Install Windows from a USB Flash Drive

Here’s how to create a bootable Windows installation USB drive starting with a Windows .iso file or a Windows Setup DVD.

If you’re looking for an easy way to create a bootable USB Windows installation drive, use the media creation tool.

What you need

• Windows 10 install .iso or DVD
• USB flash drive with at least 5GB free space. This drive will be formatted, so make sure it doesn’t have any important files on it.
• Technician PC — Windows PC that you’ll use to format the USB flash drive
• Destination PC — A PC that you’ll install Windows on

Step 1 — Format the drive and set the primary partition as active

Connect the USB flash drive to your technician PC.

Open Disk Management: Right-click on Start and choose Disk Management.

Format the partition: Right-click the USB drive partition and choose Format. Select the FAT32 file system to be able to boot either BIOS-based or UEFI-based PCs.

Set the partition as active: Right-click the USB drive partition and click Mark Partition as Active.

If Mark Partition as Active isn’t available, you can instead use diskpart to select the partition and mark it active.

Step 2 — Copy Windows Setup to the USB flash drive

Use File Explorer to copy and paste the entire contents of the Windows product DVD or ISO to the USB flash drive.

Optional: add an unattend file to automate the installation process. For more information, see Automate Windows Setup.

Step 3 — Install Windows to the new PC

Connect the USB flash drive to a new PC.

Turn on the PC and press the key that opens the boot-device selection menu for the computer, such as the Esc/F10/F12 keys. Select the option that boots the PC from the USB flash drive.

Windows Setup starts. Follow the instructions to install Windows.

Remove the USB flash drive.

If your Windows image is larger than 4GB

Windows USB install drives are formatted as FAT32, which has a 4GB filesize limit. If your image is larger than the filesize limit:

Copy everything except the Windows image file (sources\install.wim) to the USB drive (either drag and drop, or use this command, where D: is the mounted ISO and E: is the USB flash drive.)

Split the Windows image file into smaller files, and put the smaller files onto the USB drive:

Windows USB/DVD Download Tool

Overview

When you download Windows from Microsoft Store, you have two options: You can download a collection of compressed files, or you can download an ISO file. An ISO file combines all the Windows installation files into a single uncompressed file.

If you choose to download an ISO file so you can create a bootable file from a DVD or USB drive, copy the Windows ISO file onto your drive and then run the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool. Then simply install Windows onto your computer directly from your USB or DVD drive.

When you download the ISO file, you must copy it onto a USB or DVD. When you’re ready to install Windows, insert the USB drive or DVD with the ISO file on it and then run Setup.exe from the root folder on the drive.

This allows you to install Windows onto your machine without having to first run an existing operating system. If you change the boot order of drives in your computer’s BIOS, you can run the Windows installation directly from your USB drive or DVD when you first turn on your computer. Please see the documentation for your computer for information about how to change the BIOS boot order of drives.

Making copies

To install the software, you can make one copy of the ISO file on a disc, USB flash drive, or other media.

After you’ve installed the software and accepted the license terms that accompany the software, those license terms apply to your use of the software. The license terms for Windows permit you to make one copy of the software as a back-up copy for re-installation on the licensed computer. If you do not delete your copy of the ISO file after installing the Windows software, the copy of the ISO file counts as your one back-up copy.

If you need to download the software again, you can go to your Download Purchase History in your Microsoft Store account and access the download there.

Installation

To install the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool:

2. Click Download then Run.

3. Follow the steps in the setup dialogs. You’ll have the option to specify where to install the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool.

You must be an administrator on the computer on which you are installing the Windows USB/DVD Download tool. It requires the Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0 or higher.

System requirements

Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit)

Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300MHz is recommended)

50MB of free space on your hard drive

DVD-R drive or 4GB removable USB drive

For Windows XP users

The following applications must be installed prior to installing the tool:

Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 must be installed. It can be downloaded here.

Microsoft Image Mastering API v2 must be installed. It can be downloaded here.

