Creating Bootable Windows Flash Drives on Linux

Software and Operating Systems Linux
, ,
#1

I often find myself in a situation where I need to create bootable Windows USBs which I have found to be a very daunting task on Linux as most of the tools out there tend to be unreliable. My solution to this problem is to do it manually and write script to automate it so that its consistent and repeatable.

The Theory and Test build

These are the general steps that required to successfully create a Windows USB:

  • Create partition table on drive as type 7 and bootable
  • Format drive as NTFS
  • Write Master Boot Record to drive
  • Mount ISO image
  • Mount USB device
  • Transfer files from ISO to USB device

I first set out to accomplish these tasks one by one and write a script to automate it:

#!/bin/bash

# runs cfdisk for second command argument 
cfdisk $2
# create NTFS partition on storage device
mkfs.ntfs -f ${2}1
# write master boot record to device
dd if=/usr/share/syslinux/mbr.bin of=$1
# create mountpoint directories 
mkdir -v /tmp/iso /tmp/usb
# mount iso image
mount -vo loop $1 /tmp/iso
# mount usb device
mount -v $2 /tmp/usb
# transfer files from iso image to usb device
rsync -Prv /tmp/iso/ /tmp/usb
# sync cached data to storage device
sync -f /tmp/usb
# unmount iso image
umount -v $1
# unmount usb device
umount -v $2
# removes mountpoint directories
rmdir /tmp/iso /tmp/usb

So thats it, it works right? Yes but he main issue with this is that it expects everything to be correct before the script is ran and doesn’t account for errors and I can do better.

Writing the Script

As it is required to mount devices the first obvious thing to check for is if the script it actually being ran as the root user:

if [[ $(id -u) -ne 0 ]]; then
    echo "Script must be ran as root"
    exit 1
fi

and if any arguments are being passed to the script:

if [[ -z $1 || -z $2 ]]; then
    echo "Specify path to iso image and usb device: $0 /path/to/iso /dev/sdX"
    exit 1
fi

I then decided that I wanted to make a rudimentary UI for selecting the storage device as it was something I could automate easily:

# get list of storage devices from lsblk
disks=($(lsblk -dnp --output NAME))
echo "Choose a device"
# loops through and echos storage devices
for i in "${!disks[@]}"; do
    echo "$i ${disks[$i]}"
done
# user input for storage device
read -p "device: " i
# warning for selected storage device
echo -ne "\e[0;31mAre you sure ${disks[$i]} is the correct device? All data will be erased? [Y/n] \033[0m"
read go
if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
    # do some stuff
else
    exit 1
fi

The UI works by looping through a list of storage devices taken from lsblk and asks the user to select a device by its given number and displays a warning message asking for confirmation:

Screenshot from 2017-10-20_23:22:51
Screenshot from 2017-10-20_23:22:51853Ă—148 13.3 KB

With the UI in place I set out to do a check to if the partition on the device was mounted and and direct the user to unmount it or exit the script:

device=/dev/${disks[$i]}
# checks if a partition is mounted
if [ -n "$(mount | grep $device)" ]; then
    # asks user if they want to unmount the partition
    read -p "A partition is mounted on $device, do you want to umount it? [Y/n] " check
    if [[ ${check,,} = "y" ]]; then
        # unmount partition
        umount ${device}1
    else
        exit 1
    fi
fi

I then did a check asking the user if they wanted a create the partition table on the device and if not exit the script.

# asks the user to create partition table
echo -e "Create partition table on $device (Select partition \033[1mtype 7\033[0m and \033[1mbootable\033[0m flag)"
read -p "contiune [Y/n]: " go
if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
    # runs cfdisk for selected storage device
    cfdisk $device
    // do some more stuff
else
    exit 1
fi

It was at this point that I noticed pattern in that the script exits every time it gets an undesirable result which could be annoying for the user, so to fix this I decided to enclose the main logic of the script inside a while loop:

