In the previous tutorial I explained how to create a Linux bootable usb drive in Windows and macOS. As already explained one of the many incredible features of most Linux distributions is the ability to boot and use a distribution directly from the USB stick you created, without the need to install Linux and affecting your hard drive and the current operating system on it. It is not necessary to perform a complete installation to first use and try out Linux to see if it is something for you. This short tutorial will explain how to boot from your previously created Linux usb drive so you can use Zorin OS without installing it on a PC or Mac.
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Plug your USB stick or drive in an USB port. Power the computer on (or restart it if it's already running) and immediately. 3.hold down those 4 keys together: CMD + OPT/ALT + O + F until you see the white Open Firmware screen similar to this: 4. Then at the Open Firmware command prompt, type this and press ENTER: boot usb0/disk@1:,:tbxi. Creating a MemTest86 bootable USB Flash drive in Linux/Mac Download the current Memtest86 package as a Zip file from this page. Inside the Zip there is a 'disk image' file. For the free edition of MemTest86, this file is called, memtest86-usb.img; Insert a USB flash drive into a USB slot.
In my free Zorin OS tutorial series I try to explain in an accessible and beginner friendly way everything you need to know to get the most out of Zorin OS. Click below to see a complete overview of all chapters of my free Zorin OS beginner course.
Note: This course is still in progress, so not all chapters are finished yet. Be patient App to open wmv on mac.
Content
- How to use Zorin OS without installing on a PC
- How to use Zorin OS without installing on a Mac
How to use Zorin OS without installing on a PC
Okay, so you have the Linux USB drive now. If not, then first follow all the steps in my tutorial How to create a Zorin OS bootable usb drive in macOS and Windows and then come back here to proceed.
The nice thing of having this magical fresh Linux bootable live drive is that you can try Linux now on whatever desktop or laptop you want. Well, of course it needs to have a working USB slot to be able to use it, but that is basically it. So take the following steps:
1) If you have not already done so, first shut down your computer.
2) Then put the Linux USB stick into a free USB slot.
3) Start your computer.
If all goes well, in the first couple of seconds, right after seeing the logo of your motherboard supplier, you will see an option to go to Setup or to go to the Boot menu.
How to start up your boot menu depends on things like the brand, type and age of your computer. But for example if you have an ASUS computer it can be Esc or F8, if you have a Dell computer it probably is F12, for most HP computers it is Esc and for a Lenovo it is probably F8 or F12. So take a good look at the notification on your screen as it normally pops up only for a little while, or search the internet for your specific model. And you can find more information on hot keys for boot menu and BIOS Settings at disk-image.com or webtechmag.com.
4) So hit the correct option on your keyboard (sometimes it is required to hit this option each second till the boot selection screen appears) to go to your boot menu.
Now you see a new screen with hopefully the options to boot from your hard drive or from USB.
5) Choose the generic USB option or if applicable choose the correct USB drive.
6) After a little while a menu with some Zorin specific options will be presented. Choose the option 'Try Zorin OS without installing'.
7) Now a menu with some options will be presented. Choose the option 'Try or Install Zorin OS'.
Now a complete live session of Zorin OS will be created, ready for you to use and test without actually wiping your hard drive.
If everything went well you will see a desktop environment that shows a selection screen that probably looks something like the screenshot below.
8) Select Try Zorin OS to use the live environment.
Now that Zorin OS has been booted into a live session the real fun can begin. In this environment you can use most of the options Zorin OS has to offer to see if you like it and to check if all your hardware works properly.
How to use Zorin OS without installing on a Mac
Disable Secure Boot
Before I start explaining how to boot the Zorin OS USB stick on an Apple Mac computer, it is important to know that the newest Apple computers have the T2 'Security' chip that prevents you from installing 'unrecognized' operating systems if you don't change some settings first in the devices hardware settings (p.s. the newest M1 based Macs can't run Linux yet, so are out of scope for this tutorial). This does not only reflect Linux, but also 'older' Apple OSX operating systems like macOS Sierra and older.
Older 64 bit macs without the T2 chip can run Linux without a problem from a bootable USB stick.
To disable Secure Boot on T2 equipped Apple computers you can do the following:
1) Press Command + R while starting up your Mac, until you see a macOS Utilities screen.
2) Click on Utilities in the menu bar and select Startup Security Utility.
3) From the provided options choose 'No Security'.
4) Now Shut Down your Mac via the Apple menu item.
Boot Zorin OS from USB
Ok, so now you have an Apple Mac computer that could already or can from now on boot from a Linux USB stick, and you have the Zorin OS USB bootable stick now. If not then first follow all the steps in my tutorial How to create a Zorin OS bootable usb drive in MacOS and Windows and then come back here to proceed.
The nice thing of having this magical fresh Linux bootable live drive is that you can try Linux now on whatever 64 bit Apple computer you want, like the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Mini. Well, of course it needs to have a working USB slot to be able to use it, but that is basically it.
To be able to boot into the Zorin usb drive, you'll need to hold the option (alt) key while you boot your macBook. So let's start.
1) If you have not already done so, first shut down your Mac computer.
2) Then put the Linux USB stick into a free USB slot.
3) Hold the option key.
4) Start your Mac computer while holding the option key, and wait.
If everything went well you see a screen with graphical presentations of at least your internal drive and the Zorin OS usb drive (presented as EFI boot).
5)You can let go of your option key now.
If you don't see the usb drive, unplug it and plug it in again while this screen is visible. Now the usb drive should pop up on this same screen.
6) Select the usb drive (EFI boot) and hit Enter.
7) Now a menu with some options will be presented. Choose the option 'Try or Install Zorin OS'.
Now a complete live session of Zorin OS will be created, ready for you to use and test without actually wiping your hard drive.
