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:

WinToUSB для Windows

Оценка:	1 2 3 4 5 3.73 /5 голосов — 33
Лицензия:	Бесплатная
Версия:	5.8 | Сообщить о новой версии
Обновлено:	05.11.2020
ОС:	Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7
Интерфейс:	Английский, Русский
Разработчик:	EasyUEFI Development Team
Категории:	Образы дисков — Boot менеджеры
Загрузок (сегодня/всего):	8 / 62 145 | Статистика
Размер:	5,55 Мб
СКАЧАТЬ

WinToUSB — инструмент для установки и запуска операционной системы Windows с USB-накопителя. Работа с этой программой очень проста. Здесь можно установить систему, используя как ISO, WIM, ESD, SWM, VHD, VHDX образы, так и с помощью реального загрузочного DVD-диска.

После запуска программы на левой панели отобразятся иконки источника ОС: ISO-образ и оптический привод. В первом случае выберите соответствующий файл на Вашем ПК (ISO, WIM, ESD, SWM, VHD, VHDX), во в тором — вставьте в привод установочный DVD-диск. После этого выберите съемный USB-диск необходимого объема (сохраните все важные данные на нем, т.к. диск будет отформатирован) и запустите установку.

Кстати, программа WinToUSB поддерживает функцию Windows To Go для Windows 10/8/7 — технология полной работоспособности операционной системы Windows с USB-накопителя.

В целом же все очень просто, доступно, понятно, а главное — теперь можно всегда иметь под рукой свою любимую ОС с индивидуальными настройками.

UltraISO — незаменимый инструмент для работы с образами дисков. Поможет выполнить запись и.

Daemon Tools — небольшое, бесплатное, но при этом очень функциональное приложение для создания.

Alcohol 120% — популярный эмулятор CD/DVD-дисков, который создает на жестком диске ПК пользователя.

WinSetupFromUSB — бесплатная утилита, с помощью которой вы сможете создать мультизагрузочную.

WinToFlash — бесплатное приложение, которое поможет вам создать загрузочную флешку для.

WinToUSB — инструмент для установки и запуска операционной системы Windows с USB-накопителя.

Отзывы о программе WinToUSB

Vlad про WinToUSB 5.5 [25-09-2020]

Если HDD стоит на док-станции , то следует применить эту программу ?
| | Ответить

timon96kot про WinToUSB 5.1 [05-04-2020]

Не знал, что кто-то еще пользуется Win — XP ツ
| | Ответить

Admin в ответ timon96kot про WinToUSB 5.1 [06-04-2020]

Ну, таких еще целых 2-3%
| | Ответить

Константин про WinToUSB 5.1 [10-01-2020]

Внимательной смотрите описание — «Поддерживаемые ОС Windows 10,8.1,8,7».
Где зесь 98/Xp?
1 | | Ответить

Слава про WinToUSB 4.9 [18-07-2019]

Полный хлам! Лезет в интернет после установки,ну это ладно,она в упор не видит образы! Просто не распознает,ни 98 ни виндовс хп.
2 | 3 | Ответить

Александр про WinToUSB 4.1 [24-09-2018]

Поддерживает русский язык
5 | 2 | Ответить

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.

How to Run Windows 10 From a USB Drive

Loading and running Windows 10 from a USB drive is a handy option when you’re using a computer saddled with an older version of Windows.

You run Windows 10 on your own computer, but now you’re using another PC outfitted with an older operating system. If you prefer to use the newest version of Windows, though, there’s a way to run Windows 10 directly through a USB drive.

You’ll need a USB flash drive with at least 16GB of free space, but preferably 32GB. You’ll also need a license to activate Windows 10 on the USB drive. That means you have to either purchase one or use an existing one that is associated with your digital ID.

You can then use a Windows USB utility to set up the USB drive with Windows 10. Once you’re done, you’ll be able to boot up off the drive to launch Windows 10.

The major downside of booting from a USB drive is that Windows 10 will run slower than it does off your hard drive. But if you’re in a pinch you can at least work with the OS and access different apps this way.

Microsoft once offered its own tool called Windows to Go, which could generate a bootable Windows USB drive with the Enterprise and Education versions of Windows 10. However, the company has stopped development on that program and no longer updates it.

Instead, you can turn to two utility programs, WinToUSB and Rufus. These tools can create a bootable drive from any version of the operating system and on any type of USB drive.

Running Windows 10 From a USB Drive

If you want to run Windows from a USB, the first step is to sign into your current Windows 10 computer and create a Windows 10 ISO file that will be used to install the operating system onto the drive.

To do this, browse to the Download Windows 10 website. This site offers the latest edition of Windows 10, which at this point is the Windows 10 November 2019 Update, or Windows 10 version 1909.

Click the Download tool now button, then double-click the downloaded MediaCreationTool.exe file to install the program. At the first screen for Applicable notices and license terms, click the Access button. Then click the Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC button and hit Next.

At the Select language, architecture, and edition screen, confirm that all of the options are correct and then click Next.

You’ll then need to choose what media you want to use. Given the option between a USB flash drive and an ISO file, click ISO file. Then click Next.

Choose a location on your hard drive to store the Windows.iso file and click Save. Windows 10 will then generate the necessary ISO file. When the process is done, click Finish.

Running WinToUSB

Next, it’s time to enlist the aid of a third-party Windows USB program. Let’s kick things off with WinToUSB. This program comes in three flavors: Free, Professional, and Enterprise.

Start with the free version to see if you like it, but be aware that the freebie poses certain limitations. Most notably, you can create an installation of Windows 10 Home but not Professional or Enterprise.

If you need either of these editions, the Professional version of WinToUSB costs $29.95, while the Enterprise option will run you $199.95. Download and install the WinToUSB software from the dedicated website.

Next, connect a blank USB flash drive to your computer. Launch WinToUSB from its Start menu shortcut. At the introductory screen, click the button to the right of the Image File field and choose the ISO file you created for Windows 10.

Select the version of Windows 10 you wish to clone onto the USB stick. If you’re using the free version, your only choice is one of the Windows 10 Home versions, so select that one and hit Next.

At the next screen, you’ll need to determine your destination disk. Open the drop-down menu and choose your USB drive. A message pops up asking you to select a partition scheme. Click the MBR for BIOS option and hit Yes.

At the next screen, click the option for Legacy to choose the Installation mode. Click Next and your Windows 10 USB drive will now be created.

When the installation process reaches 100 percent, indicating that it’s finished, close the WinToUSB program and remove the USB drive.

Running Rufus

Now let’s check out Rufus. Download and install the Rufus program from its website, then launch the software. At the Drive Properties window, select your USB drive in the Device field, if it’s not already selected. Click the Select button next to the Boot selection field and select your Windows 10 ISO file.

Click the Image option field and change it to Windows to Go. You can leave the other options at their default values. If you wish, change the Volume label to something like Windows 10. Then click the Start button.

At the next screen, choose the version of Windows that you want to run on the USB drive, then click OK. A warning message flashes that all data on your USB drive will be destroyed. Click OK to continue.

Rufus will now copy the necessary files to the USB drive. After the USB drive has been set up, close the Rufus window.

Launch Windows 10 With USB

When you want to launch Windows 10 on a different computer, insert your USB drive into that PC. Press the appropriate key to launch your Boot menu and choose the option to boot up off the USB drive. The easiest way is to hold the Shift key and restart the computer.

The first time you run Windows 10 off the USB drive, you’ll need to go through the familiar Windows setup process. You’ll also need to activate Windows 10.

You can then install apps onto the USB drive and access any files or documents stored online, so the experience comes close to working on one of your own Windows 10 PCs.