Using the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool

Before you run the Download Tool, make sure you have purchased the Windows ISO download from Microsoft Store and downloaded the Windows ISO file to your drive. If you have purchased Windows but have not yet downloaded the ISO file, you can download the ISO file from your Microsoft Store Account.

To make a copy of your Windows ISO file:

1. Click the Windows START button, and click WINDOWS USB/DVD DOWNLOAD TOOL in the ALL PROGRAMS list to open the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool.

2. In the SOURCE FILE box, type the name and path of your Windows ISO file, or click BROWSE and select the file from the OPEN dialog box. Click NEXT.

3. Select USB DEVICE to create a copy on a USB flash drive or select DVD disk to create a copy on a DVD disk.

4. If you are copying the file to a USB flash drive, select your USB device in the drop-down list and click BEGIN COPYING. If you are copying the file up to a DVD, click BEGIN BURNING.

When your Windows ISO file is copied to your drive, install Windows by moving to the root folder of your DVD or USB drive, and then double-click Setup.exe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I download .NET framework 2.0?

The .NET framework can be downloaded here.

Where can I download Image Mastering API 2.0?

The Image Mastering API can be downloaded here.

What size USB drive is required?

You need a USB drive with a minimum of 4GB of free space.

Can I use my newly created USB drive to install Windows on someone else’s computer?

No. The Windows ISO file on the USB drive is only intended to be used to install Windows on the licensed user’s own computer.

Can I back up to a CD-ROM?

No. The Windows ISO file is too large to fit on a CD.

Can I back up to a Blu-ray Disc?

Yes, as long as your DVD drive can write to a Blu-ray Disc.

IfI have other files on the USB drive will the Windows USB/DVD download tool delete them?

This tool requires the USB drive to be completely blank before the Windows files are copied. This helps ensure that the device is bootable after the copying has completed.

Can I backup to an external hard drive or other device with enough free disk space?

Yes, but this is not recommended. The device must be formatted in order for the device to be bootable. A dedicated USB flash drive would be a better option.

Can I use the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool to back up other files?

No. This tool is only for use with the Windows ISO file purchased from Microsoft Store.

Does the tool support dual-layer DVD discs for burning?

No. Currently, the tool does not support dual-layer DVD discs.

Troubleshooting

The tool is asking me to install the .NET framework and Image Mastering API before I install the tool

If you’re running Windows XP, you must install the .NET Framework 2.0 and the Image Mastering API 2.0 before installing the tool. You can download .NET framework here and you can download the Image Mastering API here.

A restart may be required after installing the .NET framework and the Image Mastering API.

When creating a bootable USB device, I am getting an error about bootsect

To make the USB drive bootable, you need to run a tool named bootsect.exe. In some cases, this tool needs to be downloaded from your Microsoft Store account. This may happen if you’re trying to create a 64-bit bootable USB device from a 32-bit version of Windows. To download bootsect:

1. Login to your Microsoft Store account to view your purchase history.

2. Look for your Windows purchase.

3. Next to Windows, there is an Additional download options drop-down menu.

4. In the drop-down menu, select 32-bit ISO.

5. Right-click the link, and then save the bootsect.exe file to the location where you installed the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool (e.g. C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Apps\Windows USB DVD Download Tool).

6. Once the file has been saved, go back to the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool to create your bootable USB device.

My USB drive is not in the list of available devices

If you don’t see your USB drive in the list of available devices, please make sure the drive is inserted in the USB port, and then click the Refresh button beside the list of available drives.

I inserted a blank DVD in my DVD-ROM drive, but the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool doesn’t recognize it

If there are multiple drives on the system, the tool will select the first one that is capable of burning DVDs. If you have multiple DVD-R drives, try inserting the blank DVD into another DVD-R drive. If that doesn’t help, please make sure that your disc isn’t damaged and that your DVD-R drive is operational. Contact Product Support if issues continue to arise.

