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When I go to the boot menu on my computer and select USB stick, the screen goes black and there comes a flickering underline. Like I could write something. But I can't. Whatever I push, nothing happens. Except the PrintScrn/SysRq button. When I push it, mu computer beeps. I get no choose menu. Nothing.

I found out the usb stick is in msdos format. So what format should I use and how can I format it? I am not a computer geek who knows everything. I'm just a beginner. And only 16 years old.

I've got a new problem. The screen isn't black anymore. Now there comes an error message:

SYSLINUX 4.04 CHS 20110518 Copyright (C) 1994-2011 H.Peter Anvin et al
ERROR:No configurationfile found
No DEFAULT or UI configuration directive found!

And when I write something:

Could not find kernel image:example

Why does this fail all the time? ps. I'm using Ubuntu Oneiric 11.10.

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You might be better off installing from CD, can you try this? The documentation is better for CD. Here is how to do it, and here is how to troubleshoot problems. From your last edit it looks like you are having a hardware problem with the USB stick, and there isn't much you can do about this except to try a different USB drive or port. Good luck. –  Tom Brossman Jun 28 '12 at 7:14
Unetbootin unetbootin.sourceforge.net is the best choice to burn ubuntu on a usb stick and install it from there. –  Nickolas Jun 28 '12 at 20:57

4 Answers 4

Msdos file system should be fine. Black screen suggests the USB is not bootable, although on many computers the BIOS would at least tell you that it can't find an OS, rather than just show you a flashing cursor. How did you make the USB?

If you need a software to make the bootable USB, you have several choices. All of the below will let you create an Ubuntu Live USB, or a wide variety of other distros or rescue disks.


UNetbootin is very easy to use. Let's you install a single OS.

Linux Only

I really like LiveUSB MultiBoot. It's a little more complex, but it lets you install several OSes on one USB key. The GUI is not great, and the download site is in French, but if you know what you're doing, it's very powerful.

Windows Only

I haven't used this before, but LinuxLive USB Creator doesn't look too bad (judging from screenshots and information on the website).

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If you are using windows then, there is a tool called "Universal USB Installer". You can download it from here.


Just run it

Select Ubuntu 12.04 Desktop from "step 1"

Select iso from where you saved it. Then tick "Format" & press


Wait until it finished.

Then you are done with creating installation media.

Now begin with your installation.

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I've had different experiences with different USB drive makers and models. You might try running the installer on a different drive.

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This could indicate that the installation on the USB stick didn't work right.
Try fromatting the usb stick and reinstalling Ubuntu on it.
After that try booting from it again. Good luck.

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