USB drives are a great storage medium that, although it may seem outdated these days, is actually very useful.
Because it can also be used as an operating system installer, which means that they allow you to take your operating system with you to use it on other PCs. Here we will tell you everything about the best programs to Boot a USB and much more.
What is a bootable or bootable USB and what is it used for?
In computing terms, the word “ boot ” means “ bootable ”, so a bootable usb drive can also be called a “ bootable usb drive ”. In fact, these types of devices can work on your computer automatically, without the need to previously install an operating system.
Which is better for a bootable USB: NTFS or FAT32?
Programs to create bootable USB
In most cases, when creating a bootable USB drive, the most relevant question is what type of format should you use for it, and although it is a bit complicated, it is worth knowing what the question is, and based on this, make a decision based on your needs.
Comparison chart
Comparison chart
The 12 best programs to Boot a USB in Windows, macOS and Linux
Well, as we have pointed out, one of the main requirements to create a bootable USB device in any operating system is to have a special program or software for it. Therefore, here we offer you a detailed list of the 12 best programs to Boot a USB that you can use to do it for free.
Keep in mind that some of them are compatible with Windows, Mac OS and Linux, but others only support one of these systems:
1- UNetbootin
UNetbootin
This is another best solution for you to create a bootable USB drive on Windows, Mac OS and Linux computers. Therefore, it is a free program that, although it works for a long time, its quality remains unalterable, and for this reason, it is used by millions of users.
2- Rufus
This is the most widely used program to create a bootable USB, which is why it is one of the main references in this sector. It is a free program, very easy to use and compatible with both Windows and GNU/Linux. In addition, it is translated into Spanish and, as it is portable, it does not require installation.
3- Yumi
Yumi
If you want or need to create a USB key with multiple ISO images within various operating systems, Yumi is the main tool for it. Thus, it is considered another of the best options to execute these processes and, well, it is a benchmark in terms of specialization for creating multiboot USB drives.
4- ISO to USB
ISO to USB
This is another ideal alternative is to create a bootable USB drive only on Windows , as it is not compatible with Mac OS or Linux. That being said, it is a small program and not very popular yet. Although it is very good, its main feature is that it has the ability to write the ISO image file directly to USB drives.
5- LiveUSB Install
LiveUSB Install
It has a version for Windows and another for Linux. This tool is one of the most recommended for free and easy creation of a bootable USB flash drive. Therefore, it is a program written in Python, which was originally developed specifically to simplify the installation of GNY / Linux distributions.
6- DiskMakerX
DiskMakerX
This is one of the programs to Boot a USB, it was created with Apple Script, which is designed, among other things, to allow you to create boot disks from any version of Mac OS and Mac OS X. This is from the OS X installer / Mac OS that you get directly from the app store. In this regard, the program has a very user-friendly interface that allows you to create a bootable USB drive in just a few clicks.
7- Etcher
Etcher
This is another one of the most perfect solutions to create a bootable USB stick on Windows, Mac OS and GNU/Linux. Which is available in installable and portable versions, as well as 32-bit and 64-bit versions (in the case of Windows computers).
8- RMPrepUSB (Easy2Boot)
RMPrepUSB (Easy2Boot)
We recommend making use of this tool to create multiboot USB drives. The best thing is that it is not limited to ISO image files, but also allows you to use any other alternative format for more coverage.
9- MultiBootUSB
MultiBootUSB
We also found this free, freeware, and cross-platform program that was written in Python that allows you to create a multiboot USB drive, which means that it offers the ability to install multiple distributions on Windows, Linux, as well as certain versions like Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE, and Mageia. . In addition, MultiBootUSB offers the ability to uninstall distributions placed on any USB device.
10- Linux Live USB Creator
Linux Live USB Creator
It is a free and open source tool that allows you to create bootable USB drives for GNY / Linux distributions, although it can only be used on Windows computers. This is one of the programs to Boot a USB that has a much more original interface than other alternatives and is also very colorful, making it totally different from the rest.
11- Windows USB/DVD Download Tool
Windows USB/DVD Download Tool
12- Windows 10 installation tool
It is also worth detailing this particular Windows application. Which has been designed to create a USB stick with which you can install Windows 10 on any computer and create an ISO file with the operating system in the same way. At present, the widely used program shows excellent performance.