Hello
I downloaded UNetbootin from official site here:
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/un...n-linux-latest

It's a binary (according to firefox download) I made it executable and _it won't run_ I tried chmod +x ..I tried clicking and ./ nothing.

uname -a:
Is it not compatible with my system?

yes I will try (yum install) but I just want to know why this binary is not working
Thanks..

EDIT: hmmm yum install shows dependencies.. So I guess it's solved

That's good, but the only way to know for sure is to use unetbootin to make an actual bootable USB drive that works. Do be aware that unetbootin can only make linux working USB drives. It thinks it can do bsd, Solaris, pcbsd and so on but the resulting drives don't work. Unetbootin is linux only.

If it won't work, there is a command line utility called dd that can do everything unetbootin does and more. Just make sure you don't hose the wrong drive by mistake. dd=disk destroyer

Note that there are different types of images, as well. "Hybrid" images allow you to use standard tools to prepare a boot medium (burning an ISO to CD or DVD), or they may be used to simply dd an image to a USB with a simple command line. Not all image files have this capability,... that's where unetbootin comes in...

Personally, unetbootin has always been a problem for me, and my hardware. Your mileage may vary...

That's what k3b is for. Heck, if you use dvd-rw it will burn slower but you'll save $$ on physical media. It's the stacks of dvds that motivates one to use unetbootin in the first place.

If you download the .img files you can always use dd instead. I think that dd is already built in the terminal.

The link you posted seems to be to a windows .exe file.


See pendrivelinux.com for some ideas. Each distro also has ideas on how to make a flash install.


I make them in a virtual machine. I use a usb flash just as if it were a real hard drive on the installer. All newish distro's will load that way. Only some older type or made for older hardware kernels fail but there are ways around that too.

If the computer's bios will boot from USB, it should work. If its some antique distro like Mandrake 9, maybe not.

Still, if you're using something that old, just burn it to a CD and be happy. K3b is your friend.

I would recommend using something current even if you have an old machine. A newer spin of puppy will give you fewer headaches then redhat 7 or something really old.

With hardware, I'd go for something 5 years old or less. PCs are dropping in price all the time.

Not everyone uses K3B,... I wasn't talking about *.img files. I was referring to ISOs. There are hybrid ISOs that are both ISO and also IMG and will work with dd...

And I never balked at the cost/inconvenience of CDs and DVDs... I come from an era when CDs & DVD were cheap, and a USB large enough to hold an entire disk image was prohibitively expensive. It was cheaper for me to get an external USB DVD-RW drive, and spools of disks... Still have a spool or two laying around... Nowadays, you can get a 4GB flash drive for a few bucks... But I still have only used that capability sparingly, and only have 3-4 USBs with that kind of capacity. I guess my mind is still stuck in pre-2005...

The ISOs are used for DVDs and by unetbootin. Bresaro and Nero for linux can also burn discs. With RW disks, you aren't going to be spending money and get up to your neck in old distros and spins you no longer want or need.

The cli tool dd however will not make a bootable drive out of an ISO. It needs an img file. As far as a hybrid image goes, I have never used one. All mine are ISOs or img format.

To do a UNIX bootable drive, only an img file will work & dd must be used to make it. Unetbootin will go through the motions of making a UNIX USB. It'll look real pretty, but just won't boot.