# Solved: How to burn ISO file to USB flash drive



## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

Not sure where to post this.

I've made several diagnostic CDs (Ultimate Boot CD, Seatools, etc) by burning the ISO file onto a CD but am having difficulty doing so with a USB flash drive. I need instructions on how to go about burning ISO files to a USB flash drive so I can boot from USB to perform diagnostics. Is there anything I need to do to the flash drive before I even attempt to burn an ISO file? I've tried wintoflash (I think that this is the name) but have failed at repeated attempts to create a bootable USB flash drive.

I've followed the instructions found here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200124.asp... but am still unable to figure out how to burn an ISO file to USB. Any help would be appreciated

Thanks.


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## replay (Aug 13, 2003)




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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

There are several programs that will do the job for you; unetbootin is one.
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
Rufus is another;
https://rufus.akeo.ie/

You can also use the DD command in linux however that can be somewhat daunting if you are not familiar with linux.


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

I tried Rufus (thanks by the way for the link) but get the following error message:

"This version of Rufus only supports bootable ISOs based on bootmgr, WinPE, isolinux or EFI. This ISO doesn't appear to use either... "

I downloaded the ISO file "SeaToolsDOS223ALL" from the Seagate Seatools webpage. Not sure what the problem is.


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## managed (May 24, 2003)

The problem is it's based on DOS so not compatible with Rufus.

Try the method here :- http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/313457-seatools-dos-windows-how-use.html

SeaTools for Dos can't 'see' Sata drives, you will have to change the hard drive mode in the Bios as shown in the above link or use SeaTools for Windows.


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

OK. Thanks


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

I've downloaded Seatools for Windows and saved it to my flash drive. However, the problem still remains on how to make this a bootable drive so as to run diagnostics on a machine that is giving me boot up error messages like asking to insert a disk, etc. Is there a source available that sells bootable drives with diagnostic tools already on them, ready to use? I know that this is a cop out, but I am not getting how to create a bootable USB drive and then how to burn ISO files to it. I appreciate all the assistance thus far.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Why not just use UBCD? It already has the Seagate diagnostics included and works from USB drives.


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## Oddba11 (May 13, 2011)

Or simply pull the HDD and test in another PC.


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

Good idea. Thanks. But I will need to burn this to a flash drive and this is where I am having problems, creating a bootable flash drive.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Converting UBCD to USB is easily doable though since it's Linux based and has good instructions: http://wiki.ultimatebootcd.com/?title=Tutorials:USB_Installation


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## estint (Jan 21, 2015)

crjdriver said:


> There are several programs that will do the job for you; unetbootin is one.
> http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
> Rufus is another;
> https://rufus.akeo.ie/
> ...


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

I tried burning the UBCD ISO file to USB using Win to Flash. When I connect the drive and try to boot it to my Dell Optiplex 745 that has the Ubuntu OS on it, I get the following message:

"An operating system wasn't found. Try disconnecting any drives that don't contain an operating system."

I assume that this probably means that the file was not successfully burned to the drive.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Winflash? That wasn't in the instructions I posted.

Also, you are not "burning" any files to USB, that's a term for putting data on optical media.


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## Oddba11 (May 13, 2011)

You should test the USB stick on a working computer. Don't just assume the USB is bad because the non working computer can't read it.


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

OK. Thanks. I followed the link for UBCD download and there seemed to be a lot of ads to try and circumvent and I ended up downloading adware and had to remove it from my system. I did finally get a copy of the program. Do I just copy the file over to USB and it will work? The computer I am testing it on works, but just has the Ubuntu OS is all. I will definitely try it on one of my laptops to see if it works and I'll post the results back here. Thanks again.


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

I tried booting from both my Windows 7 laptops and received the (similar) message that I received when I tried booting the disk from my Optiplex machine.


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## DaveBurnett (Nov 11, 2002)

If you go to the UBCD site and look there, there are comprehensive instructions on how to create a bootable USB UBCD.


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## plodr (Jun 27, 2014)

Have you looked in the BIOS to be sure boot from USB is enabled? I see there is a problem with an Optiplex 745.


> With Optiplex 745, you need to put bootable usb in jack and then enter bios to change boot order.


Are the Win 7 laptops able to boot from USB devices and is it above the internal hard drive?

I've made lots of bootable sticks but 99% of those were linux live distros.

I've done two that were not linux: a Kaspersky rescue boot stick and an Acronis True Image boot stick. I remember having lots of problems with both of them.

My notes on Kaspersky said I downloaded the Universal USB Installer v 1.9.5.1 from pendrivelinux then installed the Kaspersky .ISO after I ran the USB installer.

Here is the latest version from Pen Drive linux
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/

I believe in step one, I scrolled all the way to the bottom and selected "other".

See what my working stick has on it. Then look at what your stick might be missing.

I seem to recall that when I tried to follow the directions from the Kaspersky site, I was missing a folder.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

DaveBurnett said:


> If you go to the UBCD site and look there, there are comprehensive instructions on how to create a bootable USB UBCD.


