New Method using Etcher

  1. Make sure you have a USB Stick with at least 4GB of free space.
  2. Get your Ubuntu ISO from here.
  3. Open Disk Utility from Applications > Utilities
  4. Select the USB stick and select Erase (This will remove all data stored on the USB drive)
  5. Select the format: MS-DOS (FAT) and scheme: GUID Partition Map
  6. Click Erase

  7. Download, install and open Etcher (By default MacOS blocks running apps from unidentified developers. Follow this tutorial if you are experiencing problems with this.)
  8. Select image and navigate to the location you saved the Ubuntu ISO you have downloaded in step 2
  9. Select the USB drive you have formatted in step 3-6.
  10. Click Flash

  11. Congratulations! You now have Ubuntu on a USB stick, bootable and ready to go!

Old Method using UNetbootin (might still work)

  1. Make sure you have a USB Stick with at least 4GB of free space.
  2. Download and install UNetbootin USB installer
  3. Download The Ubuntu Desktop ISO of your choice
  4. Launch UNetbootin and allow the osascript to make changes

  5. Select the Diskimage radio button and then click the ... button

  6. Select the ubuntu ISO file you downloaded and click 'Open'

  7. Then select your flash drive in the bottom row and click 'OK'
  8. After Unetbootin finishes, click 'Exit' and now you have yourself an Ubuntu USB stick.

Source

Answer from Cyber_Star on askubuntu.com
🌐
Ubuntu
ubuntu.com › tutorials › create-a-usb-stick-on-macos
Create a bootable USB stick on macOS | Ubuntu
Creating a bootable USB stick is very simple, especially if you’re going to use the USB stick with a generic Windows or Linux PC. We’re going to cover the process in the next few steps. There are a few additional considerations when booting the USB stick on Apple hardware.
Top answer
1 of 7
27

New Method using Etcher

  1. Make sure you have a USB Stick with at least 4GB of free space.
  2. Get your Ubuntu ISO from here.
  3. Open Disk Utility from Applications > Utilities
  4. Select the USB stick and select Erase (This will remove all data stored on the USB drive)
  5. Select the format: MS-DOS (FAT) and scheme: GUID Partition Map
  6. Click Erase

  7. Download, install and open Etcher (By default MacOS blocks running apps from unidentified developers. Follow this tutorial if you are experiencing problems with this.)
  8. Select image and navigate to the location you saved the Ubuntu ISO you have downloaded in step 2
  9. Select the USB drive you have formatted in step 3-6.
  10. Click Flash

  11. Congratulations! You now have Ubuntu on a USB stick, bootable and ready to go!

Old Method using UNetbootin (might still work)

  1. Make sure you have a USB Stick with at least 4GB of free space.
  2. Download and install UNetbootin USB installer
  3. Download The Ubuntu Desktop ISO of your choice
  4. Launch UNetbootin and allow the osascript to make changes

  5. Select the Diskimage radio button and then click the ... button

  6. Select the ubuntu ISO file you downloaded and click 'Open'

  7. Then select your flash drive in the bottom row and click 'OK'
  8. After Unetbootin finishes, click 'Exit' and now you have yourself an Ubuntu USB stick.

Source

2 of 7
18

1) Find the file path to your USB drive with

diskutil list external

You're looking for /dev/diskN. It's probably /dev/disk2, but double check that the NAME and SIZE columns make sense. The dd command you're going to run later will effectively delete all data on the drive so don't get this wrong. If that command produces no output, your USB drive is probably not plugged in.

2) Unmount the device so you can overwrite it (change N to the number you got from the previous step)

diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN

3) Use dd to copy the .iso image to the USB with

sudo dd if=/path/to/your/iso-file.iso of=/dev/diskN

That step will take a while. When it's finished you might get an error saying that the disk can't be read, you can click "Eject" and you're done; use your USB stick to boot Ubuntu. If you don't get that error, you should eject it with 4)

diskutil eject /dev/diskN

You can speed up the dd command by adding bs=1m (if you get the invalid number: ‘1m’ error change "m" to an uppercase "M" (this can happen if you installed a newer version of coreutils with homebrew)) and using /dev/rdiskN instead of /dev/diskN (use /dev/diskN for the diskutil commands though). You can get dd to report progress with status=progress. This would all look like

sudo dd bs=1m status=progress if=ubuntu-19.10-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/rdiskN

With my cheap USB 2.0 drive I get 3.6 MB/s (9 minutes) with these options vs 0.8 MB/s (40 minutes) without them.

