[Mama Luigi]

I can't boot an OS from USB because I cannot mount the ISO to a USB drive (and I don't have access to another computer where I can install stuff), and I don't have any SATA CD/DVD drives, so I cannot burn anything either. I've tried looking all over for an OS that I can run straight from USB without any configuration, or even a portable OS that runs straight off USB and would allow me to run PowerISO or unetbootin, but so far, no joy. It's looking like my only option is to buy a Windows/Linux distro =/

The reason I want to switch is because I miss being able to play MMOs and standalone games like Skyrim, and no offense, but I'm unable to get Youtube videos to play stable within a web browser (although I can save to favorites, then watch them with flawless performance through the Youtube mod). I'm thinking of either switching to Windows 8, or Ubuntu, but at this point I'll take anything if I can access to executables again, then I can take it from there.

Almost forgot to mention, I also tried launching PowerISO and unetbootin through Advanced Launcher, but I couldn't get them to run, although I guess this is due to the limitations of OpenElec.

[wsnipex]

if you don't have access to a pc where you can create a bootable USB, how did you get OpenElec installed?

Anyway, OE probably has "dd" installed, which is all you need to copy most ISOs to an USB stick. If you currently run OE from USB, then you will need _another_ stick.

From the shell, you first need to identify the new, empty USB stick: lsblk will output your devices, make absolutley sure that you identified the correct one.

- download the ISO(e.g. xbmcbuntu 13)
- copy the ISO to USB:

Code:

dd if=yourISOfilename of=/dev/sdX

#replace sdX with your correct devicename)
this will take a while with _no output_, be patient and wait till it finishes.
- run "sync":

Code:

sync

then you can mount the new device and check if the contents are correct. If yes, reboot from the new USB stick.

[Mama Luigi]

if you don't have access to a pc where you can create a bootable USB, how did you get OpenElec installed?

Anyway, OE probably has "dd" installed, which is all you need to copy most ISOs to an USB stick. If you currently run OE from USB, then you will need _another_ stick.

From the shell, you first need to identify the new, empty USB stick: lsblk will output your devices, make absolutley sure that you identified the correct one.

- download the ISO(e.g. xbmcbuntu 13)
- copy the ISO to USB:

Code:

dd if=yourISOfilename of=/dev/sdX

#replace sdX with your correct devicename)
this will take a while with _no output_, be patient and wait till it finishes.
- run "sync":

Code:

sync

then you can mount the new device and check if the contents are correct. If yes, reboot from the new USB stick.

When I said I couldn't create a bootable USB, I meant that my OpenELEC install prevents me from running any software, I couldn't run anything like PowerISO or unetbootin.

Also, not sure what dd is, although I doubt I can do any command line stuff on here, since this build was meant to turn a computer into an appliance. Looking it up now though. Also, copying ISOs directly isn't enough, I tried with Ubuntu, SteamOS, and 1-2 others, and I got boot error every time.

[wsnipex]

ofc you can run programs in OE. And my instructions are for _any_ linux that has dd. I bet OE ships it too.

[Milhouse]

OE includes dd and enough tools to repartition and format drives.

[Mama Luigi]

ofc you can run programs in OE. And my instructions are for _any_ linux that has dd. I bet OE ships it too.

Really? Because when I read the description, it said that it was made specifically for turning the computer into a PCTV. And I've tried launching different Linux programs from Advanced Launcher, but they wouldn't start, or even give an error code. And I've been looking through countless repos for some kind of partitioning/formatting tool, but I've yet to find one, and I looked in every nook and cranny of the base OS I think. If anyone could point me to where I can access these tools, I would be most thankful

Edit: Also, can someone tell me what dd stands for? Because I looked it up, and the only meaning I found was for something unrelated to making bootable USBs.

[wsnipex]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dd_%28Unix%29

and you cannot run arbitrary programs in OE, they obviously must be compiled for OE. Just like windows progs only run on windows...

[Mama Luigi]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dd_%28Unix%29

and you cannot run arbitrary programs in OE, they obviously must be compiled for OE. Just like windows progs only run on windows...

Oh, I thought you were talking about Linux programs. When I think of programs for OE, I think of them as how they're called, addons/modifications. Anyways, is there any tool available to make an ISO bootable? Maybe something that runs preboot, and can make an ISO bootable from there? (I have a 2nd USB, although it's pretty small). I was considering Hiren's Boot USB, but then I would have to put it on my big USB, and my other USB has less than 1 MB of room left (I could delete some stuff, but it's all important stuff)

[wsnipex]

I've given you a step by step guide, but you're still asking the same thing over and over,