Kubuntu Focus: ISO Verification

ISO Verification

Ensure correct ISO downloads

This page provides instructions for verifying the integrity of ISO files on all popular operating systems. We highly recommended you verify the Kubuntu Focus Suite ISO file immediately after download. This helps ensure you will not encounter corruption or stability issues during installation.

Verifying KFocus Suite ISOs
Verifying other ISOs
Troubleshooting
Revisions
Disclaimer

Verify a Kubuntu Focus Suite ISO with Dolphin.

Please read the disclaimer before proceeding. We review and update guided solutions regularly. If you have suggestions or requests, please write support@kfocus.org.

Verifying KFocus Suite ISOs

The following instructions guide you through verifying a Kubuntu Focus Suite ISO using a Kubuntu Focus system.

Download the ISO. The current latest ISO is kubuntu-focus-24.04.1-2024.09.19-desktop-amd64.iso.
Open Dolphin, and navigate to the folder where you downloaded the ISO to. Usually this is Downloads.
Right-click on the ISO, and click Properties.
Click the Checksums tab, and paste the following checksum into the expected checksum field: 8a53273bb3dad3de342160def79df062a515d8e232505d999b8f0f5e94332840
Dolphin will automatically calculate the checksum of the ISO. Wait for this process to complete.
If the checksums match, your ISO is good. Proceed to the Clean Install guide.
If the checksums do not match, your ISO is bad. Delete it and download it again.

Verifying other ISOs

The following instructions are useful for verifying ISO files in general, on any major OS.

Linux (with verification file)

Many ISOs have a verification hash file provided alongside them. When this is the case, most Linux systems can verify that the ISO is intact with one command, using the sha256sum tool. To do this:

Download the ISO file and its accompanying verification hash file. Most of the time this file is named SHA256SUMS or iso-file.sha256.
Open a terminal emulator.
Using the cd command, navigate to the folder where the ISO and verification hash file are located. Oftentimes this will be ~/Downloads.
Run sha256sum -c verification-file.sha256 |& grep OK, replacing the name verification-file.sha256 as appropriate.
If you see a line of output similar to iso-file.iso: OK, your ISO download is good.
If you do not see any output whatsoever, or if all output refers to files other than the ISO file you downloaded, your ISO download is bad and should be deleted. You will have to download the ISO again in this scenario.

Linux (without verification file)

Sometimes the verification hash for an ISO file is provided as a string, rather than as a separate file. When this is the case, you can verify the ISO file using the following procedure:

Download the ISO file.
Open a terminal emulator.
Using the cd command, navigate to the folder where the ISO is located. Often this will be ~/Downloads.
Run if [ 'VERIFICATION-HASH-HERE' = "$(sha256sum iso-file.iso | cut -d' ' -f1)" ]; then echo 'Good'; else echo 'Bad'; fi, replacing iso-file.iso and VERIFICATION-HASH-HERE as appropriate.
If you see a line of output that says Good, your ISO download is good.
If you see a line of output that says Bad, your ISO download is bad and should be deleted. You will have to download the ISO again in this scenario.

Windows

Most versions of Windows provide the certutil utility, which can be used to check ISO file verification hashes. To do this:

Download the ISO file.
Open Explorer (the file manager application in Windows).
Navigate to the folder where you downloaded your ISO. Usually this will be Downloads.
On the keyboard, press [ALT][D]. The address bar at the top of the window will be highlighted.
Type cmd and press Enter. A command prompt window will open. Any commands run from here will be run in the current folder.
Inside the command prompt window, run certutil -hashFile "iso-name.iso" SHA256, replacing iso-name.iso as appropriate. The command will process for a while, then output a sequence of numbers and letters.
Look at the hash provided alongside the ISO file (either by opening the verification hash file in your browser or text editor, or by viewing the page that displays this hash). Carefully compare it to the sequence of numbers and letters output by certutil.
If the file hashes match, your ISO download is good.
If the file hashes do not match, your ISO download is bad and should be deleted. You will have to download the ISO again in this scenario.

macOS

macOS provides the shasum utility, which can be used to check ISO file verification hashes. To do this:

Download the ISO file.
Open Terminal (the default terminal emulator in macOS).
Open Finder (the default file manager in macOS), and navigate to the folder where your download is located. Usually this will be Downloads.
In Terminal, type shasum -a 256 (including a space at the end), then drag and drop the ISO file from the Finder window into the Terminal window. The full path to the ISO file will automatically appear in Terminal.
Press Enter. The command will process for a while, then output a sequence of numbers and letters.
Look at the hash provided alongside the ISO file (either by opening the verification hash file in your browser or text editor, or by viewing the page that displays this hash). Carefully compare it to the sequence of numbers and letters output by certutil.
If the file hashes match, your ISO download is good.
If the file hashes do not match, your ISO download is bad and should be deleted. You will have to download the ISO again in this scenario.

Troubleshooting

Content will be added as needed.

Revisions

This is a partial revision history. See the git repository for all entries.

2024-07-19 0459cd52 First publication

Disclaimer

We try hard to provide a useful solution validated by professionals. However, we cannot anticipate every situation, and therefore cannot guarantee this procedure will work for your needs. Always backup your data and test the solution to determine the correct procedure for you.

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