In this article, you'll find information on how to copy Junos OS from a computer to a bootable device using PHYSDISKWRITE.EXE or Win32DiskImager.

Note: To create a Junos OS bootable media on your Windows-based system using the Cygwin software, refer to: KB12170 - How to install Junos Install Media on a PCMCIA flash card using Cygwin [juniper.net] .
 

IMPORTANT NOTE: once you turn the USB media into a bootable media/USB, it should be used only in the device the download image is intended for. This because the USB will not work anymore as a storage device but as a booting stick for that specific device.

For example: junos-vmhost-install-usb-mx-x86-64-23.2R1.13.img.gz should only be used in MX960.

To know which version is intended for a specific platform please verify https://support.juniper.net/support/downloads/

In the Juniper downloads page, you can type the name of your platform and after that you can look for "Install Media" tab, there you find the USB installation image for your platform.

Once the USB is converted into a bootable media, all you need to do is insert it into the respective Juniper device and restart it, the bootable media will install the version on its own.

Once you finished the installation process, the USB can be formatted again in your PC to become a regular USB storage device.

WARNING: The installation via USB will erase the contents of your Routing Engine disks.

Please notice that any configuration and stored files will be removed from the device, as the CLI indicates during the installation process.

• How do I get Junos OS onto a Compact Flash, PCMCIA card, or USB drive prior to inserting them into the router?
• Copy/paste of the Install Media file onto the USB drive did not make the USB drive bootable. How can I make the USB a bootable drive?

The need to use other bootable devices can arise for a couple of reasons:

• You might need to upgrade the size of the Compact Flash, such as on an M10i or M7i or J Series.
• You might need to install Junos OS directly onto the hard disk drive (HDD) due to Compact Flash issues.

Requirements:

• Depending on your equipment, an external PMCIA, Compact Flash (CF) reader/writer, and/or a PMCIA-to-CF adapter might be required.
• If using a USB drive, make sure it has only one partition, and not a hidden Secure or U3 partition.
• Download PHYSDISKWRITE.EXE to copy the Junos bootable image.  PHYSDISKWRITE.EXE can be obtained from m0n0wall's website:  http://m0n0.ch/wall/physdiskwrite.php .
• Or download Win32Disk Imager: http://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/ .

1.  Download the Install Media appropriate for the size of Compact Flash you are using and save it to your desktop. (Note that this is a raw disk image file with no file extension. It is wise to verify the MD5 signature of the file. ).
   Go https://support.juniper.net/support/downloads/ , and select the product and OS and Version. Then choose the Install Media option and select appropriate image.
    
2. Download the PHYSDISKWRITE.exe program and extract it to your desktop.
3. If a CF adapter/reader is required, plug the CF into the adapter; otherwise, continue to the next step.
4. Insert the CF adapter or PCMCIA card or USB drive into the computer.

Using Win32 Disk Imager to write the install-media file:

1. Right-click Win32DiskImager and click Properties. Under the Compatibility tab, check "Run this program as an administrator."
2. Click Yes to elevate privileges in UAC if prompted.
3. Click the blue folder icon to select the install-media file
4. Change the Device to D: or whichever drive represents the CF, PCMCIA, or USB.
5. Click Write. This should not be an instant process . It takes a few minutes to write ~500M to a device across the USB.
6. Go to the "Using the bootable media to erase the Routing Engine" section. There's no need to use Win32 Disk Imager and PHYSDISKWRITE.

Using PHYSDISKWRITE.EXE to write the install-media file (skip this section if you used Win32 Disk Imager):

1. Right-click PHYSDISKWRITE.EXE and click Properties. Under the Compatibility tab, check "Run this program as an administrator."
2. Click and drag the Junos Install Media image over the PHYSDISKWRITE.EXE icon. 

