ?
Thanx for your continued support. Apparently with you very helpful folks contributing to an active forum, a recovering Windows user can begin to learn Linux.
If you can manage to get Ventoy running on your stick then when it comes to Rescuezilla updates all you would need to do is delete the old iso and copy and paste the new one in place.
