Downloading and verifying .iso images

After downloading an operating system .iso image from a distro’s website, it makes sense to run a fast verifying command to see if it has transferred without errors. Here are some good instructions of how it’s done in Windows, Mac OS X or Ubuntu.

So, in Linux, for example, just open the Terminal application (usually Ctrl+Alt+T), go to the directory where the .iso is and run the sha256sum command (might be different depending on what distro you downloaded):

# Change directory to where you downloaded the .iso image (ie. Downloads folder in your Home):
cd ~/Downloads/
# Run the command (you can use TAB to autocomplete the typing of the file name):
sha256sum xubuntu-16.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso

Running sha256sum command in a Terminal emulator window

Checking the SHA256SUM value from the website where the .iso was downloaded

and compare the output (ie. in a text editor, like Mousepad) with the one found in the website.

Matches nicely! The .iso has been transferred flawlessly :)

If the hash values look exactly the same, the .iso image is what it should be. If not, it needs to be downloaded again.

Manu Järvinen
manujarvinen.com
@manujarvinen

2016

“Downloading and verifying .iso images” by Manu Järvinen is licensed under CC BY 4.0