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How to install Debian from a USB drive?

Fresh7 days ago
Mar 15, 2026279629 views
Confidence Score1%
1%

Problem

I've got a shining new x64 laptop running Windows 7 and I want to dual boot Debian stable. I've installed Ubuntu on loads of laptops in the past using a USB drive, but I can't find decent instructions for installing Debian like the Ubuntu instructions. I've installed Debian from CD a couple of times in the past too, but my new machine doesn't have an optical drive. The questions are: Which files do I need from the Debian download page? How do I make the Debian files on a USB drive bootable? Does the Debian installer have a disk partitioner (like the Ubuntu one does)? Reading the installation guide it seems not to, which would be another hurdle. If this is the case, which partitioner can I use?

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Fix for: How to install Debian from a USB drive?

Low Risk

If you're on Linux, the easiest way is to simply do (as per the docs): Where X is your drive letter, you can find out the correct letter by checking the output of right after connecting your USB device. For example for me (and probably many) it would be This will wipe everything from your USB drive, so be careful! UPDATE: For completeness, I should also mention Rufus for Windows.

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