Why doesn't the Ubuntu ISO burned to a CD or copied to a USB work on my Mac?

Assuming you're burning/writing it correctly according to these instructions...

  • How to burn a DVD on OS X
  • How to create a bootable USB stick on OS X

...the problem might be that you're using the wrong ISO image.

  • What is different about the Mac ISO image?

So, if you're trying to install the 64-bit version of Ubuntu on a Mac, you should use the special ISO image for that purpose. It is called the 64-bit Mac (AMD64) desktop CD.

  • For Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, you can get it here.
  • For Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, you can get it here.
  • For Ubuntu 11.10, you can get it here.
  • For Ubuntu 11.04, you can get it here.

  • Just copying the ISO file to the USB, or burning the file to the CD will not work.

    • ISOs contain a CD image, and it's that image which needs to be burned to a CD or transferred to a USB.
  • Please insert a blank CD and open Disk Utility to burn the ISO (the ISO will refuse to mount if you just double-click it)

  • Or use Unetbootin to "burn" the image to a USB stick.