I am a newbie with Ubuntu and am trying to make a USB stick that will boot Ubuntu on my PC (a Surface Pro) so that, without affecting the PC, I can boot up Ubuntu when I like and use it as an alternative OS.

Getting a bootable Ubuntu image onto a USB stick seems to be super-simple - you just go to <https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop> and follow the instructions to create a 'Desktop' image. This image is great in the sense that it will boot onto my PCs without any problem. However, as most people reading this will know, the 'Desktop' image is really a test-and-then-install version - anything you do while testing the image gets erased every time you finish using it. I believe this image is called the '*live*' version.

So, I followed instructions I found on the web on how to use the *live* image to create a bootable USB stick. However, this creates an image which doesn't boot on the PC like the *live* image used to create it! I understand that the reason it won't boot is because it is a MBR (Master Boot Record) rather than GPT and/or UEFI version. I can quickly tell if a disk is likely to work because when I put it into an old HP laptop and start the boot menu, if the USB stick is listed as a "USB Hard Drive (UEFI)" then it is, as far as I can see, PC-bootable. The *live* image passes this test of course.

The web is full of instructions on how to convert an MBR disk to GPT (or whatever it is that I need) but I just can't find anything that actually works and some of the instructions look very complicated.

So, my first question is this: Is there a **reliable** process for converting a Ubuntu installation on a USB stick (that one has created with the 'Desktop' image) into a state where it will boot, i.e. has the same boot setup/configuration as the 'Desktop' image?

Or, failing that, can anyone tell me if there is an image which one can actually use as a normally installed version? Or can the 'Desktop' image be converted into a working version?

I'm surprised that this is all so difficult. If the boot configuration of the *live* image is considered acceptable and good (which it is as far as I can see) then why doesn't its own installation process create an image which boots like itself?

Thanks,
K1tty