[Mac] Creating live usb to install ubuntu

Asked by Deanna Dreher

I'm creating a live usb to install ubuntu netbook remix on a netbook. I'm using a mac and following the same instructions I've seen on about 20 different pages:
0) Download ubuntu netbook remix unr.img
1) Run diskutil list before usb is plugged in. Plug device in.
2) Run diskutil list again and determine the device node assigned to usb ( /dev/disk2)
3) Run diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk2
4) Execute sudo dd if=/path/to/unr.img of=/dev/rdisk2 bs=1m... wait 10 minutes until it finishes...
5) Run diskutil eject /dev/disk2
But when I try to boot the netbook (or my mac, for that matter) from the drive, I don't think it's finding the usb. I turn off my mac and hold down alt while starting it, but the usb doesn't show up. I change the boot order in the bios of the netbook, but it starts as usual too. If i plug the usb into a computer that's already on, I can see the contents, which leads me to believe it's not a live usb, but I thought the steps above would make it live? I've tried on two different usb drives.

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Answered
For:
Ubuntu ubiquity Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Last query:
Last reply:
Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said :
#1

Did you MD5 test the image you downloaded?

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-create-an-ubuntu-installation-usb-on-the-mac/

Has some nice pics to guide you.

Revision history for this message
Deanna Dreher (deanna1ynne) said :
#2

Thanks. I hadn't done this, and when I tried it and it didn't match... but then I downloaded it three or four other times from different sources, and none of those check out either. I have an iso that checks out, and I converted it to an img using hdiutil and did the above process with that img, but have the same problem.

Revision history for this message
delance (olivier-delance) said :
#3

Do you use unetbootin ? For 10.10, it seems a specific version is needed.

Revision history for this message
Deanna Dreher (deanna1ynne) said :
#4

I don't. I was under the impression that it wasn't for mac os. I just use convert feature of hditutil (native to mac) to turn the iso into an img and then use the disk utility diskutil to write the img to a usb.

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said :
#5

If you use the netbook remix, it is already an img file and you can dd it over to the USB stick in a terminal (Or whatever crappy Mac calls its terminal equiv)

Revision history for this message
Deanna Dreher (deanna1ynne) said :
#6

That's what I was trying originally, but it t seems that all the img files I download are somehow not hashing right, even though I've downloaded them from several different sources. (All the md5 hashes for the different img files I've downloaded are different, but none of them seem to match the ubuntu page of hashes.) Should I just keep downloading it from different sources until I get one that hashes right?

Revision history for this message
Deanna Dreher (deanna1ynne) said :
#7

Thank you for all your help, by the way... I really do appreciate it, even though I can't seem to figure this out still.

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said :
#8

Then try using the torrent. The torrrent protocol adds extra error checking to the data

Can you help with this problem?

Provide an answer of your own, or ask Deanna Dreher for more information if necessary.

To post a message you must log in.