How to Create a Bootable USB Stick on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7?
Why make a bootable USB stick on Windows?
A bootable USB drive is an external hard drive that contains the operating system and can be used to boot a computer or laptop. Users typically create a bootable USB drive in Windows for three main purposes: to install an operating system, to troubleshoot and repair a computer, or to run a live operating system environment without installing it on the computer's hard drive.
◆Repair Windows PC: The most important feature is saving the PC when it cannot boot successfully due to a virus, system failure, or other disk errors, allowing you to repair it with a bootable USB drive.
◆Clean install OS: It can be used as an external installation media to quickly and easily clean install an operating system, making it a faster and more convenient alternative to installing from a CD or DVD-ROM.
◆Bring your familiar OS everywhere: A bootable USB drive can also serve as a portable Windows device, allowing you to take a familiar OS environment with you and run it on other computers, even those without an installed OS.
How to create a bootable USB on Windows 11/10/8/7?
The process of creating a bootable USB stick on Windows differs slightly depending on the purpose, such as creating a bootable USB drive for installing Windows, for running a Linux live USB, or for accessing Windows recovery tools. However, this article will outline the steps to make a bootable USB device for these purposes on Windows 10/8/7.
- Part 1. Create bootable Windows installation USB media via CMD
- Part 2. Create a bootable USB drive for Windows repair
- Part 3. Create a bootable USB drive for portable Windows device
Part 1. Create bootable Windows installation USB media via CMD
To start, you'll need to create a bootable USB drive for installing the OS. This typically involves downloading the OS installation software, burning it to a CD or DVD, or creating a bootable USB drive using a tool like Rufus or the official USB creator software for your OS. Once you have the bootable USB drive, you can use it to install the OS on your computer.
Tips:
● The USB drive should be at least 4GB of storage (for a 32-bit operating system) or at least 8GB (for a 64-bit system).
● Back up files you have stored on the USB drive because the drive will be formatted during this process and all files on it will be erased.
Step 1. Open Command Prompt windows: click "Start" button, input "cmd" in the Search box and press "Enter". Right click the "Command Prompt" icon and select "Run as administrator".
Step 2. In the pop-out Command Prompt window, type "diskpart" and press "Enter" to launch Diskpart utility. Inside the Diskpart window, input the following commands in turn and press "Enter" after each one.
- list disk
- select disk #
- clean
- create partition primary
- select partition 1
- format fs=ntfs quick If you're planning to create a UEFI bootable USB using Diskpart, type "format fs=fat32 quick" instead of "format quick" to format it into a FAT32 file system. This is necessary for UEFI booting.
- active
- exit
The user should not close the Command Prompt as the process is not finished yet. They can minimize it instead. The user should also insert the Windows DVD into their computer's DVD drive and open Windows File Explorer to verify the drive letters of the Windows DVD drive and the USB drive.
Then, go back to the CMD window and type in "D: CD BOOT" (replace D: with your DVD drive letter) and press Enter. Type "CD BOOT" again and press Enter. Lastly, type "BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 H: " (replace your USB flash drive letter for H:) and press Enter.
Copy all the files and folders from the Windows DVD to the USB flash drive using File Explorer, then plug the bootable USB drive into the target computer to start the OS installation.
Part 2. Create a bootable USB drive for Windows repair
If your Windows computer can't boot due to hard drive failure, you can create a bootable USB drive as a Windows repair tool using Qiling Disk Master Professional.
Apart from creating a bootable USB stick on a Windows computer for a PC emergency, this tool also offers related functions to repair boot issues, such as rebuilding MBR, checking and fixing bad sectors on the system drive. You can download the demo version and learn how to create a bootable USB stick on Windows 11/10/8/7 for Windows repair.
Step 1. Connect a USB drive to a working Windows computer, install Qiling Disk Master Professional, and run it. Then, click "Make Bootable Media" and proceed by hitting "Next".
Step 2. Select the correct USB drive under "USB Boot Device" and click "Proceed".
Note You shall format the USB before you create bootable media.
Step 3. Then wait for the process to be completed.
Note: The bootable USB drive comes with the pre-installed Qiling Disk Master Professional.
Insert the bootable USB drive into the computer, change boot order to boot from the USB, then rebuild the Master Boot Record (MBR) on the system primary hard drive.
Or you can right-To troubleshoot Windows boot issues, check the system partition for bad sectors by clicking on it, and if found, fix them. This process is crucial in resolving boot failures, and the two functions mentioned are the most commonly used methods for doing so.
Part 3. Create a bootable USB drive for portable Windows device
Users can create a bootable USB stick on Windows to have a portable Windows USB drive, utilizing the "Windows To Go Creator" feature offered by Qiling software, which is more powerful and flexible than Microsoft's "Windows To Go".
This tool supports both certified and non-certified USB drives and can create bootable USB drives for any edition of Windows 10/8/7, including Enterprise, Education, Home, and Professional. It also allows you to make portable Windows USB drives with or without an ISO file, and surprisingly, it can work with USB drives as small as 13GB, making it a convenient option.
Install and run Qiling Disk Master Pro on your PC, then click "Tools" and select "Create bootable media".
Final words
To create a bootable USB stick on Windows 11/10/8/7, determine your requirements and choose the right method. For general use, such as repairing a computer or installing a new operating system, you can use the built-in Windows tool or a third-party software like Rufus. However, if you need to create a Server bootable USB drive for repairing a Server computer or enjoying a customized Windows Server environment, you can try using Qiling Disk Master Server.
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