How to make a USB flash drive bootable like a CD made from an ISO

Apparently my installation of syslinux was incorrect and liveusb-creator installs it somewhat correctly. Now I am getting the error "chain.c32: not a COM32R image". How do I make a USB flash drive bootstrap like a CD? My BIOS is configured okay (Ubuntu boots from USB).

The problem is, I have an ISO image and if a burn it to CD it boots fine. When I "burn" it to the flash drive, it doesn't boot.

I am guessing the CD burner creates a sort of a boot sector automatically, which isn't done for the USB drive. Please do not refer me to Linux/Ubuntu bootable installers from USB, I am not asking to boot Linux. It's an arbitrary bootable ISO image.

The ISO contains an isolinux directory, inside is some stuff like boot.cat file, isolinux.bin, .img file, .krn file etc. Ring any bells? I am not familiar with this isolinux bootloading thing.

Can someone please explain how I can use these files? Do I need to reinstall syslinux on the USB?

Apparently my installation of syslinux was incorrect and liveusb-creator installs it somewhat correctly. Now I am getting the error:

"chain.c32: not a COM32R image"

valekovski

Posted 2011-12-14T15:17:16.163

Reputation: 83

People coming here should note that live-USB creators may not work with all types of operating system. Many only work for windows vista and up. See also https://superuser.com/questions/66948/how-do-i-place-a-bootable-iso-on-a-usb-drive

– jiggunjer – 2015-12-30T03:36:12.377

Also note that the ISO itself has no components that make a USB bootable. – jiggunjer – 2015-12-30T03:37:25.270

Possible duplicate of How do I place a bootable ISO on a USB drive?

– user202729 – 2019-08-14T16:38:31.807

Answers

I've had succes with both Windows and Linux iso's using UNetBootin. There are also several tutorials out there on how to use it with a Windows ISO.

R-D

Posted 2011-12-14T15:17:16.163

Reputation: 2 506

I have already tried UNetBooting, doesn't work for my ISO, but thank you. – valekovski – 2011-12-14T18:01:49.033

From the OP: The problem was with syslinux installation on USB (syslinux is a lightweight bootloader). I've tried installing it from Linux terminal, didn't work.

Unetbootin worked for me in the end. Installed syslinux correctly, tho I had to use an older version 494. The new version produced an error: "menu.c32: not a COM32R image".

Thank you. Cheers, Val – BloodPhilia – 2011-12-15T17:02:25.733

HP has a couple tools that can be used to make USBs bootable. I've had mixed success with them depending on what it is I'm putting on them. Their strength, apparently, is that they are supposed to work with anything.

The HP Drive Key Boot Utility is one: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?swItem=MTX-UNITY-I23839

The HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool is another. It works best for creating MS-DOS style boot disks: http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=197

music2myear

Posted 2011-12-14T15:17:16.163

Reputation: 34 957

Thank you very much for your reply, these boot utilites do not solve my problem. Cheers – valekovski – 2011-12-15T12:38:15.657

I use liveusb-creator. It was designed for Fedora, but it's worked with every other live ISO I've put on it.

SaintWacko

Posted 2011-12-14T15:17:16.163

Reputation: 1 482

Hm, thank you! This somewhat works.. Apparently my installation of syslinux was incorrect and liveusb-creator installs it somewhat correctly. Now I am getting the error "chain.c32: not a COM32R image". I will let you know how it turns out. Cheers, Val – valekovski – 2011-12-15T12:39:58.713

Glad to know it helped :) – SaintWacko – 2011-12-15T16:09:51.160

There are several known issues with a unetbootin and several flavours of Linux. It can work but if like me you find it causing issues, I have had more luck with Rufus.

netniV

Posted 2011-12-14T15:17:16.163

Reputation: 261

A USB drive can be substituted for a CD most of the time when making accurate, error-free bootable media, and it also eliminates the risk of creating a badly burnt CD. There are many programs available for making Linux live USBs. Universal USB Installer is one of the best ones. Click the Supported Distros tab on the linked webpage to show the list of supported Linux distributions. Universal USB Installer is updated regularly, as the supported Linux distributions are updated, so it is best to download the latest version.

Rufus is another program for making Linux live USBs.

karel

Posted 2011-12-14T15:17:16.163

Reputation: 11 374

This answer was provided by the OP as an edit to the question.

Unetbootin worked for me in the end. Installed syslinux correctly, though I had to use an older version 494. The new version produced an error:

"menu.c32: not a COM32R image".

The problem was with syslinux installation on USB (syslinux is a lightweight bootloader). I've tried installing it from Linux terminal, didn't work.

I say Reinstate Monica

Posted 2011-12-14T15:17:16.163

Reputation: 21 477