(Question ID 66948)

This is a popular question with many similar or overlapping questions. Browsing the various linked and related questions I noticed the information on this subject is limited and fragmented. Most answers are simple software recommendations and do not touch upon any underlying issues. This article is meant to help fellow superusers appreciate the assumptions we take for granted and serve as a springboard for those that need to dig deeper to solve their problem.

Most people who are looking to place an ISO on a USB drive want to put any ISO on a USB drive and make the drive bootable (also known as making a live USB or installer USB from a binary image file). Examples include: …