Burning ISO on a USB flash drive
Balena Etcher and Tufus offer simple interfaces to select your ISO and target USB drive and handle the writing process.
Use case:
- Create USB installation media from bootable ISOs
- Flash a BIOS or a firmware with a low-level utility
- Format USB, flash card and virtual drives to FAT/FAT32/NTFS/UDF/exFAT/ReFS/ext2/ext3
| Name | Differentiators | Web Site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balena Etcher | Support Linux, macOS, and Windows | Web + GitHub/balena-io/etcher | |
| Rufus | * Create Windows 11 installation drives for PCs that don’t have TPM or Secure Boot | Web + GitHub/pbatard/rufus | |
| Ventoy | * On macOS, the best, reliable solution is Ventoy | Web + GitHub/pbatard/rufus |
https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy
Got it — macOS 👍 In that case, don’t use Balena Etcher for Windows ISOs. On macOS, the best, reliable solution is Ventoy.
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✅ Best Method on macOS: Ventoy (Strongly Recommended)
Ventoy works perfectly on macOS and supports: • Windows 11 ISOs • Debian ISOs • UEFI boot • Secure Boot (optional)
You can even put both ISOs on the same USB.
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🔧 Step-by-Step (macOS)
1️⃣ Download Ventoy 👉 https://www.ventoy.net
Download: • ventoy-x.x.xx-darwin.tar.gz
Extract it.
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2️⃣ Insert USB & Identify Disk Open Terminal:
diskutil list
Identify your USB (example: /dev/disk2)
⚠️ Double-check the disk number — this will erase it.
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3️⃣ Install Ventoy to USB
cd ventoy-x.x.xx sudo ./Ventoy2Disk.sh -i /dev/disk2
• Confirm with y
• Ventoy creates:
• Small EFI partition
• Large exFAT partition
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4️⃣ Copy ISOs (Drag & Drop) Open the USB in Finder and copy: • Windows11_x64.iso • debian-13.x.x-amd64-netinst.iso (or firmware ISO)
No burning, no formatting.
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5️⃣ Boot the PC • Boot menu key (F12 / F11 / ESC / DEL depending on PC) • Select UEFI: USB • Ventoy menu appears • Choose Windows or Debian
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🔐 Secure Boot Notes (Important) • First Ventoy boot may show: “Enroll key” • Choose: Enroll Ventoy key → Continue → Reboot • Secure Boot will then work normally
OR disable Secure Boot in BIOS (simpler).
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❌ Why macOS Tools Fail for Windows
Tool Result Balena Etcher Non-bootable USB dd ISO not hybrid Disk Utility Broken bootloader
Windows ISOs need special handling — Ventoy does that.
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🏆 Best Setup for Your Goal
Since you want Windows 11 + Debian dual-boot:
✔ One USB ✔ Both ISOs ✔ No reformatting later
Ventoy is the cleanest and least painful path on macOS.
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If you want, next I can: • Walk you through Windows 11 install choices (partition sizing) • Or give exact Debian partition layout for CLI-only installs • Or help with Secure Boot / TPM errors if they appear
Just tell me 👍