Yup, that's the one I posted.

Not sure what you clicked on to get adware.


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## DaveBurnett (Nov 11, 2002)

Ah...
Rob do you use FF with AD Block plus etc.
I do;

Perhaps he doesn't!!


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Yes, also careful what I click.


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## DaveBurnett (Nov 11, 2002)

So am I but I have been caught out a couple of times recently on sites when I was just clicking what I wanted and the page changed underneath me and the click went to somewhere else.
Those pages have been added to HOSTS


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

As I am unable to understand how to make my flash drive bootable with all the help I have received here, I am going to mark this thread solved and try to locate a step-by-step set of instructions for doing so, if one even exists. I'd rather just purchase a bootable flash drive that had UBCD on it. Thanks again for all the helpit's appreciated.


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## DaveBurnett (Nov 11, 2002)

It may not be your misunderstanding at all !! 

Not all drives can be made bootable. Some just don't contain the firmware for it. What is even more confusing is that not even bootable drives will boot in all machines and not all machines will boot from USB - although that tends to be older machines.

I have several machines here and I did a quick study with all the USB drives I have and the results were a complete lottery.
Drives that boot in one won't in another. I've even had drives that boot in machines that are not supposed to boot from USB at all.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

*To make a UBCD USB stick:*

Using Windows Vista or 7
1. Download the UltimateBootCD ISO and burn a copy to a disk
A real disk isn't necessary, a virtual disk will also work.
2. Format your USB key, if it is not setup to be a USB Flash or Drive device
A good tutorial for formatting a bootable USB can be found here*(See the next post)*
3. Open a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges
Go Start > All Programs > Accessories
Open the context menu (if using a mouse, right-click on the icon)
Select Run As Administrator
4. Change to the drive letter of the burned disk
For example, If the burned disk is in drive D, type d: and press Enter
5. Change to the directory holding the startup script
For example, in the version current at the time this was written,
type cd ubcd\tools\win32\ubcd2usb and press Enter
6. Enter the script file followed by the drive letter of the burned disk then the drive letter of the USB device
In the version 5.1.1, the script file is called ubcd2usb
If the burned disk is in drive D and the USB is labelled as drive E
type ubcd2usb d: e: and press Enter
7. The following output will appear:
UBCD2USB: Creating bootable UBCD memory stick ...
UBCD2USB: Making USB KEY bootable...
UBCD2USB: Copying files to USB KEY...
Once completed, this additional output will appear:
286 File(s) copied
UBCD2USB: Bootable UBCD memory stick was successfully created
8. Use Safely Remove or Eject to remove the USB from the port to prevent data corruption.
9. Your done! The USB key is ready to go.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

*To make a bootable USB stick: *

1. Find and right-click the Windows Command Prompt in your Start Menu and choose to run it as an Administrator.

2. At the prompt, enter diskpart to launch Microsoft's disk management utility. The command line should now read "DISKPART>".

3. Type list disk to show a list of all disk drives. If your USB key is plugged into your PC, it should be listed here, along with other physical drives. Note the USB key's disk number - you can pick it out by looking at the disk capacity.

4. Type select disk #, with the USB key's disk number in place of #.

5. Type clean for the utility to clean the disk, which DiskPart will confirm.

6. Create a new bootable partition by entering create partition primary.

7. Choose this partition with select partition 1, and then mark it as active by typing active.

8. Format the key by inputting format fs=fat32. This should take a few minutes, and DiskPart will display a progress percentage.

9. Lastly, type assign to give this USB key a drive letter. Close the DiskPart program using exit

1. Find and right-click the Windows Command Prompt in your Start Menu and choose to run it as an Administrator.

2. At the prompt, enter diskpart to launch Microsoft's disk management utility. The command line should now read "DISKPART>".

3. Type list disk to show a list of all disk drives. If your USB key is plugged into your PC, it should be listed here, along with other physical drives. Note the USB key's disk number - you can pick it out by looking at the disk capacity.

4. Type select disk #, with the USB key's disk number in place of #.

5. Type clean for the utility to clean the disk, which DiskPart will confirm.

6. Create a new bootable partition by entering create partition primary.

7. Choose this partition with select partition 1, and then mark it as active by typing active.

8. Format the key by inputting format fs=fat32. This should take a few minutes, and DiskPart will display a progress percentage.

9. Lastly, type assign to give this USB key a drive letter. Close the DiskPart program using exit

OR:

See this: http://www.bay-wolf.com/usbmemstick.htm


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

I tried using the instructions for copying the UBCD from a CD to a flash drive and this is the error message I received:

UBCD2USB: Create a bootable UBCD memory stick

Usage: UBCD2USB (UBCD-path) (USB-drive) [/f]

Examples: UBCD2USB e: x:
(UBCD-CDROM in 'E:', USB-key in 'X:',
do not format target 'X:')

UBCD2USB "c:\ubcd-extracted" x: /f
(UBCD extracted in dir 'c:\ubcd-extracted',
USB-key in 'X:', format target 'X:')

Requires: W2K/XP/W2K3/Vista/W2K8/W7 and an (optionally extracted) UBCD

Note: 1) Under Vista/W7, if you are not login as administrator, you
will need to right-click on this script file and select
"Run as administrator" to launch it with the proper rights.

