How to Test Drive Linux Without Installing It

Posted on by Yaman ŞenerLeave a comment

One of the biggest advantages of modern Linux distributions is the ability to try them out completely before committing to an installation. This is accomplished using a ‘live version’ of the operating system, which runs directly from a USB flash drive without making any changes to your computer’s hard drive. This guide will walk you through the process of creating a bootable USB drive and test-driving a Linux distribution like Elementary OS.

Table of Contents

  1. 1. Creating Your Bootable USB Drive
  2. 2. Booting the Live Environment
  3. 2.1 More Topics

Creating Your Bootable USB Drive

The first step is to create a special USB drive that can boot multiple Linux ISO files. For this, we recommend a tool called Ventoy, which is perfect for trying out different versions of Linux without reformatting your drive each time.

  1. Download the latest version of Ventoy from its website (https://ventoy.net).
  2. Use the Ventoy tool to set up a large USB flash drive (16GB or bigger is ideal).
  3. Download the ISO file for the Linux distribution you want to try. For this example, we’ll use Elementary OS, which you can get from https://elementary.io.
  4. Once Ventoy has prepared the drive, simply copy the downloaded ISO file directly onto it. You can add multiple ISO files if you have space.

Booting the Live Environment

With your bootable USB drive ready, you can now start the Linux live environment on your PC.

  1. Insert the USB drive into your computer and reboot it.
  2. Immediately after your PC switches on, look for an option to open the boot menu. This is typically done by pressing a key like F11 or F12.
  3. From the boot menu, select your USB drive. If you have a choice, try the UEFI option first.
  4. The Ventoy menu will appear, showing a list of the ISO files on your drive. Select the Elementary OS ISO.
  5. You will see an option to ‘Try Or Install Elementary OS’. Choose this and proceed through a quick language and keyboard setup.
  6. When prompted, select Try Demo Mode.

Once Elementary OS has loaded, you can explore its desktop and features as if it were installed on your hard drive. While you can’t install new applications in this demo mode, it provides an excellent feel for how the operating system works.

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Hello! I'm a gaming enthusiast, a history buff, a cinema lover, connected to the news, and I enjoy exploring different lifestyles. I'm Yaman Şener/trioner.com, a web content creator who brings all these interests together to offer readers in-depth analyses, informative content, and inspiring perspectives. I'm here to accompany you through the vast spectrum of the digital world.

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