UNetbootin is running... thanks for the advice.
EDIT: just finished! no error this time. fingers are crossed
EDIT2: it's not bootable for some reason. I'll try again
EDIT3: apparently UNetbootin doesn't make it bootable.
I found Mac linux usb loader, here for $5
EDIT4: the flash drive is bootable, it shows up holding alt on startup, but the Mac goes to recovery mode when I try to boot off it.
Mid 2010 MBP here. Booting from a USB on that is fun, lol.
So those models you need a third party tool To boot from a non Mac USB- something like ReFit or I have used Mac USB Linux https://www.sevenbits.io/mlul/ to boot Linux properly.
>there is also this option, have you ever heard of it?
>
>https://www.sevenbits.io/mlul/
--Try Balena Etcher for Mac before paying for something like that, it's similar to Rufus for Windows