Burning your Operating System to a CD or DVD is a waste. Instead, you can write it to a USB Flash Drive. I learned this back when my DVD Writer stopped functioning when I was still using Windows XP. The only prerequisite is that you have the files for your OS on your PC or Mac. Here are the steps:

For Windows:

1. Open a command window by going to Start > Run or hold down the Windows Key and press ‘R’. Type in ‘cmd’ and press Enter.
2. Type in ‘xcopy D:\*.* /s/e/f E:\’. D is where all the files for your OS are located, E is your Flash Drive.

For Mac:

1. Open up Disk Utility by opening  Finder > Applications > Utilities
2. Click on your USB Drive and go the Restore Tab.
3. Select Source which is the IMG file of your OS.
4. Drag your USB drive to the Destination.
5. Click on Restore.

And there you have it. Bootable Operating Systems without wasting CDs or DVDs.