How To Install WoeUSB on openSUSE

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install WoeUSB on openSUSE. WoeUSB is a powerful tool that allows you to create your own Windows installer USB drive from an ISO image or a real DVD. This utility is particularly useful for users who need to install Windows on their machines but lack a DVD drive.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the WoeUSB bootable Windows installation on openSUSE.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: openSUSE Leap 15.x or Tumbleweed.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• You will need access to the terminal to execute commands. openSUSE provides the Terminal application for this purpose. It can be found in your Applications menu.
• You’ll need an active internet connection to download WoeUSB and its dependencies.
• You’ll need administrative (root) access or a user account with sudo privileges.

Install WoeUSB on openSUSE

Step 1. Before installing any new software, it’s always a good idea to update your system to ensure all existing packages are up-to-date. This ensures that your system has the latest security patches and dependencies needed for a smooth installation:

sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update

Step 2. Install Required Dependencies.

WoeUSB requires certain dependencies to function correctly. Install them using the following zypper commands:

zypper install dosfstools mtools ntfs-3g grub2

Step 3. Installing WoeUSB on openSUSE.

 WoeUSB-ng is a Python rewrite of the original WoeUSB and can be installed from the openSUSE repositories. To install it, add the repository and refresh your package list:

zypper addrepo https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/python:/backports/openSUSE_Leap_15.5/ devel:languages:python:backports

Next, update package information and install woeusb-ng:

zypper refresh
zypper install python3-woeusb

Step 3. Create the Bootable USB Drive.

With woeusb-ng installed, you can now create your Windows bootable USB drive. The general syntax for the woeusb-ng command is as follows:

sudo woeusb --device /path/to/windows.iso /dev/sdX --target-filesystem NTFS

In this command, /path/to/windows.iso is the location of your Windows ISO file, and /dev/sdX is the device identifier for your USB drive. You can find the device identifier by using the lsblk command. The --target-filesystem NTFS option specifies that the USB drive should be formatted with the NTFS file system.

For example, if your Windows ISO file is located at /home/user/windows.iso and your USB drive is /dev/sdb, the command would look like this:

sudo woeusb --device /home/user/windows.iso /dev/sdb --target-filesystem NTFS

This command will format the USB drive and copy the Windows installer onto it. Once the process is complete, you will have a bootable Windows USB drive.

Step 4. Troubleshooting Tips.

If you encounter issues while using woeusb-ng, here are a few tips that might help:

• Ensure that your USB drive is properly formatted. WoeUSB supports both NTFS and FAT32 file systems, but NTFS is recommended for newer versions of Windows.
• Make sure that your Windows ISO file is not corrupted. You can verify the integrity of the ISO file by comparing its checksum with the one provided by the official Windows download page.
• If woeusb-ng fails to install, make sure that your system is up to date. You can update your system by running sudo zypper up in the terminal.
• If you’re still having trouble, you can seek help from the openSUSE community or the WoeUSB GitHub page.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed WoeUSB. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the WoeUSB on your openSUSE system. For additional or useful information, we recommend you check the official WoeUSB website.