As time passes, more and more PCs are being built without an optical drive. When the time comes to reinstall or upgrade Windows, an issue can arise: Where does that setup DVD go? The answer: On a flash drive. Find out the different ways to get Windows XP through Windows 10 onto a bootable flash drive — and enjoy the speed benefits that come with it. Instead, it prefered to stick to old-school DVD media, despite the fact that many notebooks today are too small to even include an optical drive, and many DIYers are building PCs which forego one on purpose.
However, things have moved on, and for the first time, Microsoft has begun to sell Windows 10 on pre-configured USB drives. Previous versions of the OS XP, 7 and 8. Creating a bootable Windows USB drive used to be a chore, but today, one solution can pretty-well suit most people.
However, there are times when a flash drive has some quirk that prevents it from working with a particular solution, so for that reason, this article takes a look at five different methods. Even if the target desktop or notebook has an optical drive, there are a couple of reasons to consider first creating a USB-based installer. Admittedly, the time and effort of creating the drive might make it best-suited for system builders, but for people like us, who juggle test machines, USB is a no-brainer.
To start, USB media is more durable than disc-based media. Discs can be easily scratched, while well-built USB flash drives can generally handle a bit of abuse. Ever walk around with a disc in your pocket? It looks a bit odd. To give an overview of what to expect from each solution, refer to this success table:. For starters, modern UEFI-equipped machines are not designed to support such an old OS, so chances are that it will not even install, or even be detected in the first place.
If the motherboard in question happens to support a legacy BIOS mode, then it might work. Different version of Rufus explained later have better luck with the XP process than others. We strongly suggest you skip to the dedicated part of this article that explains the problems with Windows XP and USB support. What about Windows Vista? But first…. Some solutions listed on this page require a Windows disc image. ISOs are available from a number of sources, but most people will acquire them after purchasing the OS online through Microsoft, or through some other related Microsoft service.
Only the ISOs directly supplied by Microsoft would have static hashes. How the image was captured as well will have an effect on how the final boot drive turns out, so stick to official sources where possible.
Other tools exist that accomplish the same thing, but these are the only ones we can personally recommend. However, we prefer Rufus because we find it loads a lot quicker, and feels a bit faster, too. For a great many reasons, this is still our preferred method of creating USB boot drives. To load the Windows. NOTE: As the program will state, doing this will erase all data off of the flash drive — so backup first. If you have any issues, be sure to check out our Common Problems section below. NOTE: This method will delete the entire flash drive, so be sure to back up personal data first.
Once selected, it needs to be wiped clean, have a partition created, and then be formatted. The entire command process is summed-up in this block:. At this point, the Windows setup DVD can be inserted into the drive, or the ISO mounted, and its files copied over to the root folder of the flash drive. While the company no longer promotes the tool, it supports at least 7 and 8 just fine, so some might prefer to use it over the other solutions.
Once downloaded and opened, an ISO must be chosen. If you plan to install Windows 10 on a new system, use it to recover an existing system, or upgrade a previous install of Windows 7 or 8, creating a bootable flash drive is the first step. The whole process for creating a Windows 10 bootable USB drive can be done by using the Media Creation Tool ; most systems these days will use the bit version, so grab that. It uses ISO images to create bootable USB devices, using an innovative technique to help you install operating systems directly from your drive.
WinToUSB is a free, lightweight application that allows you to install and run a fully-functional version of Microsoft Windows on an external hard drive, USB flash drive, or Thunderbolt drive. The Win. Grub2Win is a free multiboot application to boot different operating systems on the same device, much like alternatives YUMI and Rufus. Rufus for Windows 3. Rufus for PC 3. LinkedIn Lead Extractor. Microsoft Office Office Service Pack 1. Nitro PDF Reader bit.
HR Access Database Software. WinToFlash WinToFlash is a free software that creates multiboot bootable flash drives that people can use to access operating systems, antivirus programs, and such.
Windows Media Creation Tool Windows Media Creation Tool is a Microsoft-licensed programme that lets you download the latest version of their operating system for free.
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