How To: Easy CentOS 6.3 installation using USB thumb drive

Recently, I need to do CentOS 6.3 installation on two machine that could be 32-bit or 64-bit processor. I have downloaded the minimal install ISO for both architecture, but I thought it could be a waste to burn multiple CD-RW, just to use it maybe only once.

Then, I search the Internet on the simplest and easiest way to install CentOS 6.3 by using USB thumb drive. After learning from few website, and facing some trouble, this post will teach you the simplest and easiest way.

What you will require:

1. Minimal install ISO for CentOS 6.3. Get it from your local mirror.
2. USB thumb drive - must be bigger that the size of the ISO. For minimal install, 1GB is good enough.
3. UNetbootin software - I download the Windows version, because my work laptop is Windows

The instruction given here is by using Windows. If you use Linux, you need to find out how to format the USB thumb drive in FAT32

How to do it:

Format the USB thumb drive

1. Plug your USB thumb drive into the USB port on your Windows laptop/PC
2. Your USB thumb drive should be detected, or a pop-up will say that your USB thumb drive is not formatted.
3. If detected, say drive F:, right click and select Format
4. If you got pop-up in step 2, proceed with Format
5. Select FAT32 as file system.
6. Tick Quick Format as format option
7. Click Start
8. Your USB thumb drive will be formatted with FAT32

Transfer ISO content to USB thumb drive using UNetbootin

1. Download and launch UNetbootin
2. Select Diskimage and click the ". . ." button. Find the ISO and click Open
3. Make sure Type is USB drive and the Drive letter is what your Windows detect.
4. Click OK
5. Your ISO content will be copied to USB thumb drive

It actually did not end here. If you proceed with installation by using the USB thumb drive, the installer will say that it cannot find the ISO image.

Follow this instruction:

1. Copy the ISO file that you use with UNetbootin to the root of the USB thumb drive, eg. the ISO file should be F:\CentOS-6.3-i386-minimal.iso

Now, proceed to boot up the machine that you want to install with CentOS 6.3 with your USB thumb drive. Make sure the machine BIOS support booting up from USB.

During installation, you will be asked where to find the installation image, select from hard disk.

When asked for partition that hold the image, just select OK.

That's it. If you have any issue, please leave a comment.

Thanks :)