Whether you want to install Ubuntu on a new computer, test out a fresh desktop distribution, or keep an emergency rescue toolkit handy to repair corrupted hard drives, creating a bootable USB flash drive is an essential skill for computer users. In the past, writing operating system disk images onto USB thumb drives required third-party software or risky command-line tools like dd, where mistyping a single drive letter could accidentally overwrite your entire primary hard drive.
Ubuntu desktop eliminates this complexity by bundling a dedicated, graphical tool pre-installed on every system: Startup Disk Creator (internally known as usb-creator-gtk). This tool automatically detects connected USB flash drives and writes Ubuntu ISO disk images safely in just a few clicks. This guide covers how to prepare, flash, and verify a bootable USB drive using Startup Disk Creator in Ubuntu.
Prerequisites Before You Begin
Before launching the tool, ensure you have the following items ready:
- A USB Flash Drive: At least 8GB or 16GB capacity. Warning: All existing files on the USB drive will be permanently erased during the flashing process, so back up important documents beforehand.
- Ubuntu Desktop ISO Image: Download the latest official Ubuntu LTS release (e.g. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS) from
ubuntu.com/download/desktopinto your user Downloads folder.
Step-by-Step: Creating the Bootable USB Drive
- Insert your USB flash drive into an available USB port on your Ubuntu computer.
- Open the Ubuntu Application Launcher (click the 9-dot grid icon in the bottom-left corner of the desktop or press the Super / Windows key).
- Type Startup Disk Creator in the search bar and click the application icon to launch it.
- The application interface divides into two main sections:
- Source disc image (.iso): Startup Disk Creator automatically scans your
Downloadsfolder for.isofiles. If your downloaded Ubuntu image is not listed, click Other… to browse and select it manually. - Disk to use: Select your inserted USB flash drive from the list. Verify the drive capacity (e.g. 16GB or 32GB) to ensure you are targeting the correct thumb drive.
- Source disc image (.iso): Startup Disk Creator automatically scans your
- Click the Make Startup Disk button in the bottom-right corner.
- A confirmation prompt will warn you that all existing data on the USB disk will be erased. Click Yes to proceed.
- Enter your Ubuntu user password when prompted to authorise root write access to the USB block device.
A progress bar will track the write process. On standard USB 3.0 drives, flashing takes approximately 3 to 5 minutes. When complete, a prompt displays: “Installation is complete. You may now run Ubuntu on other computers.” Click Quit.
Booting a Computer from Your Fresh USB Drive
To test or use your new bootable drive on any PC or laptop:
- Insert the USB drive into the target computer while it is turned off.
- Power on the computer and immediately press the manufacturer’s Boot Menu key repeatedly:
- Dell: F12
- HP: F9 or Esc
- Lenovo: F12 or Enter
- ASUS / Acer: F8 or F12
- Select your USB drive from the boot options and press Enter.
- Select Try or Install Ubuntu from the GRUB boot menu to launch directly into the live operating system environment.
Comparison: Startup Disk Creator vs Balena Etcher
| Feature | Ubuntu Startup Disk Creator | Balena Etcher |
|---|---|---|
| Installation Requirement | Pre-installed natively in Ubuntu | Requires downloading external AppImage/package |
| Safety Protections | Prevents selecting primary system drive | Validates target drives to prevent data loss |
| Write Speed | Direct raw image copy (Fast) | Raw write + secondary checksum verification |