I'm a total total noob who is trying to download Linux Mint on a Mac OS X using a USB drive. I know there is some way to go into terminal and convert the iso file but I don't know how.

Here's the things I have tried so far: 1. sudo dd bs=4M if=[linuxmint-17.1-cinnamon-64bit.iso] of=/dev/disk2s1 (result: dd: bs: illegal numeric value)

~/path/to/Users/[my name]/linuxmint-17.1-cinnamon-64bit.img ~/path/to/Users/[my name]/linuxmint-17.1-cinnamon-64bit.iso -bash: /Users/[my name]/path/to/Users/[my name]/linuxmint-17.1-cinnamon-64bit.img (result: No such file or directory)
Maybe for #1 the "/dev/disk2s1" part is wrong? How do I find the number for the USB that goes after "dev/sd"? (I can only find "dev/disk2s1").

I have also tried to just mount/unmount the USB and drag the iso file into source/destination, to no avail.

Thanks so much!

Plug the stick in then run:
Note that you should only use the drive letter, do not add the partition number (ie, use "/dev/sdb" rather than "/dev/sdb1").

You can also use `lsblk` to list all attached storage devices and their sizes.

The OP is using a Mac.

The following command should work assuming your current working directory contains the iso file.
You want to write to the device versus a partition.

dd if=file.iso of=/dev/disk2

You can verify the correct device via the diskutil command:
diskutil list

Note: dd is unforgiving. Use the wrong device and you could leave your computer unbootable.

1 members found this post helpful.

Here's my latest problem--

I ended up plugging in this code:

I get the message :"The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer." I have an option to initialize? Is there something I am able to do with this?

Did the dd command complete i.e. did you see the next command line prompt?

This is the only thing I got after:
387+1 records in
387+1 records out
1549615104 bytes transferred in 1387.397467 secs (1116922 bytes/sec)


Should I just try to do the same thing again?

Are you trying to run the USB drive from a Mac or Windows PC?

I'm trying to run it from a Mac.

My fault for not asking the right questions. It is a bit more complicated and something I have not had done but here are a couple of guides. This will allow you to run linux from a USB drive on your Mac but you still can not install to the hard drive if that is your goal.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-...k-on-your-mac/
https://astrofloyd.wordpress.com/201...ve-on-macbook/