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Boot Linux® on your Mac and certain PCs, easily.
macOS 10.8+ (view system requirements)
What is Mac Linux USB Loader?
Mac Linux USB Loader allows you to create bootable live USB drives for Ubuntu and other Linux® distributions without burning a CD. Unlike other tools, bootable USB drives created with Mac Linux USB Loader can be booted on your Mac, don’t require formatting your drive, and they even work on certain PCs as well.
The tool is necessary to make Linux® distributions boot that do not have EFI booting support. Many distributions started adding this with the release of Windows 8, but it has not been finalized and is still nonstandard by most distributions. Many common distributions are supported, like Ubuntu and Linux Mint.
Mac Linux USB Loader is powered by Enterprise, a custom boot manager designed to make it easier to boot Linux® on your PC or Mac. The program automatically installs Enterprise on your USB storage or external hard drive alongside your chosen Linux® distribution. No other software out there can do what Mac Linux USB Loader does — it has been the undisputed champion since 2012!
Distribution Downloader
Mac Linux USB Loader features an easy-to-use distribution downloader which lets you easily obtain copies of your favorite Linux® distribution from the Internet. Each distribution has one or more geographic mirrors, allowing you to obtain the ISO from a location close to you. The mirror lists are downloaded from the Internet at a frequency you choose, ensuring you always have the latest mirrors.
The distribution downloader also features descriptions, taken from Wikipedia, of each of the different Linux distributions. These descriptions can help you decide which distribution to choose.
Simple Setup Wizard
Unlike nearly all other software to create a bootable Linux® USB, Mac Linux USB Loader features an extremely easy-to-use user interface. Choosing which USB device to install to is a trivial process, and for advanced users, the software even lets you choose which boot manager you wish to install on your USB.
To create a live Linux USB drive, simply select the drive as it appears in the setup wizard. If you’re an advanced user, you can also select which version of the Enterprise boot manager you wish to use. (This feature is hidden by default and can be enabled in the preferences.)
Uncomplicated Settings
Mac Linux USB Loader gives you the same flexibility in setting up your USB drive as other major software, but without the myriad settings and buttons that make it impossible for novices to setup, configure, and use.
Also, we should mention that Mac Linux USB Loader doesn’t extract the contents of your distribution’s ISO file, meaning that after setting up your live USB, you can still use any remaining space to store other files on your USB. So, you don’t have to sacrifice a whole USB drive!
I manually created quite a few drives only to find they didn’t work. I’m very thankful I eventually found Mac Linux USB Loader, because it removes a lot of the guesswork from the process. Hopefully every Mac user wanting to boot Linux from USB will find this software.
— Justin Pot, MakeUseOf
If you have followed our guide to install Ubuntu on Macbook Air, you will know that creating a Linux live CD/USB that can run in Mac is a troublesome chore. You need to find the Mac-compatible version of the ISO file, convert it to img file and lastly dump it into the USB drive. Mac-Linux USB Loader is one simple tool that can get all these things done without all the hassle.
— Damien Oh, Make Tech Easier
I’m just introducing myself to Linux and coding and I’m really grateful for a thriving community with great programs to help people get started. Thanks for making the Mac Linux USB Loader and opening the door for me (not to mention providing an extended life for my macbook with a dead dvd drive). I hope to be contributing to open projects like this myself some day soon.
— Anonymous
Think you can just plug a standard Linux live USB drive into your Mac and boot from it? Think again. You’ll need to go out of your way to create a live Linux USB drive that will boot on a Mac. This can be quite a headache, but we’ve found a graphical utility that makes this easy. … “Mac Linux USB Loader” by SevenBits worked well for us. This Mac application will allow you to create USB drives with your preferred Linux distro on them from within Mac OS X in just a few clicks. You can then reboot and boot those USB drives to use the Linux distribution from the live system.
— Chris Hoffman, How-To Geek
Downloads
Mac Linux USB Loader costs $4.99 to download and is bought through PayPal. The download is secure and is delivered to your email when payment is complete. Mac Linux USB Loader is open-source and compiled binaries cost money in order to offset the effort required to maintain the tool.
Help & Support
- Official support and documentation is available on the wiki.
- If I have time, I can sometimes handle basic support questions over email. If something is wrong with one of the supported distributions, I can generally help, but if you’re doing something exotic, I will require a small fee. I have full-time responsibilities and so I can’t afford to give lots of help for free, sorry.
- If you find a bug, please file a bug report.
Run Linux on a Mac computer
Loading distributions of Linux from a USB flash drive on a Mac is possible with Mac Linux USB Loader. With this tool you can easily boot a Mac with a Linux distribution.
Run Linux on a Mac
Macs require to boot via EFI which makes it difficult to use Linux if not through GRUB. It is also quite possible that there may be problems on a Mac with some distributions. That’s why we need something like Mac Linux USB Loader, a tool that enables us to install a Linux distribution with an EFI boot loader onto a USB from an ISO image that will enable us to enjoy Linux on a Mac.
The end of a problem
Mac Linux USB Loader is the long-awaited solution to an important need. And that is because applications that are intended to create LiveUSBs to load Linux distributions are generally made to work with PC’s and not Apple machines, which have more complex needs for this purpose.
Why make things so complicated? If you use Linux on a Mac then don’t hesitate to download Mac Linux USB Loader.