Discussions

Build a bootable usb drive with Ubuntu to run on intel iMac
As I had a similar issue with a MacOS USB stick, I'm sharing some hints here: https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/173zy5u/build_a_bootable_macos_usb_drive/ The USB drive needs to be connected to the USB C port at the closest to the ethernet port. This works with a macos usb drive but not for the ubuntu until now. It is still unrecognized at boot time even on the right port. Finally I was able to install ubuntu on a USB drive but broke the boot manager and couldn't see MacOS anymore. I installed rEFInd ( http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/ ) and replaced the previous rEFIt that looked broken. rEFInd found all partitions macOS and ubuntu. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/Ubuntu
1
2
October 10, 2023
Replace Mac OS with Ubuntu: USB is not bootable
How is the USB formatted? (it should be FAT/GPT for an EFI based Mac) I’d ask check what partition type you’re using, you also may want to try and use dd or Disk Utility to restore the image instead of those front ends.. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/linux_on_mac
11
2
March 29, 2025
macos - How to create a bootable Ubuntu USB stick using OS X 10.10.2 - Ask Different
Stack Exchange network consists ... trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Visit Stack Exchange ... Bring the best of human thought and AI automation together at your work. Explore Stack Internal ... I have downloaded the ubuntu-14.04.2-desktop-amd64.iso. How do I create a bootable Ubuntu USB stick using my Macbook Air which ... More on apple.stackexchange.com
🌐 apple.stackexchange.com
April 6, 2015
osx - Burning a Linux Ubuntu bootable USB with dd - Unix & Linux Stack Exchange
I inserted the USB on the Dell machine, booted, pressed F12 to go into "Boot Once" menu, chose legacy boot with USB, and got · Selected boot device failed. Press any key to reboot the system. When I follow the instructions from Ubuntu and flash the ISO image on the USB with Etcher, it works and I see an extra option in "Boot Once": UEFI SanDisk, Partition 1, which I chose and was able to try Linux. What else do I need to create a bootable ... More on unix.stackexchange.com
🌐 unix.stackexchange.com
May 15, 2019
🌐
Ubuntu
ubuntu.com › tutorials › create-a-usb-stick-on-ubuntu
Create a bootable USB stick on Ubuntu | Ubuntu
Alternatively, we also have tutorials to help you create a bootable USB stick from both Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS. ... An Ubuntu ISO file. See Get Ubuntu for download links · We’re going to use an application called ‘Startup Disk Creator’ to write the ISO image to your USB stick. This is installed by default on ...
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/ubuntu › build a bootable usb drive with ubuntu to run on intel imac
r/Ubuntu on Reddit: Build a bootable usb drive with Ubuntu to run on intel iMac
October 10, 2023 -

Hello, I have an iMac 27’’ 5K 2017 running Ventura 13.6. Intel based I’m trying to create a bootable USB drive with Ubuntu on it so I could boot on it

I don’t want to have an installer on this USB drive but a full Ubuntu system

Disk utility can see my drive

I have followed https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/create-a-usb-stick-on-macos#1-overview to build the ubuntu disk

I also reset the SMV/NVRAM (https://www.macobserver.com/tips/how-to/reset-mac-smc-nvram/)

Booting and pressing on « option » to choose a drive to boot from only shows the internal drive. How can I have my drive show in the boot menu ?

🌐
System76 Support
support.system76.com › articles › live-disk
Live Disk Creation - System76 Support
5 days ago - Next, select the Pop!_OS or Ubuntu .iso file. Finally, click the Start Restoring... button. After entering your user password, flashing will begin and a progress bar will appear. Once the flash is complete, the Pop!_OS partition will appear on the flash drive, as seen below. Now it's time to boot it up on the machine that you want to install Pop!_OS on! Etcher is an open source app for Windows, macOS, and Linux that allows you to burn disk images to USB drives.
🌐
Medium
medium.com › @techhara › create-ubuntu-usb-bootable-thumb-drive-on-macos-2847b4bf34ec
Create Ubuntu USB bootable thumb-drive on macOS | by TechHara | Medium
March 19, 2024 - This is meant for booting up a PC. Download the iso image from Ubuntu website. Insert a USB thumb-drive and open up Disk utility. Right-click on the thumb-drive on the left menu and select Erase….
Find elsewhere
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/linux_on_mac › replace mac os with ubuntu: usb is not bootable
r/linux_on_mac on Reddit: Replace Mac OS with Ubuntu: USB is not bootable
March 29, 2025 -

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to install Ubuntu on my old Mac Mini (mid-2011), and I want to completely erase macOS and run Linux only. I've watched a bunch of videos and read some guides, but I can't seem to get it working.

I've tried creating a bootable USB with Ubuntu multiple times using Etcher, Rufus, and Ventoy, but my Mac doesn't recognize the USB drive. When I plug it in and check the drive info in the Disk Utility, it says "Bootable: No".

