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I've got a shining new x64 laptop running Windows 7 and I want to dual boot Debian stable.
I've installed Ubuntu on loads of laptops in the past using a USB drive, but I can't find decent instructions for installing Debian like the Ubuntu instructions.
I've installed Debian from CD a couple of times in the past too, but my new machine doesn't have an optical drive.
The questions are:
Which files do I need from the Debian download page?
How do I make the Debian files on a USB drive bootable?
Does the Debian installer have a disk partitioner (like the Ubuntu one does)? Reading the installation guide it seems not to, which would be another hurdle. If this is the case, which partitioner can I use?
UNetbootin
doesn't find any USB drive on Ubuntu 12.04. – Dor – 2014-07-06T15:17:55.760UNetbootin uses its bootloader and this gave me various problems starting from Debian itself ending (terribly) with PFSense: remember that, when you try. – Pitto – 2014-08-13T09:51:30.257
@Wieslaw Herr - I've downloaded 4 separate iso files from debian website, how can I make those 4 files bootable. I tried but failed. Or downloading is the only option? – rafi – 2015-09-06T06:03:40.947
or use Yumi: http://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multiboot-usb-creator/
– Francois – 2016-03-29T15:10:57.4601In case anyone is interested, while attempting to install Debian 9.4.0 the installer detected that I created the install medium with UNetbootin. It warned that "UNetbooin is regularly linked with difficult or unreproducible problem reports from users..." Additionally, it stated that if there were any problems to try installing without UNetbooin. – James B. Nall – 2018-03-11T20:57:50.293
For me UNetbootin didn't work. It created bootable media but my HP laptop did not recognize. However, usb disk created by Rufus worked correctly. – Dexter – 2019-07-12T08:17:29.760
The Debian docs explicitly state to not use UNetbootin. I realize this is an old post, but just mentioning this as others since it is a high-ranking answer. – ryanjdillon – 2019-07-23T10:53:19.690
Great answer so far. Do you know if, during installation, debian gives the option to partition the disk? – blokeley – 2011-04-02T13:41:27.270
1Any linux distro that doesn't let you partition the disk is doomed to fail. Partitioning the disk is a basic part of any installation of Linux. So I'd say yes, it does. – Majenko – 2011-04-02T13:51:11.237
The debian installer did have a partitioner. However, debian didn't support either my ethernet or wifi adapters so I couldn't install it! See http://superuser.com/questions/267282/how-to-use-non-free-drivers-during-debian-install
– blokeley – 2011-04-07T10:37:34.9201Fantastic answer. Worked first time, and that was after several hours of trying to get the instructions in the debian installation guide to work. – Recurse – 2012-05-10T03:56:17.527
1I've had more luck with the Universal USB Installer, with UNetBootin bootmgr was missing – Raziel – 2013-10-06T12:11:35.707