[Mini PC] How to Create a Bootable USB Drive for ASUS Ascent GX10 OS Installation/Recovery

Applicable Models: ASUS Ascent GX10

Description: This article describes how to create a bootable USB drive for ASUS Ascent GX10 OS installation/recovery using Windows, Linux, or macOS.
Important

  1. Prepare a USB flash drive with a capacity of at least 16 GB.
  2. This process will erase all data on the USB flash drive. Back up any important data before proceeding.
  3. Download the latest ASUS Ascent GX10 OS ISO image from the ASUS Support site.
  4. Use the procedure corresponding to the operating system of the computer used to create the bootable USB drive.

Solution
Step 1：Please download the ASUS Ascent GX10 OS ISO image.

  1. Go to the ASUS Support Side for ASUS Ascent GX10.
  2. Download the latest available GX10 OS image.
  3. Extract the downloaded package until the .iso image file is available.
  4. Save the ISO file to a local drive.

After obtaining the GX10 ISO image, follow one of the methods below according to your host operating system.

 

Step 2：Choose only one of the following methods based on the operating system of the computer used to create the bootable USB drive.

  • Method 1 – Windows: Create a bootable USB using Rufus
  • Method 2 – Linux: Create a bootable USB using the dd command
  • Method 3 – macOS: Create a bootable USB using balenaEtcher

All three methods use the same ASUS Ascent GX10 OS ISO image downloaded from the ASUS official support website. After the bootable USB drive is created, follow the same ASUS Ascent GX10 OS installation/recovery procedure described in the next section. 
 
Method 1 – Windows: Create a Bootable USB Using Rufus
Requirements

  • Windows PC
  • USB flash drive: 16 GB or larger
  • ASUS Ascent GX10 OS ISO image
  • Rufus

Procedure

  1. Download Rufus from the Rufus official website and launch the application.
  2. Connect the USB flash drive to the Windows PC.
  3. Under Drive Properties, configure the following:
  • Device: Select the USB flash drive.
  • Boot selection: Click SELECT and select the ASUS Ascent GX10 OS ISO image.
  1. Leave the other Rufus settings at their default values unless otherwise instructed.
  2. Click START.
  3. If Rufus displays the ISOHybrid image detected dialog and asks whether to write the image in ISO Image mode or DD Image mode, select: Write in DD Image mode
  4. Click OK.
  5. Rufus will display a warning that all data on the selected USB drive will be erased. Confirm that the correct USB device is selected, and then click OK to continue.
  6. Wait until Rufus finishes writing the image to the USB drive.
  7. When the operation is complete, close Rufus and safely eject the USB drive.

The USB drive is now ready for ASUS Ascent GX10 OS installation/recovery.

 

Method 2 – Linux: Create a Bootable USB Using the dd Command
Requirements

  • Linux system 
  • USB flash drive: 16 GB or larger 
  • The partition scheme on the USB flash drive must be GPT for UEFI 
  • ASUS Ascent GX10 OS ISO image 
  • Administrator/root privileges 

Warning
Important: Before proceeding, make sure the USB flash drive uses a GPT partition scheme for UEFI. Do not use an MBR partition scheme, as the resulting USB drive may not be detected correctly during UEFI boot. The dd command writes directly to the selected device and erases its existing data. Make sure the correct USB device is selected before executing the command.

 

Procedure 

  1. Connect the USB flash drive to the Linux system.
  2. Open Terminal.
  3. Run the following command to identify the USB device:
    lsblk
  4. Identify the USB flash drive based on its capacity and device name.
    For example:
    /dev/sde
    Important: Select the USB device itself, not one of its partitions such as /dev/sde1.
  5. Write the ASUS Ascent GX10 OS ISO image to the USB flash drive: 
    sudo dd if=<path-to-ISO-image> bs=2048 of=<usb-drive-device-name>
    Example:
    sudo dd if=/home/user/Downloads/ASUS-Ascent-GX10-OS.iso bs=2048 of=/dev/sde
  6. Wait until the dd operation is completely finished and the Terminal prompt returns.
  7. Safely remove the USB flash drive.

The USB drive is now ready for ASUS Ascent GX10 OS installation/recovery.


Method 3 – macOS: Create a Bootable USB Using balenaEtcher 
Requirements

  • macOS system 
  • USB flash drive: 16 GB or larger 
  • ASUS Ascent GX10 OS ISO image 
  • balenaEtcher

Procedure 

  1. Download and install balenaEtcher from the balenaEtcher official website.
  2. Connect the USB flash drive to the Mac.
  3. Launch balenaEtcher.
  4. Click Flash from file.
  5. Select the ASUS Ascent GX10 OS .iso image.
  6. Click Select target.
  7. Select the USB flash drive that will be used as the GX10 installation/recovery media.

Warning: Confirm that the correct USB device is selected. All data on the selected USB drive will be erased.

  1. Click Flash!.
  2. Enter the macOS administrator password if prompted.
  3. Wait for balenaEtcher to complete the flashing and verification process.
  4. When the operation is successfully completed, safely eject the USB flash drive.

Note: macOS may display a message indicating that the inserted disk is not readable after the Linux-based image has been written. If this message appears after the flashing process has completed successfully, select Ignore or Eject. Do not initialize or reformat the USB drive.
The USB drive is now ready for ASUS Ascent GX10 OS installation/recovery.

 

Step 3：Install/Recover ASUS Ascent GX10 OS from the Bootable USB
The following installation/recovery steps are common to all three methods above (Windows / Linux / macOS).


After creating the bootable USB drive using Method 1, Method 2, or Method 3, insert the USB drive into the ASUS Ascent GX10 and follow the steps below.

  1. Insert the bootable USB drive into the ASUS Ascent GX10.
  2. Power on the system and press and hold [Del] during startup to enter the BIOS.
  3. Go to: Boot > Boot Option #1
  4. Select: UEFI: USB USB Hard Drive, Partition 1
  5. Press [F4] to save the settings and exit.
  6. From the boot menu, select: DGX Spark Installation Options 
  7. Select: Install DGX OS <version> for DGX Spark
  8. Wait for the OS installation/recovery process to complete. 
  9. After installation is complete, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the initial OS setup, including:
  • Language and time zone
  • Keyboard layout
  • NVIDIA terms
  • Username and password
  • Network connection
  1. After the initial setup is completed, confirm that ASUS Ascent GX10 can boot normally into the operating system. 
     

Third-Party Software Notice

Rufus and BalenaEtcher are third-party software utilities and are not developed or maintained by ASUS.

 

Disclaimer
This SOP document references "Rufus" and "BalenaEtcher", the third-party open-source software application used solely as an example for creating a bootable USB drive. Rufus is not developed, distributed, or maintained by our company. Users are free to use any other equivalent tool to achieve the same purpose.
Rufus is provided and maintained solely by its original developer(s). Our company is not affiliated with, and bears no responsibility for, the development, updates, functionality, or compatibility of Rufus. We do not provide technical support and assume no liability for any issues arising from the use of Rufus, including but not limited to software errors, data loss, system damage, or compatibility problems.
Before performing the steps in this SOP, users should back up any important data and proceed at their own risk. For any issues encountered while using Rufus, please refer to the official Rufus website or its community support channels; our customer support team does not provide troubleshooting assistance for this third-party software.