How to create an ISO file in Linux: 10 steps

This article will show you how to create an ISO file from multiple files on a Linux computer. To do this, you need to use the terminal.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: How to create an ISO file from files

Step 1. Copy the required files to the “home” directory

That is, copy the files from which the ISO file will be created to the "home" folder.

Step 2. Open a terminal

Open "Menu" and then click "Terminal". Terminal in Linux is analogous to the command line in Windows and the terminal in Mac OS X.

The graphical user interfaces are different for different Linux distributions, so you may have to look for a terminal inside the Menu folder.
You can also find the terminal on the desktop or in the toolbar at the top or bottom of the screen.

Step 3. Enter the "change directory" command

Type cd / home / username /, substitute your username for “username”, then press ↵ Enter. This will move you from the current directory to the "home" folder.

For example, if your username is "boris", enter cd / home / boris /

Step 4. Enter the command that will create the ISO file

Enter mkisofs -o destination-filename.iso / home / username / folder-name, where replace “destination-filename” with the name of the future ISO file, and replace “folder-name” with the name of the folder where the files are stored, based on which the ISO file will be created.

For example: to create an ISO file named “blueberry” from files in the “pie” folder, enter mkisofs -o blueberry.iso / home / username / pie.
File and folder names are case sensitive, so be sure to include uppercase letters (if any).
If the name consists of several words, put an underscore between them, for example, enter the name "blueberry pie" like this: "blueberry_pie" (without quotes).

Step 5. Press ↵ Enter

An ISO file will be created consisting of files from the selected directory. You will find the new ISO file in your home folder.

The system may prompt you for a password before creating the ISO file. In this case, enter the password and press ↵ Enter

Method 2 of 2: How to Create an ISO File from a CD

Step 1. Insert the CD you want to copy to your computer

Note that you cannot create an ISO file from a copy-protected CD (for example, an Audio CD or DVD movie).

Step 2. Open a terminal

Open Menu and then click Terminal. Terminal in Linux is analogous to the command line in Windows and the terminal in Mac OS X.

The graphical user interfaces are different for different Linux distributions, so you may have to look for a terminal inside the Menu folder.
You can also find the terminal on the desktop or in the toolbar at the top or bottom of the screen.

Step 3. Enter the "change directory" command

Type cd / home / username /, substitute your username for “username”, then press ↵ Enter. This will move you from the current directory to the "home" folder.

For example, if your username is "max", enter cd / home / max /

Step 4. Enter the command that will copy the CD to your computer

Enter


dd if = / dev / cdrom of = / home / username / iso-name.iso

, where instead of "/ dev / cdrom" enter the path to the CD, and instead of "iso-name" - the name of the future ISO file.

For example, enter
of = / home / username / pudding.iso to create an ISO file named "pudding" in the "home" folder.
If there are multiple optical drives on the computer, they will be labeled with numbers, for example, the first drive will be named “cd0”, the second “cd1”, and so on.