If everything went well you will see a desktop environment that shows a selection screen that probably looks something like the screenshot below.
8) Select Try Zorin OS to use the live environment.
Now that Zorin OS has been booted into a live session the real fun can begin. In this environment you can use most of the options Zorin OS has to offer to see if you like it and to check if all your hardware works properly.
Final words
Now you are being able to have some first looks at this Zorin OS distribution. Just browse around and try things out. In next tutorials I will show you the basic elements of the Zorin OS distro and go much more deeper in specific functionalities of this operating system.
What is next
You want to learn more about Zorin OS? Click below to see a complete overview of all chapters of my Zorin OS beginners course.
Zorin OS beginner course – an overview
UNetbootin allows you to create bootable Live USB drives for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions without burning a CD.
You can either let UNetbootin download one of the many distributions supported out-of-the-box for you, or supply your own Linux .iso file.
Features
UNetbootin can create a bootable Live USB drive
It loads distributions either by downloading a ISO (CD image) files for you, or by using an ISO file you've already downloaded.
Using UNetbootin
Select an ISO file or a distribution to download, select a target drive (USB Drive or Hard Disk), then reboot once done. If your USB drive doesn't show up, reformat it as FAT32.
If you used the 'USB Drive' install mode: After rebooting, boot from the USB drive. On PCs, this usually involves pressing a button such as Esc or F12 immediately after you turn on your computer, while on Macs, you should hold the Option key before OSX boots.
If you used the 'Hard Disk' install mode: After rebooting, select the UNetbootin entry from the Windows Boot Menu.
Supported Distributions
UNetbootin has built-in support for automatically downloading and loading the following distributions, though installing other distributions is also supported:
UNetbootin can also be used to load various system utilities, including:
Installing Other Distributions Using UNetbootin
Download and run UNetbootin, then select the 'disk image' option and supply it with an ISO (CD image).
UNetbootin doesn't use distribution-specific rules for making your live USB drive, so most Linux ISO files should load correctly using this option. However, not all distributions support booting from USB, and some others require extra boot options or other modifications before they can boot from USB drives, so these ISO files will not work as-is. Also, ISO files for non-Linux operating systems have a different boot mechanism, so don't expect them to work either.
FAQs
Distribution X isn't on the list of supported distributions, will it work?
» Maybe, see Installing Other Distributions Using UNetbootin.
UNetbootin isn't able to download the distribution, what should I do?
Download the ISO straight from the website, then provide it to UNetbootin via the diskimage option.
My USB stick isn't booting, what should I do?
Reformat the USB drive as FAT32, then use UNetbootin again to put your distribution on the USB stick.
My USB stick/hard drive isn't detected, what should I do?
Reformat the USB drive as FAT32, then use UNetbootin again. If it still isn't showing up, use the targetdrive command line option.
How do I use UNetbootin from the command line?
» See UNetbootin Command Line Options.
How does UNetbootin work, and what does it do?
» See How UNetbootin Works.
» See USB Drive and Hard Disk Install Modes.
Where can I report bugs, submit patches, etc?
First, make sure you are using the latest version available on this website.
» See Github Issues to file a bug report.
» See Github Pull Requests to submit a patch.
Does UNetbootin have any spyware, viruses, trojans, or other malware?
Linux Boot Stick Mac Pro
No; though some anti-virus products may raise 'Trojan.generic' warnings due to the auto-uninstall feature, these are false positives. Just make sure you obtain UNetbootin from this site, not some shady third-party source. If you're absolutely paranoid, you can check the source code and compile it yourself.
What translations are available, and how can I use them?
A number of translations are included in the latest UNetbootin release. See the Translations Page for the status of each.
If a translation corresponding to your system's native language has already been included into UNetbootin, it should automatically load the corresponding translation. Alternatively, you can force the language to use via the lang=es command-line option, where you substitute es with the the 2-letter ISO 639-1 code for your language.
Can I help translate?
If you'd like to help translate this website, join the project on Transifex, then edit translations either on this website or on Transifex.
If you'd like to help translate the UNetbootin program itself, please use Launchpad Translations. If you are new to Launchpad, you will first have to join the corresponding Ubuntu Translators group for the language you intend to translate. For information on using the Launchpad Translations system, see the translations help page.
» See UNetbootin Translations
Removal Instructions (Applicable only to Hard Disk installs)
If using Windows, UNetbootin should prompt you to remove it the next time you boot into Windows. Alternatively, you can remove it via Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel.
If using Linux, re-run the UNetbootin executable (with root priveledges), and press OK when prompted to uninstall.
Removal is only required if you used the 'Hard Drive' installation mode; to remove the bootloader from a USB drive, back up its contents and reformat it.
Uninstalling UNetbootin simply removes the UNetbootin entry from your boot menu; if you installed an operating system to a partition using UNetbootin, removing UNetbootin will not remove the OS.
To manually remove a Linux installation, you will have to restore the Windows bootloader using 'fixmbr' from a recovery CD, and use Parted Magic to delete the Linux partition and expand the Windows partition.
Where's the source code, and how can I compile or modify it?
Source code is on Github, though you may prefer a tarball of the latest release.
» See Compiling UNetbootin.
» See UNetbootin Command Line Options.
» See Building a UNetbootin Plugin.
» See Using a UNetbootin Plugin.
» See Building a Custom UNetbootin Version.
» See List of Custom UNetbootin Versions and Plugins.
License
UNetbootin was created and written by Geza Kovacs (Github: gkovacs, Launchpad: gezakovacs, contact info).
Linux Boot Disk
Translators are listed on the translations page.
UNetbootin is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) Version 2 or above. Site materials, documentation, screenshots, and logos are licensed as Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike 3.0.