# main while loop
while true; do
    # get list of storage devices from lsblk
    disks=($(lsblk -dnp --output NAME))
    echo "Choose a device"
    for i in "${!disks[@]}"; do
        echo "$i ${disks[$i]}"
    done
    # user input for storage device
    read -p "device: " i
    # warning for selected storage device
    echo -e "\e[0;31mAre you sure /dev/${disks[$i]} is the correct device? All data will be erased? [Y/n] \033[0m"
    read go
    if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
        device=/dev/${disks[$i]}
        # checks if a partition is mounted
        if [ -n "$(mount | grep $device)" ]; then
            # asks user if they want to unmount the partition
            read -p "A partition is mounted on $device, do you want to umount it? [Y/n] " check
            if [[ ${check,,} = "y" ]]; then
                # unmount partition
                umount ${device}1
            else
                # continue while loop
                continue
            fi
        fi
        # asks the user to create partition table
        echo -e "Create partition table on $device (Select partition \033[1mtype 7\033[0m and \033[1mbootable\033[0m flag)"
        read -p "contiune [Y/n]: " go
        if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
            # runs cfdisk for selected storage device
            cfdisk $device
            # break from while loop
            break
        else
            # continue while loop
            continue
        fi
    fi
done

In here all the logic is the same except that exit is replaced with continue which will loop back to the beginning of the user interface and a break after the partition table has been created with cfdisk.

With the main logic for preparing the storage device done I now focused on creating the bootable USB. This section is mostly the same as the original code except for extra checking for the mountpoints and whether syslinux/mbr.bin exists (Thanks @Dje4321 suggesting that).

# create NTFS partition on storage device
mkfs.ntfs -f ${device}1

# path to mbr.bin
mbr="/usr/share/syslinux/mbr.bin"
# checks if mbr.bin exists
if [ -f $mbr ]; then
    # write mbr to storage device
    dd if=$mbr of=$device
else
    # echos error and exits
    echo "Error: $mbr could not be found"
    exit 1
fi

# mountpoints for iso image and storage device
mounts=("/tmp/iso" "/tmp/usb")
# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # checks if directories for mounts don't exist
    if [ ! -d ${mounts[$i]} ]; then
        # creates directories for iso image and storage device
        mkdir -v ${mounts[$i]}
    fi
done

# mounts iso image
mount -vo loop $1 ${mounts[0]}
# mounts storage device
mount -v ${device}1 ${mounts[1]}

# rsync data from iso image to storage device
rsync -Prv ${mounts[0]}/ ${mounts[1]}
echo "Syncing device, This could take a while."
# sync cached data to storage device
sync -f ${mounts[1]}

echo "Cleaning up..."
# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # unmount iso image and storage device
    umount -v ${mounts[$i]}
    # removes mountpoint directories
    rmdir ${mounts[$i]}
done

Further Improvements

With that the main program is done but there were some slight improvements I made to the main while loop to make it more robust and improve the UI:

  • It now loops through every partition on the device and directs the user to unmount it.
  • More checking to see if a device is busy before unmounting
  • Minor visual improvements in the UI
# main while loop
while true; do
    # get list of storage devices from lsblk
    disks=($(lsblk -dnp --output NAME))
    echo "Choose a device"
    # loops through and echos storage devices
    for i in "${!disks[@]}"; do
        echo "$i ${disks[$i]}"
    done
    # user input for storage device
    read -p "device: " i
    # warning for selected storage device
    echo -ne "\e[0;31mAre you sure ${disks[$i]} is the correct device? All data will be erased? [Y/n] \033[0m"
    read go
    if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
        device=${disks[$i]}
        # stores list of partitions for the selected storage device
        partitions=($(lsblk $device -fnpr --output NAME | sed -n '1!p'))
        # loops through partitions
        for i in "${!partitions[@]}"; do
            # stores the mountpoint for partitions
            mountpoint=$(lsblk ${partitions[$i]} -dn --output MOUNTPOINT)
            # checks if a partition is mounted
            if [ -n "$(mount | grep ${partitions[$i]})" ]; then
                # asks user if they want to unmount the partition
                read -p "${partitions[$i]} is mounted on $mountpoint do you want to unmount it? [Y/n] " check
                if [[ ${check,,} = "y" ]]; then
                    # checks if partition is busy
                    if [ -n "$(fuser $mountpoint)" ]; then
                        echo "$mountpoint: target is busy"
                        # continue while loop
                        continue 2
                    else
                        # unmount partition
                        umount -v $mountpoint
                    fi
                else
                    # continues while loop if user doesn't want to unmount the partition
                    continue 2
                fi
            fi
        done
        # asks the user to create partition table
        echo -e "Create partition table on $device (Select partition \033[1mtype 7\033[0m and \033[1mbootable\033[0m flag)"
        read -p "contiune [Y/n]: " go
        if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
            # runs cfdisk for selected storage device
            cfdisk $device
            # break from while loop
            break
        else
            # continues while loop if user selects no
            continue
        fi
    fi
done

