Is there a version of Ubuntu Server that will install from a USB drive?

Question

I am trying to install Ubuntu Server on a computer that has no CD Drive and it is trying to detect a CD drive and fails whenever it cant find it.

Answer 1

You can install any of the bootable .iso ubuntu images using the guides for various systems here:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick

Just be sure to download and supply the path of the .iso image you wish to use when following the above instructions.

Answer 2

Working with Ubuntu 12.04 server. Trying to upgrade from 8.04 on an old but reliable server which can't boot from USB.

To get to where you are, I copied the contents of the .iso onto an ext3 disk (using rsync -a) and booted from this with grub using kernel=/vmlinuz, initrd=/initrd.gz and an appropriate root. Frustratingly, it tries to find the CDrom.

What I did next is failed the install, dropped to a shell and manually mounted the drive in place of the CDrom:

  mount /dev/hdb1 /cdrom

exited the shell and continued with the install.

Hope this helps.

(If I were starting from fresh, I'd just have the contents of the iso on a usb drive and follow the instructions for booting a usb install on a machine that needs help getting to a usb, but this was quick and worked, given that I was where I was!)