2) Optionally format the USB memory stick with Windows or
RMPrepUSB before running this script.

E:\ubcd\tools\win32\ubcd2usb>UBCD2usb E: F:

UBCD2USB: Creating bootable UBCD memory stick ...
UBCD2USB: Making USB KEY bootable...
UBCD2USB: Copying files to USB KEY...
File creation error - Data error (cyclic redundancy check).

(ERROR) Missing 'F:\ubcd\tools\win32\ubcd2usb\ubcd2usb.cmd' (script did not run
successfully)

E:\ubcd\tools\win32\ubcd2usb>

I have been trying to do this on a Windows 8 machine. Does that make a difference? I will follow the above instructions to see if it works. Thanks


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

You have an error there, Cyclic redundancy error. You may have a faulty stick. Have you tried anther? F: drive is your USB stick right?


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

F drive is the USB stick. I have tried three sticks and keep getting the same error message. I followed your instructions for formatting the flash drive. I will try and copy files to it again and see what happens.


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

I tried copying the files again and got the following error message. Pretty much the same as before.


E:\ubcd\tools\win32\ubcd2usb>UBCD2usb E: G:

UBCD2USB: Creating bootable UBCD memory stick ...
UBCD2USB: Making USB KEY bootable...
UBCD2USB: Copying files to USB KEY...
File creation error - Data error (cyclic redundancy check).

(ERROR) Missing 'G:\ubcd\tools\win32\ubcd2usb\ubcd2usb.cmd' (script did not run
successfully)

E:\ubcd\tools\win32\ubcd2usb>


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

Same error message as before:


E:\ubcd\tools\win32\ubcd2usb>UBCD2usb E: G:

UBCD2USB: Creating bootable UBCD memory stick ...
UBCD2USB: Making USB KEY bootable...
UBCD2USB: Copying files to USB KEY...
File creation error - Data error (cyclic redundancy check).

(ERROR) Missing 'G:\ubcd\tools\win32\ubcd2usb\ubcd2usb.cmd' (script did not run
successfully)

E:\ubcd\tools\win32\ubcd2usb>


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

You extracted the files out of the ISO right? Or did you just mount it?


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

If you are referring to the UBCD Cd, I used IMGburn to burn the file to CD and it is this CD that I am using to try and create a flash drive. Not sure if this answers your question.


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## plodr (Jun 27, 2014)

Check your messages. I have a bootable USB stick for you.
It took me about 4 minutes to download the ISO, another 4 minutes to clean off a stick and about 5 minutes to make it.

I tested it and at lest the Reboot from the menu works. I did not try all of the tools on it. I just tested that it was bootable and I could select items.


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

Would you mind sharing the process you went through to make the stick? I'd love to have the stick, but you know the old saying about teaching someone to fish.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Just extract the files and don't use a CD for this. Follow the instructions exactly step by step.


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

OK. I'll give it a go. Thanks


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

I extracted the files to the USB stick and it works. Thanks a million!


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## Johnny2K (Aug 28, 2013)

FWIW I just made a bootable USB Bitdefender rescue disc using this:



> Bitdefender recommends *Stickifier*, a free open-source tool that creates a bootable Rescue CD on a USB flash


http://www.bitdefender.com/support/how-to-create-a-bitdefender-rescue-cd-627.html


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

Now I am trying to create a bootable disk for Seatools using the instructions found here:

http://www.computerforums.org/forum...ble-usb-disk-seagate-seatools-dos-220196.html

but I get the following error message: "The program cant start because libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem."

I tried reinstalling the program but get the same error message comes up. I tried making a bootable Seatools disk following the same instructions that I followed to make the UBCD bootable USB drive, but that doesn't seem to be working. I have a Seagate HDD that I would like to diagnose and would prefer using a USB flash drive. Any suggestions? Also, should this be a new thread?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

The Seagate diagnostics are on UBCD, why not just run it from there?


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## plodr (Jun 27, 2014)

Congratulations earguy.
1. I downloaded the UBCD ISO https://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html
from the Older Geeks site. (I do not do p2p).
2. I ran Universal Installer http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/
3. Step 1, I scrolled all the way to the bottom and selected *Try Unlisted Linux Iso*.
Some are listed but not UBCD.
4. Step 2, I browsed to the ISO sitting on my desktop where I downloaded it.
5. Step 3 I selected my USB stick (I always open my computer to be sure what letter the stick is given before I click create).
That's it.


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

I am not seeing Seagate's diagnostic tool on UBCD. Where should I look? I see WD and others but not Seagate.


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

Thanks. I'll give it a try.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Under HDD Diagnostics, it might be on the second page.


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## earguy (Aug 16, 2013)

Found it. Thanks


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