Things that went wrong

There were a couple of setbacks when writing this, mainly around cleanly unmounting the storage device after the script has finished. I originally wrote it to not include the sync -f option after the file transfer but this resulted in the program either hanging or throwing errors when unmounting the device. With the sync -f option this is resolved but particularly on usb flash drives can take a very long time to complete. I am open to any suggestions on improving this or making the file transfer more efficient.

Completed Script

#!/bin/bash

# path to mbr.bin
mbr="/usr/share/syslinux/mbr.bin"
# mountpoints for iso image and storage device
mounts=("/tmp/iso" "/tmp/usb")

# check to if the script is ran as root
if [[ $(id -u) -ne 0 ]]; then echo "Script must be ran as root"; exit 1; fi
# checks for iso image argument
if [[ -z $1 ]]; then echo "Specify path to iso image: $0 /path/to/iso"; exit 1; fi

# main while loop
while true; do
    # get list of storage devices from lsblk
    disks=($(lsblk -dnp --output NAME))
    echo "Choose a device"
    # loops through and echos storage devices
    for i in "${!disks[@]}"; do
        echo "$i ${disks[$i]}"
    done
    # user input for storage device
    read -p "device: " i
    # warning for selected storage device
    echo -ne "\e[0;31mAre you sure ${disks[$i]} is the correct device? All data will be erased? [Y/n] \033[0m"
    read go
    if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
        device=${disks[$i]}
        # stores list of partitions for the selected storage device
        partitions=($(lsblk $device -fnpr --output NAME | sed -n '1!p'))
        # loops through partitions
        for i in "${!partitions[@]}"; do
            # stores the mountpoint for partitions
            mountpoint=$(lsblk ${partitions[$i]} -dn --output MOUNTPOINT)
            # checks if a partition is mounted
            if [ -n "$(mount | grep ${partitions[$i]})" ]; then
                # asks user if they want to unmount the partition
                read -p "${partitions[$i]} is mounted on $mountpoint do you want to unmount it? [Y/n] " check
                if [[ ${check,,} = "y" ]]; then
                    # checks if partition is busy
                    if [ -n "$(fuser $mountpoint)" ]; then
                        echo "$mountpoint: target is busy"
                        # continue while loop
                        continue 2
                    else
                        # unmount partition
                        umount -v $mountpoint
                    fi
                else
                    # continues while loop if user doesn't want to unmount the partition
                    continue 2
                fi
            fi
        done
        # asks the user to create partition table
        echo -e "Create partition table on $device (Select partition \033[1mtype 7\033[0m and \033[1mbootable\033[0m flag)"
        read -p "contiune [Y/n]: " go
        if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
            # runs cfdisk for selected storage device
            cfdisk $device
            # break from while loop
            break
        else
            # continues while loop if user selects no
            continue
        fi
    fi
done

# create NTFS partition on storage device
mkfs.ntfs -f ${device}1
# checks if mbr.bin exists
if [ -f $mbr ]; then
    # write mbr to storage device
    dd if=$mbr of=$device
else
    # echos error and exits
    echo "Error: $mbr could not be found"
    exit 1
fi

# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # checks if directories for mounts don't exist
    if [ ! -d ${mounts[$i]} ]; then
        # creates directories for iso image and storage device
        mkdir -v ${mounts[$i]}
    fi
done

# mounts iso image
mount -vo loop $1 ${mounts[0]}
# mounts storage device
mount -v ${device}1 ${mounts[1]}

# rsync data from iso image to storage device
rsync -Prv ${mounts[0]}/ ${mounts[1]}
echo "Syncing device, This could take a while."
# sync cached data to storage device
sync -f ${mounts[1]}

echo "Cleaning up..."
# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # unmount iso image and storage device
    umount -v ${mounts[$i]}
    # removes mountpoint directories
    rmdir ${mounts[$i]}
done

Git repositories for the script can be found on either Github or Bitbucket here:


https://bitbucket.org/michaellindman/windowsusb

1 Like
Lazy Automation
The Lounge 0001 [From the Beginning]
#2

I have made a couple of changes to the script. It now checks to see if the ISO image exists and is the correct mime type and various improvements to the user interface including colouring error messages so they are easier to read and changing the device input selection from a for loop and read to a select statement with checking for invalid inputs.

