With a bootable Ubuntu USB stick, you can:

• Install or upgrade Ubuntu, even on a Mac
• Test out the Ubuntu desktop experience without touching your PC configuration
• Boot into Ubuntu on a borrowed machine or from an internet cafe
• Use tools installed by default on the USB stick to repair or fix a broken configuration

Creating a bootable USB stick is very simple, especially if you’re going to use the USB stick with a generic Windows or Linux PC. We’re going to cover the process in the next few steps.

The Ubuntu website suggests that Mac users stick to the CD version, so that's what I will do. If you are very interested in the thumb drive option, instructions on how to get it working are available on the download page for Ubuntu I have provided above. Feb 02, 2014 Note that the Macbook Air Superdrive is the only external drive that you can use to boot into Ubuntu from a CD. Intel Macs will boot Mac OSX from any USB device under certain conditions, but not other operating systems. The only exception to this rule is the Macbook Air Superdrive external DVD drive. Oct 02, 2020 Step 4: Enjoy Ubuntu Linux. I hope this tutorial helped you to fix the problem of Ubuntu freezing at the boot time and you were able to boot into your Ubuntu system. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know in the comment section below. Ubuntu is the modern, open source operating system on Linux for the enterprise server, desktop, cloud, and IoT.

Apple hardware considerations

Ubuntu Mac Address

There are a few additional considerations when booting the USB stick on Apple hardware. This is because Apple’s ‘Startup Manager’, summoned by holding the Option/alt (⌥) key when booting, won’t detect the USB stick without a specific partition table and layout. We’ll cover this in a later step.