For reference, here are the specs of my Mac Mini:

  • Model: Mid-2011 Mac Mini

  • macOS: High Sierra (10.13.6)

  • CPU: Intel Core i5 2.3 GHz

  • RAM: 8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 (512 MB)

Has anyone run into this before or found a reliable method to get Ubuntu booting on this machine? Any help or tips would be super appreciated!

Thanks!

EDIT: SOLVED – Ended up installing a new SSD and unplugging the HDD (which had macOS on it). Booted with my USB (I used Etcher). Thanks guys for your suggestion.

🌐
Ubuntu Community Hub
discourse.ubuntu.com › tutorials
Create a bootable USB stick on macOS - Page 2 - Tutorials - Ubuntu Community Hub
December 28, 2021 - There is no reason whatsoever to install Etcher, or any unsigned app, or indeed anything at all - I’ve just confirmed that the inbuilt “dd” command works perfectly fine to boot Ubuntu on my mac:- sudo dd if=ubuntu-21.10-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/disk2 bs=8225280 Someone needs to update these old instructions ASAP, so that you’re not forcing all your users to do sketchy unsafe things and run insecure products…
🌐
SupportHost
supporthost.com › ubuntu-bootable-usb
Create a Ubuntu bootable usb (2025) - SupportHost
May 15, 2024 - After the writing process, there will be a validation phase of the various contents in your USB, after this step Etcher will declare that the process is completed successfully. After this step, you will have created your USB bootable Ubuntu to use on your Mac.
🌐
Ubuntu MATE
ubuntu-mate.org › ubuntu mate › faqs › preparing a usb image
Preparing a USB Image | Ubuntu MATE
If macOS informs you ‘The disk ... your bootable media on a Mac device, insert the USB stick and restart or turn on the device while holding the option/alt key to launch Startup Manager....
🌐
UNetbootin
unetbootin.github.io
UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads
UNetbootin allows you to create bootable Live USB drives for Ubuntu, Fedora, and other Linux distributions without burning a CD. It runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.
🌐
It's FOSS
itsfoss.com › create-bootable-ubuntu-usb-drive-mac-os
How to Create a Bootable Ubuntu USB Drive for Mac in OS X
January 11, 2023 - Here’s the scenario. You have got a Macbook and want to install Ubuntu on it or perhaps on some other system. I am going to show you two ways of creating a live Linux USB in macOS: 1. Create live USB using Etcher GUI tool 2. Create live USB
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/ubuntu › possible to create ubuntu bootable drive for mac using windows?
r/Ubuntu on Reddit: Possible to create ubuntu bootable drive for mac using Windows?
March 22, 2019 -

I wasn't quite sure if this was a Windows, mac, or ubuntu question so posting here in the hope someone has experienced this before.

Situatuon:

  • Bought an old mac mini i want to use as an ubuntu server

  • Mac mini connected to tv to confirm it's working ok (currently on snowleopard)

  • Airport not strong enough to get wifi, screen too far away from router to use ethernet cable, so can't use mac to download and create bootable drive (won't be an issue when it's set up and I can run it headless as I can leave it in the cabinet wired to router)

  • Created ubuntu server bootable usb drive using windows laptop with rufus

  • Inseted usb drive and booted into mac boot managent

  • Usb drive not visible

My first question is if what I have done, preparing the bootable drive in windows, has any impact? Is it even possible to do this or must it be prepared on a mac?

🌐
Medium
medium.com › macoclock › create-ubuntu-bootable-usb-stick-from-mac-3cf8cadd0620
Create Ubuntu Bootable USB Stick from Mac | by Dilip Kumar | Mac O’Clock | Medium
April 18, 2020 - But in mac it makes your life very easy, you just need to enter a few terminal commands and you are done. ... Step 1: Visit the Ubuntu downloads page and download the relevant OS, this will download the .iso which we will be using to create ...
🌐
Ubunlog
en.ubunlog.com › ubuntu › tutorials › how to create a bootable ubuntu usb from mac and windows
How to create a bootable Ubuntu USB from Mac and Windows
March 28, 2019 - Do you want to create a Bootable USB from Windows or Mac and don't know how? We show you how to install Ubuntu from USB with a Live USB.
🌐
Ubuntu
ubuntu.com › tutorials › create-a-usb-stick-on-windows
Create a bootable USB stick with Rufus on Windows | Ubuntu
Alternatively, we also have tutorials to help you create a bootable USB stick from both Ubuntu and Apple macOS. ... An Ubuntu ISO file. See Get Ubuntu for download links · Take note of where your browser saves downloads: this is normally a directory called ‘Downloads’ on your Windows PC.
🌐
GitHub
gist.github.com › abelcallejo › 846b9b21b35f401f8df733ffd78165ec
Creating bootable Linux USB using Mac · GitHub
CentOS, Ubuntu, Slackware, etc. Whatever Linux-based OS it is, you can create a bootable USB for it by using a Mac.