# get list of storage devices from lsblk
disks=($(lsblk -dnp --output NAME))
echo "Choose a device"
# select statement for disks
select option in ${disks[@]}; do
    # checks if option is valid
    if [[ -n $option ]]; then
        # assign selected disk to devices
        device=$option
        # break from select statement
        break
    else
        # echos error message
        echo "Invalid result"
    fi
done

New version:

#!/bin/bash

# path to mbr.bin
mbr="/usr/share/syslinux/mbr.bin"
# mountpoints for iso image and storage device
mounts=("/tmp/iso" "/tmp/usb")

# check to if the script is ran as root
if [[ $(id -u) -ne 0 ]]; then echo -e "\e[33mScript must be ran as root\033[0m"; exit 1; fi
# checks for iso image argument
if [[ -z $1 ]]; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33mSpecify path to iso image: $0 /path/to/iso\033[0m"
    exit 1
# checks if iso image exists
elif [[ ! -f $1 ]]; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33m$1 not found \033[0m"
    exit 1
# checks if file isn't an iso image
elif ! file --mime-type "$1" | grep -q x-iso9660-image; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33m$1 is not an iso image \033[0m"
    exit 1
fi

# main while loop
while true; do
    # get list of storage devices from lsblk
    disks=($(lsblk -dnp --output NAME))
    echo "Choose a device"
    # select statement for disks
    select option in ${disks[@]}; do
        # checks if option is valid
        if [[ -n $option ]]; then
            # assign selected disk to devices
            device=$option
            # break from select statement
            break
        else
            # echos error message
            echo "Invalid result"
        fi
    done
    # warning for selected storage device
    echo -ne "\e[0;31mAre you sure $device is the correct device? All data will be erased? [Y/n] \033[0m"
    read go
    if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
        # stores list of partitions for the selected storage device
        partitions=($(lsblk $device -fnpr --output NAME | sed -n '1!p'))
        # loops through partitions
        for i in "${!partitions[@]}"; do
            # stores the mountpoint for partitions
            mountpoint=$(lsblk ${partitions[$i]} -dn --output MOUNTPOINT)
            # checks if a partition is mounted
            if [ -n "$(mount | grep ${partitions[$i]})" ]; then
                # asks user if they want to unmount the partition
                read -p "${partitions[$i]} is mounted on $mountpoint do you want to unmount it? [Y/n] " check
                if [[ ${check,,} = "y" ]]; then
                    # checks if partition is busy
                    if [ -n "$(fuser $mountpoint)" ]; then
                        echo -e "\e[33m$mountpoint: target is busy \033[0m"
                        # continue while loop
                        continue 2
                    else
                        # unmount partition
                        umount -v $mountpoint
                    fi
                else
                    # continues while loop if user doesn't want to unmount the partition
                    continue 2
                fi
            fi
        done
        # asks the user to create partition table
        echo -e "Create partition table on $device (Select partition \033[1mtype 7\033[0m and \033[1mbootable\033[0m flag)"
        read -p "contiune [Y/n]: " go
        if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
            # runs cfdisk for selected storage device
            cfdisk $device
            # break from while loop
            break
        else
            # continues while loop if user selects no
            continue
        fi
    fi
done

# create NTFS partition on storage device
mkfs.ntfs -f ${device}1
# checks if mbr.bin exists
if [ -f $mbr ]; then
    # write mbr to storage device
    dd if=$mbr of=$device
else
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33mError: $mbr could not be found \033[0m"
    exit 1
fi

# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # checks if directories for mounts don't exist
    if [ ! -d ${mounts[$i]} ]; then
        # creates directories for iso image and storage device
        mkdir -v ${mounts[$i]}
    fi
done

# mounts iso image
mount -vo loop $1 ${mounts[0]}
# mounts storage device
mount -v ${device}1 ${mounts[1]}

# rsync data from iso image to storage device
rsync -Prv ${mounts[0]}/ ${mounts[1]}
echo "Syncing device, This could take a while."
# sync cached data to storage device
sync -f ${mounts[1]}

echo "Cleaning up..."
# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # unmount iso image and storage device
    umount -v ${mounts[$i]}
    # removes mountpoint directories
    rmdir ${mounts[$i]}
done
1 Like
#3

I have made some quick changes to the script so that It now uses GNU parted to create the partition table. This does two things. Firstly it does not rely on the user to create the partition table using cfdisk which should improve reliability and also removes the need to write the syslinux mbr to disk using dd. This should make the script compatible with systems that don’t have syslinux installed.

