If you're finding it tricky to create a bootable USB drive for your remote exam, there are several tools like Rufus or Fedora Media Writer that can help. However, the dd command offers a straightforward alternative that doesn't require any extra software installation. I've put together a simple guide, including how to download the necessary ISO file.
Here's what to do:
Download the exam ISO: Open your terminal. Use wget to download the exam ISO file. (The specific command will likely be provided in the exam instructions, but it will look something like wget [ISO_DOWNLOAD_LINK]).
Identify your USB drive: Run lsblk to list all connected drives. If you run lsblk once without your USB stick inserted and again with it, you can easily spot your USB drive's name (e.g., /dev/sdb, /dev/sdc). This is crucial to avoid accidentally writing over the wrong drive.
Write the ISO to the USB stick: Execute the dd command with elevated privileges (using sudo).
For example:
sudo dd if=/path/to/your/exam.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
Replace /path/to/your/exam.iso with the actual path to the downloaded ISO file.
Replace /dev/sdX with the name of your USB drive you identified in the previous step.
bs=4M sets the block size to 4 megabytes, which can speed up the process.
status=progress will show you the progress of the operation.
This process might take several minutes.
Once it's done, you can safely remove the USB stick.
Notes:
Do not reinsert the USB stick after creation. The partitions are encrypted and won't appear as expected. Your system might even prompt you for a password you don't have or need. The exam environment will decrypt and extract automatically during boot-up.
Back up your data! Before you begin, it's always a good idea to back up any important data on your computer, just in case.
I cannot upload a video, so I converted it into an animated gif, hopefully you will be able to view it
Good luck with your exam!
Updated 2025/05/26 ref. REKBP008
