This guide assumes you already have a functioning Reformatter USB and know how to use it.
If not, visit the introduction to learn more.
In most cases, you probably want to replace the existing Endless OS image on your Reformatter USB with a new, updated version. This is required in particular if your USB drive’s storage—specifically, its eosimages partition—is not large enough to hold more than one image at a time.
To update/replace the existing Endless OS image:
Download your new Endless OS image to your computer's storage; we recommend this rather than downloading directly to the USB drive to reduce errors and the possibility of needing to download a large image over the network more than once.
Be sure to download both the image (.img.gz) and signature file (.img.gz.asc).
Connect your USB Reformatter drive to the computer where you downloaded the updated image. You should see it mount an eosimages partition.
Delete the old Endless OS image and signature file from the eosimages partition; be sure to choose to permanently delete this file and/or empty your OS's Trash/Recycling Bin to ensure the drive actually has enough space for the new image.
Copy the new Endless OS image and signature file to the eosimages partition; be patient as this can take quite a while depending on the size of the image.
Safely remove/eject the mounted eosimages drive from the file manager; wait to physically disconnect the drive until prompted that it is safe.
We do not recommend using multiple Endless OS images on a Reformatter USB in production unless strictly required since it can lead to operator error, resulting in customers receiving the incorrect image.
However, if you frequently need to install one of multiple images, it can save time by using one larger USB drive instead of keeping track of multiple physical drives.
It is possible to store multiple Endless OS images on a Reformatter USB drive so long as your USB drive is large enough. Double-check the free space on the drive's eosimages partition before you begin, keeping in mind sometimes operating systems differ slightly in how they count the available space.
If you have more than enough space, you can simply follow the same directions as above without deleting the existing Endless OS image first. When you use the Reformatter USB to reformat a computer, you will see a drop-down menu with all available images.
Make sure you select the correct image when installing using the Reformatter USB!