   OR ... to use the PhysGUI, perform the following steps:
    

   1. Right-click PhysGUI and click Properties. Under the Compatibility tab, check "Run this program as an administrator."
   2. Double-click PhysGUI.exe, which comes with Physdiskwrite.exe.
   3. Click Yes to elevate privileges in UAC if prompted.
   4. Right-click on the Flash drive and select Image laden > Offnen (translated means upload image > open).
   5. When the warning "Remove 2GB restriction (WARNING!)" displays, select the checkbox.
   6. Another warning in German appears; click OK.
   7. A CMD window displays and the "bytes written" increments. When it is done, the CMD window closes. The message "Physdiskwrite beendet" appears (translated means closed Physdiskwrite); click OK.
   8. Go to Windows Explorer, right-click on the Removable Disk (E:), and select Eject.
   9. If your PC has "Safely Remove Hardware" in the System Tray, click the message. 
   10. Go to the "Using the bootable media to erase the Routing Engine" section.

3. Confirm the selected drive. Review carefully to avoid accidental overwrite of your PC's main drive. Select "y" if the drive is correct:

   Which disk do you want to write? (0..1) 1
About to overwrite the contents of disk 1 with new data. Proceed? (y/n) y

4. The number of bytes written will display.  When the program has finished, it will automatically close the CMD window. This should not be an instant process . It takes a few minutes to write ~500M to a device across the USB.

   Found compressed image file
5259264 bytes written

Using the bootable media to erase the Routing Engine:

1. When the program has finished, please stop and remove the CF adapter / PCMCIA card / USB drive to avoid corrupting the image/file system.
2. Insert the removable media into your router's primary media slot.  If inserting a CF into an MX device, skip to the " On MX Series" section below. 
3. Power on the router.  If everything went correctly, the router should boot up using the image you just installed.

1. Connect to the router console port.  This is critical for the Install Media to work on an MX device.
2. Insert the USB drive into the USB port of the router and reboot or power on.
3. The following output is displayed: 

   External USB present
...
Will try to boot from
USB
nand-flash0
nand-flash1
...
Trying to boot from USB
Loading /boot/defaults/loader.conf
...
WARNING: The installation will erase the contents of your disks.
Do you wish to continue (y/n)?
   
   Note: This is why you MUST be on the console, so you can respond to this prompt. Otherwise the router will appear to hang, as it waits at this prompt.

4. Enter y to reboot the router
5. Follow the instructions displayed on the console.

   Eject the installation media and hit [Enter] to reboot?

1. Continued from M/T/MX Series section above.  On an MX80, even without ejecting the USB, if you press Enter, the router will boot again from nand-flash0. The following information is displayed:

   External USB present
...
Will try to boot from
USB
nand-flash0
nand-flash1

FreeBSD/PowerPC U-Boot bootstrap loader, Revision 2.2
([email protected], Wed Feb 3 09:50:07 PST 2010)
Memory: 2048MB
Trying to boot from nand-flash0

2. The router will boot, but the prompt will display Amnesiac instead of a hostname.  This occurs because the configuration was erased.

   Amnesiac (ttyu0)

3. Log in.  The only user login is "root" with no password.  When the shell prompt is displayed, enter cli .

   login: root
root@% cli

4. Enter configuration mode and set the root-authentication password; enter  commit to save the changes. 

   root> configure
Entering configuration mode

[edit] 
root# set system host-name new-MX80

[edit]
root# commit
[edit]
'system'
Missing mandatory statement: 'root-authentication'
error: commit failed: (missing statements)

[edit]
root# set system root-authentication plain-text-password
New password:
Retype new password:

[edit]
root# commit
commit complete

[edit]
root@new-MX80#

5. If you have the configuration backed up as a text file, copy and paste the configuration into the router as follows:

   root@new-MX80# load override terminal
[Type ^D at a new line to end input]
(paste in the config, then type ctrl+D, then commit).

6. Optionally, save the newly installed configuration onto the router's flash as follows:

   root@new-MX80#save /var/tmp/my-MX80-config.conf

11/29/2023 dconejomora

I added the following note so the customer will not get confused using a bootable USB and a regular USB storage device.

"IMPORTANT NOTE: once you turn the USB media into a bootable media/USB it should be only used in the device the download image is intended for, this because the USB will not work anymore as a storage device but as a booting stick for that specific device. Once you finished the installation process, the USB can be formatted again in your PC to become a regular USB storage device."