How to use Debian in USB boot-able process

Question

I am totally new to the Debian universe and want to use a USB stick so as to download, burn and then install Debian on a PC I got.

I read the documentation of Debian online (https://www.debian.org/CD/) although I would be grateful for some pointers.

First of all as advised I went to the download page and choose

Downloading Debian CD/DVD images via HTTP/FTP

I choose the most common distribution of amd64 DVD and got re-directed

http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/7.6.0/amd64/iso-dvd/

At this point I can see that there are three .iso Debian DVD's, my first question is which one should I use, from instinct I would say the 4.4Gb release?

I download the iso file, and here is where my lack of Linux knowledge kicks in, I insert the empty USB stick and open a Terminal there. If I copy and paste the iso file in my USB stick, will it operate, probably not.

Continuing the exploration of the Debian website (https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/ch02s04.html.en#idp5731200)

I went to the USB section, although even through other Google searches, I don't understand how can I perform the creation of the Debian USB bootable.

the workstation I use now, is a cluster UNIX based, with scientific Linux 6, I tried to do it from my personal Windows laptop but the malware in some programs were annoying.

Answer 1

For install linux distros on USB driver first you need to change the driver Format to Ext4 then install debian as it is ! like on other place !

but in a simple way you can use Universal USB Installer. It is a Live Linux USB Creator that allows you to choose from a selection of Linux Distributions to put on your USB Flash Drive. The Universal USB Installer is easy to use. Simply choose a Live Linux Distribution, the ISO file, your Flash Drive and, Click Install.

Answer 2

Probably the most useful and easy software is http://unetbootin.net/ it's cross platform and can download ISO images from distro sites.

Answer 3

Since you have a UNIX system, writing an image directly to the USB stick is possible, which is easier. From 4.3.1 of the installation guide, run the following command in your terminal as root (where X is a letter from a to z and corresponds to your USB flash drive):

# cp <name of iso>.iso /dev/sdX

If somehow, this doesn't work for some reason, then you have to use another GNU/Linux system (like Debian and Fedora). If you really need to use your Windows for such task instead, you have to remove all the malware through an anti-virus program and use Win32 Disk Imager as recommended in the guide.