I recently had my USB drive get water damaged and now I can't use it to install Linux. I checked a local store, but they don't have any USB drives available. Are there any options for installing Linux without needing a USB?
5 Answers
If you have access to another computer that's on the same network, you might try a PXE boot. This involves enabling PXE in the BIOS of the machine you want to install on, using a tool like Ventoy to start a boot server on the source machine, and then boot from there.
I had success installing Linux by creating an additional partition on my drive for the ISO file. It can be a bit tricky, and doesn't always work perfectly with every Linux distro, but it's worth a shot if you're in a bind!
If your computer has a DVD drive, you could burn the Linux ISO to a DVD and install it the traditional way. It's a bit old-school, but it works!
My laptop doesn't even have a DVD drive! But I've heard you can create a partition on your primary hard drive to store the Linux ISO. Not sure how reliable that is, though.
You can also use your smartphone as a bootable USB if you look up guides online. Just make sure the instructions are good because I haven't tried this myself.
Honestly, if I were you, I'd probably just order a new USB drive online. There are definitely ways to install Linux without a USB, but they might be a bit complex. Waiting for a USB might save you a lot of hassle.
Totally agree! I still have some old DVDs lying around, and if I were in your situation, this would definitely help.