I inserted a blank DVD in my DVD-ROM drive, but the tool won’t let me burn it

Make sure the disc isn’t a dual-layer DVD disc. Currently, dual-layer discs are not supported within the tool.

WinSetupFromUSB

Install Windows from USB with WinSetupFromUSB, multiboot and a lot more

Downloads

Here you can download WinSetupFromUSB and updates of the tools included.

Please do not hotlink files, use this page if you want to post a link to the program. If you need to link to a specific version, you could use version number like this:

Note: A few antivirus programs keep detecting a couple of the included files as viruses. This is false positive . These vendors were informed numerous times and the serious companies such as DrWeb and Kaspersky, update their signatures to remove the false detection within a few hours after being informed. Others, such as McAfee, despite all the efforts and contacts, don’t do anything to update their signatures. For a few unknown ones, which use third party signatures, there is no way to contact them or they simply don’t respond. This program will never knowingly distribute any kind of malware.

• added support for multi-version/dual Windows ISOs (32 and 64 bits in one ISO for example). Stock Microsoft dual ISOs are supported and tested, other such sources too, as long as they use unmodified bootmgr and default location for BCD store is in /boot/bcd. Tested in BIOS/UEFI with both Secure Boot on and off, stock Windows 10 dual and single ISO builds 1803, 1809, Server 2016 and 2019.
• added detection of Windows 10 build number which is added to the boot menu names
• updated ImDisk and WimLib
• minor bug fixes

• fixed issue with Windows 10 and recovery option not shown
• fixed issue with persistence file size not set correctly and tooltip for using persistence
• updated some the tools to their latest version- BootIce, ImDisk, WimLib

1) Windows 10 – single ISOs created by Microsoft Media Creation Tool or downloaded from Microsoft should work. Dual ISOs made by the same tool (x32 and x64 in a single ISO) are NOT supported yet due to the changed structure. Such source can still be added using the previous versions which dump entire contents as they are, 1.0 beta8 for example. Limitations- such source needs to be added first, and any other sources of the same type,but not the same x32+x64, has to be added using 1.6 beta 2 or later.

• disabled superfloppy check due to issues with latest Windows 10 builds
• increased input timeouts to 45 seconds
• fixed issue with Swedish locale and bcdedit
• added check if imdisk is an old version

1) Windows 10 – single ISOs created by Microsoft Media Creation Tool or downloaded from Microsoft should work. Dual ISOs made by the same tool (x32 and x64 in a single ISO) are NOT supported yet due to the changed structure. Such source can still be added using the previous versions which dump entire contents as they are, 1.0 beta8 for example. Limitations- such source needs to be added first, and any other sources of the same type,but not the same x32+x64, has to be added using 1.6 beta 2 or later.

• updated imdisk package for compatibility with latest Windows 10 versions
• Added Windows 10 in all GUI elements

1) Windows 10 – single ISOs created by Microsoft Media Creation Tool or downloaded from Microsoft should work. Dual ISOs made by the same tool (x32 and x64 in a single ISO) are NOT supported yet due to the changed structure. Such source can still be added using the previous versions which dump entire contents as they are, 1.0 beta8 for example. Limitations- such source needs to be added first, and any other sources of the same type,but not the same x32+x64, has to be added using 1.6 beta 2 or later.

2) If program is run on latest Windows 10 builds, seconds source can no longer be added due to incorrectly detected superfloppy format of the USB disk. This is due to changed by Microsoft WMI call results or structure. Fix is being worked on and will be released as soon as it’s ready.

• Fixed missing EFI boot menu for Windows 10 sources

Note: Windows 10 – single ISOs created by Microsoft Media Creation Tool or downloaded from Microsoft should work. Dual ISOs made by the same tool (x32 and x64 in a single ISO) are NOT supported yet due to the changed structure. Such source can still be added using the previous versions which dump entire contents as they are, 1.0 beta8 for example. Limitations- such source needs to be added first, and any other sources of the same type,but not the same x32+x64, has to be added using 1.6 beta 2 or later.