From Floppies to CDs/DVDs and now USB we go from these three eras of installing any Operating System on our PCs. We used these three medias to transfer, or installing any program or operating system. But nowadays everyone prefers USB for any of their any type of work because they are small in size and easy to use. Nowadays everyone prefers USB for any of their any type of work because they are small in size and easy to handle and had less chance of corruption. This leads to the question of How to create a Bootable USB Drive in Windows?
If you are having any old or unused USB drive in your drawer that you are not using for any kind of your work. You can turn that unused or waste USB for operating install disk. This can solve your problem of How to create a Bootable USB Drive in Windows.
Installation of an OS from USB drive has become one of the easiest things to upgrade your system with a new OS. A USB installation is extremely portable, quick. The best part of using any USB for changing the operating system is after doing this you can use that USB again for any transfer of media.
For making a Bootable USB drive you need these basic things:
- A 4GB or 8GB pen drive.
- Windows ISO or other OS setup files.
- PC/Laptop.
- And Software To Make Bootable Pen Drive.
Some Short Notes of the Terms:
- Bootloader Options: The bootloader loads the operating system. Some ISO burners allow you to choose the Bootloader you’ll need for your desired operating system installation.
- grub4dos: a bootloader package designed to allow users to select between multiple operating systems installed on a single system.
- Syslinux: a lightweight bootloader package designed to allow users to select between multiple Linux or Unix installations.
- QEMU Emulator: short for Quick Emulator, is a hardware virtualization tool. In this context, it allows users to test their USB before proceeding with the burn process.
- Cluster Size: defines the smallest available space for storing data. Instead of assigning individual disk sectors, the file system assigns contiguous groups of sectors, called clusters.
- File System: controls how data is accessed and stored. Without it, your data would lump together with no beginning or end. A file system offers a definition for easy access. There are different file systems available, though your burning tool should be discerning your requirements via the ISO you use.
- Bad Sector: Some ISO to USB tools allow you to perform a bad sector check. Before the burn commences, your USB will be scanned, fixing any irregularities to ensure your installation is smooth. Somewhat similar to defragmenting your desktop, but on a much smaller scale.
3 Methods for a single question – How to create a Bootable USB Drive in Windows
There are so many programs by which you can create a Bootable USB drive. We will cover some of the Top methods and programs for create a Bootable USB drive. These all may give your answer of How to create a Bootable USB Drive in Windows.
Method 1: Using Command Prompt
- For creating a Bootable USB drive, the easiest way is to use the command prompt. Because in this method we don’t need any extra or third-party program for creating Bootable USB Drive. Before going further you must check that there is not any file in your USB because it will be formatted while doing this.
Steps to create a Bootable USB drive by Command Prompt
- Open Command Prompt and run this as Administrator, this method creates a bootable USB drive then you can copy the contents of the Operating Installation Disk onto the USB to create a portable Installation Drive.
- Enter the command “Disk Part” to Open the disk management utility. This opens all the connected disks of your computer.
- Then type “list disk” command to show all the drives connected to your system. Your USB drive is also listed in it. Note the number next to your USB drive. Let us assume No. 3, This no will be used in Step 4 and Step 7.
- Now Select the USB drive by entering the command “select disk 3”.
- You need to clean the USB before doing anything further. Enter the command “clean” to erase all the data from your USB drive.
- Now Create a bootable partition. For this, type in “create partition primary” in the command prompt.
- Then, Select the new partition by entering the command “select partition 3″ and press Enter. When you receive a confirmation message, then type “active” and press the ENTER. This leads to the activation of the partition.
- Now Format the USB drive. Enter the command “format fs=fat32″. Then press ENTER, then the program will work for a few minutes (if it is a small USB, e.g. 4Gb could take hours to slow format), and the progress will be displayed as a percentage. We would prefer you to use command ‘format fs=ntfs quick‘ which is the best way to quickly format your USB. Now Write “Active” and Press Enter.
- Now Check Which Letter is assigned to your USB Drive. Check the image below. Let us assume ‘Z’ letter but you have to check in your case.
- Now Open the .iso file of OS which you downloaded. Now See, On which drive, this OS file open. Here it is ‘G’ Now Type “Exit” to leave Diskpart section.
- Type” xcopy G:\*.* /s/e/f Z:\ “here G is the Mounted Drive and Z is our USB drive.
It takes five to ten minutes to complete. If there you had any doubt you can comment below.
Method 2: Using Rufus.
In this method, we are using a third party app for creating a bootable USB Drive which is RUFUS.
Rufus is the top most program in creating bootable USB drive in the list of ‘Best Softwares to create a bootable USB drive’. It comes with very small executable with minimal options for cluster size, tinkering, file systems, aside from partition scheme and the type of bootable you’ll be creating.
- Download Rufus From this link.
- Follow Simple steps to install it.
- After Installing it, you will get this screen.
- The first option is of Device, Choose that USB drive you want to make bootable.
- Now Don’t touch any other option.
- Just Move to “Create a Bootable Disk Using ISO IMAGE” and Select your desired ISO file.
- Now Click On Start. Boom Just Simple Steps to make a bootable USB.
Method 3. Using Power ISO Software
In this method, we are using another third party application for creating a bootable USB drive. We are taking here Power ISO software. This is also a good software with almost 100% success rate and I use this to create a bootable USB drive.
- Download Power ISO from this link.
- Follow Simple steps to install it.
- Now You will See this screen after installing it.
- Now Go To “Tools” at Upper Side and Select “Create Bootable USB drive“. A popup will come, Press OK.
- Now You Will See the following Screen.
- Select ISO file in Top Bar – ‘Select Image File‘.
- Select that USB drive you want to make bootable in ‘Destination USB drive‘.
- Now Click Start and Boom You get Bootable USB Drive.
These all are the best methods. Choose any method you like. If you have any query, Ask below in comment section.