Unetbootin, Rufus and a few other tools (as well as the venerable dd command) have been used commonly for years in order to ‘burn’ ISO (CD/DVD image files) to discs or to USB sticks.
Another tool, Etcher has been available for a while now. It’s really, really easy to use. Press the + symbol to select your ISO file. Select the USB stick you want to ‘burn’ to and press the ‘Flash’ symbol. Done!
Features:
- Validated Flashing: Etcher validates the image and the device after you’ve completed the process
- I’ve used it in MacOS and Windows. It also has a Linux version too, so you’re covered under any platform. Installation was trivial
- Idiot proof: Makes drive selection obvious to avoid wiping your hard-drive!
- Pretty: not only is it a synch to use, the interface is clean and intuitive
- It’s completely open source, written in JS, HTML, node.js and Electron. The authors encourage you to contribute!
More goodness coming soon…
Whilst perfectly stable, Etcher is in active development and they have committed to adding the following features amongst others:
50% faster flashes, simultaneous writing for multiple drives and more. View their roadmap
You can download Etcher here