Addtions to the script were:

# checks if parted is installed
if [ -f /sbin/parted ]; then
    # write mbr to storage device
    parted -s ${device} mklabel msdos
    # write partition to whole device
    parted -a opt ${device} mkpart primary ntfs 0% 100%
    # create NTFS partition on storage device
    mkfs.ntfs -L Windows -f ${device}1
else
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33mError: Could not find GNU parted, Please install to continue. \033[0m"
    exit 1
fi

New Version:

#!/bin/bash

# mountpoints for iso image and storage device
mounts=("/tmp/iso" "/tmp/usb")

# check to if the script is ran as root
if [[ $(id -u) -ne 0 ]]; then echo -e "\e[33mScript must be ran as root\033[0m"; exit 1; fi
# checks for iso image argument
if [[ -z $1 ]]; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33mSpecify path to iso image: $0 /path/to/iso\033[0m"
    exit 1
# checks if iso image exists
elif [[ ! -f $1 ]]; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33m$1 not found \033[0m"
    exit 1
# checks if file isn't an iso image
elif ! file --mime-type "$1" | grep -q x-iso9660-image; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33m$1 is not an iso image \033[0m"
    exit 1
fi

# main while loop
while true; do
    # get list of storage devices from lsblk
    disks=($(lsblk -dnp --output NAME))
    echo "Choose a device"
    # select statement for disks
    select option in ${disks[@]}; do
        # checks if option is valid
        if [[ -n $option ]]; then
            # assign selected disk to devices
            device=$option
            # break from select statement
            break
        else
            # echos error message
            echo "Invalid result"
        fi
    done
    # warning for selected storage device
    echo -ne "\e[0;31mAre you sure $device is the correct device? All data will be erased? [Y/n] \033[0m"
    read go
    if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
        # stores list of partitions for the selected storage device
        partitions=($(lsblk $device -fnpr --output NAME | sed -n '1!p'))
        # loops through partitions
        for i in "${!partitions[@]}"; do
            # stores the mountpoint for partitions
            mountpoint=$(lsblk ${partitions[$i]} -dn --output MOUNTPOINT)
            # checks if a partition is mounted
            if [ -n "$(mount | grep ${partitions[$i]})" ]; then
                # asks user if they want to unmount the partition
                read -p "${partitions[$i]} is mounted on $mountpoint do you want to unmount it? [Y/n] " check
                if [[ ${check,,} = "y" ]]; then
                    # checks if partition is busy
                    if [ -n "$(fuser $mountpoint)" ]; then
                        echo -e "\e[33m$mountpoint: target is busy \033[0m"
                        # continue while loop
                        continue 2
                    else
                        # unmount partition
                        umount -v $mountpoint
                    fi
                else
                    # continues while loop if user doesn't want to unmount the partition
                    continue 2
                fi
            fi
        done
    break
    fi
done

# checks if parted is installed
if [ -f /sbin/parted ]; then
    # write mbr to storage device
    parted -s ${device} mklabel msdos
    # write partition to whole device
    parted -a opt ${device} mkpart primary ntfs 0% 100%
    # create NTFS partition on storage device
    mkfs.ntfs -L Windows -f ${device}1
else
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33mError: Could not find GNU parted, Please install to continue. \033[0m"
    exit 1
fi

# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # checks if directories for mounts don't exist
    if [ ! -d ${mounts[$i]} ]; then
        # creates directories for iso image and storage device
        mkdir -v ${mounts[$i]}
    fi
done

# mounts iso image
mount -vo loop $1 ${mounts[0]}
# mounts storage device
mount -v ${device}1 ${mounts[1]}

# rsync data from iso image to storage device
rsync -Prv ${mounts[0]}/ ${mounts[1]}
echo "Syncing device, This could take a while."
# sync cached data to storage device
sync -f ${mounts[1]}

echo "Cleaning up..."
# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # unmount iso image and storage device
    umount -v ${mounts[$i]}
    # removes mountpoint directories
    rmdir ${mounts[$i]}
done
1 Like
#4

mbr="/usr/share/syslinux/mbr.bin"
since your not writing the MBR anymore then this might not be needed

should probably use something like which to find the path to executables because they might not always be in the same location

1 Like
#5

woops must have missed that. It isn’t in the version I uploaded to github.

yep good idea. I’ll look into doing that now :smiley:

1 Like
#6

I have made the changes and the script now checks for parted using which.

