0

I need a bootable DVD to install a desktop from scratch. The default 16.04 distribution .iso is not bootable. Where could I find an bootable image that has files shown in following web page? https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootFromCD

Ping Hu
  • 1
  • 1
    the default Ubuntu 16.04LTS [iso] is bootable; I still often use dvd's to install. Before writing it you verify the download worked (ie. md5sum matched what it should have been, no mitm attack or just bad download) then you write it (expand [growisofs] & write) to dvd correctly, otherwise you'll just get a data-dvd containing the ISO. If you didn't expand-during-write you've probably just written the iso on a data-dvd. (many gui, or cli tools will do this; but I don't know what you use/used; but it needs to know you want iso image bootable & not just dat-backup image) – guiverc Dec 21 '17 at 01:05
  • Why won't it boot? (that's probably a better question) – Xen2050 Dec 21 '17 at 01:05
  • Please see my comments below. The burned DVD does not have setup.exe etc. It only has md5sum.txt, readme.diskdefines and 10 folders. That's why I question if this is correct ISO image. – Ping Hu Dec 21 '17 at 14:45

1 Answers1

1

An Ubuntu installation ISO contains everything that is needed for booting on old BIOS firmware and on modern EFI firmware. You just need to burn it as "image" to the DVD, not as "data project" where you could compose a DVD from more than one file.

If you already have a GNU/Linux system with DVD burner, you may use Xfburn, K3B, or Brasero which all offer image burning (which you want) and data project burning (which you don't want).

On the shell command line, it would be


growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/sr0=ubuntu-16.04-server-amd64.iso

or


xorriso -as cdrecord -v dev=/dev/sr0 blank=as_needed -eject ubuntu-16.04-server-amd64.iso

If you only have a MS-Windows system for burning, then look for instructions like in https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd451080.aspx

You may also put the ISO flatly onto an USB stick. (Again, not as file into a filesystem but as filesystem image.) For GNU/Linux instructions see http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php?title=Isohybrid#Copying_onto_USB_stick_by_shell_commands . With MS-Windows consider programs "win32diskimager" or "Rufus" in its "dd" mode (not in its file unpacking mode).

Thomas Schmitt
  • 836
  • I have good experience of burning an iso file to a DVD disk with k3b – sudodus Dec 21 '17 at 07:51
  • I don't have a Linux system. That is what I'm trying to install. I could only burn DVD from a Windows system. I followed the instruction (like your link) to burn it. However the resulting DVD only as a checksum file and a Readme.* file in addition to the folders. There is no setup.exe and other files shown in the web page I listed in my OP. So I'm question if I get the correct ISO image. – Ping Hu Dec 21 '17 at 14:40
  • The 16.10 ISO i have bears only two data files: "README.diskdefines" and "md5sum.txt". Plus 10 directories from ".disk" to "preseed". So the DVD seems to be ok now. The screenshots are from year 2006: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootFromCD?action=info – Thomas Schmitt Dec 21 '17 at 15:00
  • But this DVD is not bootable when I insert it into a desktop that does not have an OS installed. – Ping Hu Dec 21 '17 at 15:44
  • Does it boot from other bootable DVDs ? – Thomas Schmitt Dec 21 '17 at 15:48
  • Yes. I have a 15 years old Fedora disk. It still could boot. However it does not have the drivers for my system. – Ping Hu Dec 21 '17 at 15:57
  • The old ISO can only have equipment for BIOS, not for EFI. If your firmware is EFI then it seems to have fallen back to BIOS Legacy mode. Can you set your firmware explicitely to BIOS Legcay mode and try Ubuntu again ? – Thomas Schmitt Dec 21 '17 at 17:38
  • How do I set my firmware? I don't see any instructions about this. – Ping Hu Dec 21 '17 at 19:12
  • It seems manufacturer dependent. Dell proposes to press F2 Key when their logo appears. There is supposed to be a setup utility for the firmware with settings like "Secure Boot" (try "off") and "Boot Mode" with ("Legacy" and "UEFI"). We should continue to explore this by mail in private. Mine is: scdbackup@gmx.net – Thomas Schmitt Dec 21 '17 at 21:02
  • This is a system I built myself 4 years ago. Now its HD failed and I decided to get a new HD and put a Linux on it instead of Windows. – Ping Hu Dec 21 '17 at 21:17