Elies Guzmán
With a degree in History, and later, in Documentation, I have over a decade of experience testing and writing about apps: reviews, guides, articles, news, tricks, and more. They have been countless, especially on Android, an operating system…
This is the Mac Linux USB Loader, a tool allowing you to take an ISO of a Linux distribution and make it boot using EFI. It requires a single USB drive formatted as FAT with at least 2 GB free recommended. The tool is necessary to make certain Linux distributions boot that do not have EFI booting support. Many distributions are adding this with the release of Windows 8, but it has not been finalized and is still nonstandard by most distros. If you wish to contribute to the code or fork the repository, please do so. The application is currently in beta with major functionality chunks missing and once I reach beta I will need everyone's help to make it a great tool, hopefully along the popularity lines of unetbootin or similar tools. I created this tool, if you care, for several reasons: 1) None of the other tools available (esp. unetbootin) feel native and operate as you would expect on the Mac platform. 2) None of the other methods of which I am aware have the ability to make the archives boot on Intel Macs. 3) It was personally a pain in the neck getting Linux distros to boot via USB on Macs. That being said, it does have a few shortcomings: 1) Linux fails to have graphics on some Macs (i.e Macbook Pros with nVidia graphics), which in some cases prevents boot, but this is not necessarily an issue with Mac Linux USB Loader as much as it is an issue with the video drivers that ship with most distros. 2) It only detects up to 10 USB ports. I chose 10 because it is unlikely someone will have more ports than that. If they do, then maybe I'll do something about it, but the only computer I've even seen that had more than a few ports was a desktop PC with six, but given that PCs do not run OS X that would not really limit us anyway.
linux
usb
bootable
iso
mac
open-source
Open-source tool for creating bootable Linux live USB drives from ISO files, streamlined for easy use without Terminal or third-party software.
What is Mac Linux USB Loader?
Mac Linux USB Loader is an open-source application designed specifically for Mac users who want to create a bootable Linux USB drive without complexity. It provides a graphical user interface that makes the process very simple.
To use it, you just need to download the Mac Linux USB Loader app, download your preferred Linux distribution ISO file, insert a USB thumb drive with at least 2GB of space, and launch the app. You can then select the ISO file and USB drive, and click Create. The app will automatically configure the USB drive to be a bootable Linux live drive.
The benefits of Mac Linux USB Loader include:
- No need to use Terminal or edit text config files
- No need to install third-party software like UNetbootin
- Intuitive graphical interface for easy USB creation
- Open-source and free tool
- Works with most major Linux distributions
- Active development and support
Overall, Mac Linux USB Loader takes the frustration out of preparing a Linux live USB on a Mac. It makes the process simple and approachable for all users. The open-source codebase also allows for community-driven development and enhancements over time.
Mac Linux USB Loader Features
Features
- Create bootable Linux USB drives from ISO files
- Supports a wide range of Linux distributions
- Intuitive graphical user interface (GUI)
- Streamlines the process of creating a Linux live USB
- Eliminates the need for Terminal or third-party software
Pros
Open-source and free to use
Easy to use with a simple and intuitive interface
Supports a variety of Linux distributions
Avoids the need for command-line tools or third-party software
Cons
Limited to creating Linux live USB drives, no other functionality
May not support the latest Linux distribution releases immediately
Official Links
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- By SevenBits
- Free
- 3.4.8
Installed through our safe & fast downloader (more info)
Safe shield iconSafe Downloader
The Safe Downloader downloads the app quickly and securely via FileHippo’s high-speed server, so that a trustworthy origin is ensured.
In addition to virus scans, our editors manually check each download for you.
Advantages of the Safe Downloader
- Malware protection informs you if your download has installed additional unwanted software.
- Discover additional software: Test new software that are waiting to be discovered in the downloader.
- With us you have the choice to accept or skip additional software installs.
Editors’ Review · September 27, 2021
Mac Linux USB Loader
SevenBits is an open-source loader for many PC and MAC systems that supports the operation of several common distributions such as Fedora, Red Hat, Mandriva, and openSUSE. It is also designed as a Linux-native loader and supports almost all types of Linux, including SUSE, Fedora, Debian and many others. The main feature of SevenBits, however, is its ability to work directly with USB flash drives. It is created by developers that work closely with Novell, the leading Linux vendor. So if you are looking for a way to load Linux onto your MAC (or other Linux based platforms), SevenBits can be your best solution. In addition to working directly with USB drives, it also supports other EFi devices such as printers and cameras.
SevenBits is not only designed for use with Linux, but also with Mac Linux and Windows, although support for these operating systems is not as robust as that available for Linux. However, it is worth trying if you have an interest in Efi. It is free and contains a very simple to use graphical interface, which is very similar to that of the popular Retroame. However, it also supports many other distributions, and works quite well with older MACs running Unix. It has been developed by several companies over the years, who continue to add new features and fixes to the software every few months.
Technical
- Title
- Mac Linux USB Loader 3.4.8 for Mac
- Requirements
- Mac OS X
- Language
- English
- Available languages
-
- German
- English
- License
- Free
- Latest update
- Author
- SevenBits
- SHA-1
-
501414586447cca2837cfb2c63821d2373e8a44d
- Filename
- Mac-Linux-USB-Loader-3.4.8.zip
Program available in other languages
- Pobierz Mac Linux USB Loader
- Descargar Mac Linux USB Loader
- Mac Linux USB Loader をダウンロードする
- 下载 Mac Linux USB Loader
- Scaricare Mac Linux USB Loader
- Mac Linux USB Loader herunterladen
- Télécharger Mac Linux USB Loader
Changelog
We don’t have any change log information yet for version 3.4.8 of Mac Linux USB Loader. Sometimes publishers take a little while to make this information available, so please check back in a few days to see if it has been updated.
Can you help?
If you have any changelog info you can share with us, we’d love to hear from you! Head over to our Contact page and let us know.
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