New Version:

#!/bin/bash

# mountpoints for iso image and storage device
mounts=("/tmp/iso" "/tmp/usb")

# check to if the script is ran as root
if [[ $(id -u) -ne 0 ]]; then echo -e "\e[33mScript must be ran as root\033[0m"; exit 1; fi
# checks for iso image argument
if [[ -z $1 ]]; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33mSpecify path to iso image: $0 /path/to/iso\033[0m"
    exit 1
# checks if iso image exists
elif [[ ! -f $1 ]]; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33m$1 not found \033[0m"
    exit 1
# checks if file isn't an iso image
elif ! file --mime-type "$1" | grep -q x-iso9660-image; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33m$1 is not an iso image \033[0m"
    exit 1
fi

# main while loop
while true; do
    # get list of storage devices from lsblk
    disks=($(lsblk -dnp --output NAME))
    echo "Choose a device"
    # select statement for disks
    select option in ${disks[@]}; do
        # checks if option is valid
        if [[ -n $option ]]; then
            # assign selected disk to devices
            device=$option
            # break from select statement
            break
        else
            # echos error message
            echo "Invalid result"
        fi
    done
    # warning for selected storage device
    echo -ne "\e[0;31mAre you sure $device is the correct device? All data will be erased? [Y/n] \033[0m"
    read go
    if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
        # stores list of partitions for the selected storage device
        partitions=($(lsblk $device -fnpr --output NAME | sed -n '1!p'))
        # loops through partitions
        for i in "${!partitions[@]}"; do
            # stores the mountpoint for partitions
            mountpoint=$(lsblk ${partitions[$i]} -dn --output MOUNTPOINT)
            # checks if a partition is mounted
            if [ -n "$(mount | grep ${partitions[$i]})" ]; then
                # asks user if they want to unmount the partition
                read -p "${partitions[$i]} is mounted on $mountpoint do you want to unmount it? [Y/n] " check
                if [[ ${check,,} = "y" ]]; then
                    # checks if partition is busy
                    if [ -n "$(fuser $mountpoint)" ]; then
                        echo -e "\e[33m$mountpoint: target is busy \033[0m"
                        # continue while loop
                        continue 2
                    else
                        # unmount partition
                        umount -v $mountpoint
                    fi
                else
                    # continues while loop if user doesn't want to unmount the partition
                    continue 2
                fi
            fi
        done
    # breaks from while loop
    break
    fi
done

# checks if parted is installed
which parted &> /dev/null
EXIT=$?
if [ $EXIT -eq 0 ]; then
    # write mbr to storage device
    parted -s ${device} mklabel msdos
    # write partition to whole device
    parted -a opt ${device} mkpart primary ntfs 0% 100%
    # create NTFS partition on storage device
    mkfs.ntfs -L Windows -f ${device}1
else
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33mError: Could not find GNU parted, Please install to continue. \033[0m"
    exit 1
fi

# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # checks if directories for mounts don't exist
    if [ ! -d ${mounts[$i]} ]; then
        # creates directories for iso image and storage device
        mkdir -v ${mounts[$i]}
    fi
done

# mounts iso image
mount -vo loop $1 ${mounts[0]}
# mounts storage device
mount -v ${device}1 ${mounts[1]}

# rsync data from iso image to storage device
rsync -Prv ${mounts[0]}/ ${mounts[1]}
echo "Syncing device, This could take a while."
# sync cached data to storage device
sync -f ${mounts[1]}

echo "Cleaning up..."
# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # unmount iso image and storage device
    umount -v ${mounts[$i]}
    # removes mountpoint directories
    rmdir ${mounts[$i]}
done
1 Like
#7

I have made a couple of slight changes to the script. Mostly general clean up with the only noticeable difference being the inclusion of a “Quit” option in the UI as before the only way to exit was with Ctrl+ C which may not be obvious to some users.

