pve-usbstick.adoc

   1 Install from a USB Flash Drive
   2 ------------------------------
   3 ifdef::wiki[]
   4 :pve-toplevel:
   5 endif::wiki[]
   6
   7 The {pve} installation media is a hybrid ISO image. It works in two ways:
   8
   9 * An ISO image file ready to burn to a CD or DVD.
  10
  11 * A raw sector (IMG) image file ready to copy to a USB flash drive (USB stick).
  12
  13 Using a USB flash drive to install {pve} is the recommended way because it is
  14 the faster option.
  15
  16 Prepare a USB Flash Drive as Installation Medium
  17 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  18
  19 Download the installer ISO image from:
  20 https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads/category/iso-images-pve
  21
  22 The flash drive needs to have at least 1GB of storage available.
  23
  24 NOTE: Do not use UNetbootin. It does not work with the {pve} installation image.
  25
  26 IMPORTANT: Make sure that the USB flash drive is not mounted and does not
  27 contain any important data.
  28
  29
  30 Instructions for GNU/Linux
  31 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  32
  33 On Unix-like operating system use the `dd` command to copy the ISO image to the
  34 USB flash drive. First find the correct device name of the USB flash drive (see
  35 below). Then run the `dd` command.
  36
  37 ----
  38 # dd if=proxmox-ve_*.iso of=/dev/XYZ bs=1M
  39 ----
  40
  41 NOTE: Be sure to replace /dev/XYZ with the correct device name.
  42
  43 CAUTION: Be very careful, and do not overwrite the wrong disk!
  44
  45
  46 Find the Correct USB Device Name
  47 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  48 There are two ways to find out the name of the USB flash drive. The first one is
  49 to compare the last lines of the `dmesg` command output before and after
  50 plugging in the flash drive. The second way is to compare the output of the
  51 `lsblk` command. Open a terminal and run:
  52
  53 ----
  54 # lsblk
  55 ----
  56
  57 Then plug in your USB flash drive and run the command again:
  58
  59 ----
  60 # lsblk
  61 ----
  62
  63 A new device will appear. This is the one you want to use. To be on the extra
  64 safe side check if the reported size matches your USB flash drive.
  65
  66
  67 Instructions for macOS
  68 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  69
  70 Open the terminal (query Terminal in Spotlight).
  71
  72 Convert the .iso file to .img using the convert option of `hdiutil` for example.
  73
  74 ----
  75 # hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o proxmox-ve_*.dmg proxmox-ve_*.iso
  76 ----
  77
  78 TIP: macOS tends to automatically add '.dmg' to the output file name.
  79
  80 To get the current list of devices run the command:
  81
  82 ----
  83 # diskutil list
  84 ----
  85
  86 Now insert the USB flash drive and run this command again to determine which
  87 device node has been assigned to it. (e.g., /dev/diskX).
  88
  89 ----
  90 # diskutil list
  91 # diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX
  92 ----
  93
  94 NOTE: replace X with the disk number from the last command.
  95
  96 ----
  97 # sudo dd if=proxmox-ve_*.dmg of=/dev/rdiskX bs=1m
  98 ----
  99
 100 NOTE: 'rdiskX', instead of 'diskX', in the last command is intended. It will
 101 increase the write speed.
 102
 103 Instructions for Windows
 104 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 105
 106 Download Rufus from https://rufus.ie/. Either install it or use the portable
 107 version. Select the destination drive and the {pve} ISO file.
 108
 109 Once you click 'Start' a dialog asking to download a different version of GRUB
 110 will show up. Click 'No'. In the next dialog select the 'DD' mode.
 111
 112 An alternative to Rufus is Etcher. Download Etcher from https://etcher.io. It
 113 will guide you through the process of selecting the ISO and your USB Drive.
 114
 115 Boot your Server from the USB Flash Drive
 116 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 117
 118 Connect the USB flash drive to your server and make sure that booting from USB
 119 is enabled (check your servers BIOS). Then follow the steps in the installation
 120 wizard.