How to Install Windows 10 To Make Bootable USB Drive 2024 – [Latest]

It’s also quicker to install from USB. A USB drive can be made bootable faster than an optical drive can; it also installs the operating system quickly.

To install Windows 7 or Windows 10 from a USB stick, you need a device with at least 8GB of storage.

Ensuring USB Stick Has UEFI Boot Support

Before you download a bootable Windows installation image, it’s important to know the difference between UEFI and BIOS.

Older PCs rely on the basic input/output system (BIOS) to boot the operating system and manage data between the operating system and devices. For the past decade, UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) has replaced BIOS, adding legacy support. UEFI can assist with PC diagnosis and repair without additional software or media.

Fortunately, the most common methods of installing Windows 10 from a bootable USB drive support UEFI and legacy BIOS hardware. So, whichever option you choose should work for your hardware.

Preparing the Windows 10 Bootable USB

Before proceeding, insert your formatted USB flash stick in your PC or laptop.

Ready to install Windows 10? While several methods exist, the easiest way to do this is to use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool.

To grab this, head to the Microsoft Download Windows 10 page and click the Download tool now.

Save the tool to your computer. It’s around 20MB in size, so it shouldn’t take too long on a fast connection. Once downloaded, launch the media creation tool and click Accept when prompted.

You’ll be presented with two options. Select Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC and click Next.

Set your preferred Language, Windows 10 Edition, and System Architecture. Note that if these settings cannot be changed, you should clear the checkbox labeled Use the recommended options for this PC. Hit Next again.

Choose USB flash drive, then Next, and select the USB drive from the list. Click Next once more to prompt the downloading of your Windows 10 installation files.

Wait while the bootable USB Windows 10 installer is created. How long this takes will depend on your internet speed. Several gigabytes of data will be installed, so if you don’t have access to a fast internet connection at home, consider a library or even your place of work.

Installing Windows 10 With a Bootable USB Drive

With the installation media created, you’ll be able to install Windows 10. The USB drive is now bootable, so all you need to do is safely remove it from your PC, then insert it into the target device.

Power up the computer you’re installing Windows 10 on and wait for it to detect the USB drive. If this doesn’t happen, reboot, this time pressing the key to access the UEFI/BIOS or boot menu. Ensure the USB device is detected, then select it as the main boot device.

The subsequent reboot should detect the Windows 10 installation media. You’re now ready to install Windows 10! Get started by starting the installation wizard.

Once you’ve worked through the wizard, Windows 10 will be installed. Note that some installations may continue after you log in, so be patient. It’s also worth checking for Windows Updates (Settings > Updates & Security > Windows Update) after installation to ensure everything is up to date.

Keep Your Bootable Windows Installation USB Drive Safe

Making a bootable Windows USB drive is simple:

1. Format an 8GB (or higher) USB flash device
2. Download the Windows 10 media creation tool from Microsoft
3. Run the media creation wizard to download the Windows 10 installation files
4. Create the installation media
5. Eject the USB flash device

While you should expect largely trouble-free computing from Windows 10, it’s a good idea to keep the USB boot drive safe. After all, you never know when a hard disk drive can crash, or a partition table will corrupt.

The Windows boot drive features various repair tools that can be used if Windows 10 will not boot. Store the boot drive in a memorable place where it can be easily retrieved for troubleshooting or reinstalling Windows later.