Changes to the UI:

    # get list of storage devices from lsblk
    disks=($(lsblk -dnp --output NAME) "Quit")
    echo "Choose a device"
    # select statement for disks
    select option in ${disks[@]}; do
        # exit if Quit is selected
        if [[ $option == "Quit" ]]; then exit 1; fi
        # checks if option is valid
        if [[ -n $option ]]; then
            # assign selected disk to devices
            device=$option
            # break from select statement
            break
        else
            # echos error message
            echo "Invalid result"
        fi

New version:

#!/bin/bash

# mountpoints for iso image and storage device
mounts=("/tmp/iso" "/tmp/usb")

# check to if the script is ran as root
if [[ $(id -u) -ne 0 ]]; then echo -e "\e[33mScript must be ran as root\033[0m"; exit 1; fi
# checks for iso image argument
if [[ -z $1 ]]; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33mSpecify path to iso image: $0 /path/to/iso\033[0m"
    exit 1
# checks if iso image exists
elif [[ ! -f $1 ]]; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33m$1 not found \033[0m"
    exit 1
# checks if file isn't an iso image
elif ! file --mime-type "$1" | grep -q x-iso9660-image; then
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33m$1 is not an iso image \033[0m"
    exit 1
fi

# main while loop
while true; do
    # get list of storage devices from lsblk
    disks=($(lsblk -dnp --output NAME) "Quit")
    echo "Choose a device"
    # select statement for disks
    select option in ${disks[@]}; do
        # exit if Quit is selected
        if [[ $option == "Quit" ]]; then exit 1; fi
        # checks if option is valid
        if [[ -n $option ]]; then
            # assign selected disk to devices
            device=$option
            # break from select statement
            break
        else
            # echos error message
            echo "Invalid result"
        fi
    done
    # warning for selected storage device
    echo -ne "\e[0;31mAre you sure $device is the correct device? All data will be erased? [Y/n] \033[0m"
    read go
    if [[ ${go,,} = "y" ]]; then
        # stores list of partitions for the selected storage device
        partitions=($(lsblk $device -fnpr --output NAME | sed -n '1!p'))
        # loops through partitions
        for i in "${!partitions[@]}"; do
            # stores the mountpoint for partitions
            mountpoint=$(lsblk ${partitions[$i]} -dn --output MOUNTPOINT)
            # checks if a partition is mounted
            if [ -n "$(mount | grep ${partitions[$i]})" ]; then
                # asks user if they want to unmount the partition
                read -p "${partitions[$i]} is mounted on $mountpoint do you want to unmount it? [Y/n] " check
                if [[ ${check,,} = "y" ]]; then
                    # checks if partition is busy
                    fuser -s $mountpoint
                    if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
                        echo -e "\e[33m$mountpoint: target is busy \033[0m"
                        # continue while loop
                        continue 2
                    else
                        # unmount partition
                        umount -v $mountpoint
                    fi
                else
                    # continues while loop if user doesn't want to unmount the partition
                    continue 2
                fi
            fi
        done
    # breaks from while loop
    break
    fi
done

# checks if parted is installed
which parted &> /dev/null
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    # write mbr to storage device
    parted -s ${device} mklabel msdos
    # write partition to whole device
    parted -a opt ${device} mkpart primary ntfs 0% 100%
    # create NTFS partition on storage device
    mkfs.ntfs -L Windows -f ${partitions[0]}
else
    # echos error and exits
    echo -e "\e[33mError: Could not find GNU parted, Please install to continue. \033[0m"
    exit 1
fi

# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # checks if directories for mounts don't exist
    if [ ! -d ${mounts[$i]} ]; then
        # creates directories for iso image and storage device
        mkdir -v ${mounts[$i]}
    fi
done

# mounts iso image
mount -vo loop $1 ${mounts[0]}
# mounts storage device
mount -v ${partitions[0]} ${mounts[1]}

# rsync data from iso image to storage device
rsync -Prv ${mounts[0]}/ ${mounts[1]}
echo "Syncing device, This could take a while."
# sync cached data to storage device
sync -f ${mounts[1]}

echo "Cleaning up..."
# loops through $mounts
for i in "${!mounts[@]}"; do
    # unmount iso image and storage device
    umount -v ${mounts[$i]}
    # removes mountpoint directories
    rmdir ${mounts[$i]}
done
1 Like