Always having one on hand bootable USB stick can be very useful on various occasions, for example, when you want to perform a clean installation of the Microsoft operating system, when you decide to restore the system or more simply to Open advanced boot options of Windows.
You can create bootable USB media using the tools provided by Microsoft or by downloading the ISO file of the operating system and creating the bootable media using a third-party program.
With the tool from Microsoft
The procedure to follow varies slightly depending on the version of Windows you intend to use to make the USB stick bootable.
Windows 10
- Login to Microsoft Download Page;
- Click the button “Download tool now”;
- Connect a USB stick of at least 8 GB to the PC (note that the stick will be formatted, therefore all the files inside it will be permanently deleted);
- Double click on the .exe file you just downloaded;
- Click on “Yes”;
- Click the button “Accept”present in the lower right;
- Select option “Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD or ISO file) for another PC”;
- Uncheck the item “Use the recommended options for this PC”then use the drop-down menus to choose the language, edition and architecture of the operating system and then click on the button “After you”;
- Select option “USB Flash Drive” and click on “After you”;
- Select the USB stick you want to use and click the button “After you”;
- Please wait for the tool to download Windows 10 and copy it to the USB stick.
Windows 11
- Login to Your Account on site;
- Click the button “Download now” present under the heading “Creating Windows 11 installation media”;
- Connect a USB stick of at least 8 GB to the PC (note that the stick will be formatted therefore all the files inside it will be permanently deleted);
- Locate the .exe file you just downloaded, then double-click it to launch the tool;
- When prompted, click on “Yes”;
- Click the button “Accept” present in the lower right;
- Remove the check mark from the entry “Use recommended options” then use the drop-down menus to select your language and edition of Windows 11 and then click the button “After you”;
- Select option “USB Flash Drive” and click on “After you”;
- Select the USB stick you want to use, then click “After you”;
- Wait for the tool to complete the download of the operating system and make the USB stick bootable.
With third-party software
If you wish to create a bootable USB stick using third-party software, I suggest you try Rufus. Free software allows you to create bootable USB media with extreme simplicity. To download Rufus, log in to this site, and from the section “Downloads,” download the latest version available.
After downloading Rufus, you will need to download the Windows ISO file. Depending on the version of the operating system, the procedure for downloading the ISO file changes.
For Download Windows 10 ISO file:
- Login ;
- Click the button “Download tool now”;
- Double-click the file you just downloaded;
- Click on “Yes”;
- Click the button “Accept”;
- Select option “Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD or ISO file) for another PC”;
- Uncheck the item “Use the recommended options for this PC” then use the drop-down menus to choose the language, edition, and architecture of the operating system and then click on the button “After you”;
- Select option “ISO Files” and click on the button “After you”;
- Choose the location where you want to save the ISO file, then click the button “Save”;
- Wait for the tool to finish downloading the ISO file.
To download the Windows 11 ISO file:
- Login to
- Click on the dropdown menu “Select download” present under the heading “Windows 11 Disc Image (ISO) Download” then select the item “Windows 11”;
- Click on the button “Download”;
- Select your language and then click the button “He confirms”;
- Click on the button “64-bit Downloads” and wait for the download to complete.
After downloading the ISO file of the Windows edition of your interest for create a bootable USB stick using Rufus the procedure to be followed is as follows:
- Start Rufus;
- Connect a USB stick of at least 8 GB to the PC;
- Locate the ISO file you downloaded and drag it into the Rufus window;
- Through the drop-down menu under the item “Image Options,”select the item “Standard Windows Setup” if you are using the Windows 10 ISO, while if you intend to use the Windows 11 ISO, select the item “Extended Windows 11 installation (no TPM / no Secure Boot)”;
- From the menu “Partition Scheme” select the item “GPT”;
- Click on the button “Start,” and if required, click on “OK”.
If you intend to use the bootable USB stick on rather old PCs, I suggest you select from the menu “Partition Scheme” the voice “MBR”.
Conclusions
Now, you know how to create a bootable USB stick with Windows. To know the procedures that allow you to install Windows, I suggest you read the articles “How to install Windows 10” And “How to install Windows 11“.
If, on the other hand, you want detailed information on installing the latest Microsoft operating system via USB, read the article “How to install Windows 11 from USB stick“.
