How to use Rufus to create bootable USB on Windows 10
What is Rufus?
Rufus stands for The Reliable USB Formatting Utility.
Rufus is a Windows program that can create bootable USB drives for different operating systems like Windows and Linux. It works on Windows 7 or later, 32 bit or 64 bit. The old Version 2.18 works on Windows XP and Windows Vista, you can download old versions from downloads page: rufus.ie/downloads.
You can use Portable Version, it needs no installation and it saves its settings into the program directory. Download Rufus: rufus.ie.
MD5(rufus-3.8p.exe) = a0b4e4566aa96b6658b32075492b43b7 or newer version. The letter "p" in the file name means it will work as portable application, the program determines its mode by using this letter. Just rename the file rufus-3.8p.exe into rufus-3.8.exe and the program will work as regular, not portable application.
Windows 10 ISO
You can use Rufus to download Windows 10 ISO file - read how to do that in Work with the program section.
Or you can download Windows 10 ISO from official Microsoft site. Go to
microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewiso
or
microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewadvanced
or
microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
to download Windows 10 ISO.
The size of Windows 10 ISO exceeds 4 GB, therefore you'll need 8 GB or more USB Drive.
Partition Scheme
Find out your partition scheme. Open Command Prompt as Administrator. Right Click on the Start button or press WIN+X keys, then select Command Prompt (Admin). Type there
diskpart.exe
The prompt will change into DISKPART>
Now type there this command:
list disk
You'll see the table - if there is an asterisk (*) in gpt column, it is GPT, otherwise it is MBR.
then type
exit
to quit the Diskpart. The screen of diskpart.exe is shown below:
C:\WINDOWS\system32>diskpart.exe Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.19041.1 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. On computer: WWW DISKPART> list disk Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt -------- ------------- ------- ------- --- --- Disk 0 Online 232 GB 1024 KB * Disk 1 No Media 0 B 0 B Disk 2 No Media 0 B 0 B Disk 3 No Media 0 B 0 B DISKPART> exit Leaving DiskPart... C:\WINDOWS\system32>
Here is the Disk 0 is a hard drive with GPT.
Another way to find out your system is to use System Information program. Type in the Run box (WIN+R) msinfo32.exe. See in the System Summary section BIOS Mode parameter. If it is "legacy", the system uses MBR, otherwise if it is UEFI, the system supports GPT.
Also you can check out the Motherboard Manual of your computer.
GPT (GUID Partition Table) is used on modern computers, MBR (Master Boot Record) is used on old systems. GPT is the new standard and is replacing MBR. If you choose a wrong scheme, the system won't boot.
An attempt of booting from GPT formatted USB Drive on an MBR system may look like this:
**************************************** *** ERROR: LEGACY BOOT OF UEFI MEDIA *** **************************************** This Drive can only boot in UEFI mode. It can not boot in BIOS/Legacy mode. If you want to boot this device in BIOS/Legacy Mode, you should recreate it with Rufus with the following settings: * Partition scheme -> MBR * Target system -> BIOS...
You should know for sure which system you have - MBR/BIOS or GPT/UEFI.
Work with the program
Start the file rufus-3.8p.exe, it requires administrative privileges (Run as Administrator). On the first run Rufus will ask you:
"Do you want to allow Rufus to check for application updates online?"
Say "Yes" or "No".
If you want to see that dialog on the next program start, exit the Rufus, delete the file rufus.ini in the program folder and restart the program.
In case "YES" you could use Rufus to download Windows 10. You'll need Internet access and Rufus should not be blocked by a firewall.
See a small arrow at the right side of "SELECT" button. Click on it, you'll see a menu, click on "DOWNLOAD" field. The button "SELECT" turns into "DOWNLOAD", click on it and download Windows 10 ISO, there are different builds available, choose the latest one. Then choose the Edition - Windows 10 Home/Pro or Education, choose the language and at the end choose the architecture x86 or x64. You can download ISO directly or use a browser (check the "Download using a browser" checkbox ).
1. Select a device
If a USB drive is already inserted in a USB port, it will be automatically selected by the program (see the screenshot below). If not, insert the USB drive and select it in the program (1).
If your USB drive is not detected, try to check the "List USB Hard Drives option" in the "Advanced Drive Properties".
2. Select an ISO file
Press "SELECT" button (2) and select an ISO file with Windows 10. Note a circular (✓) button between "Boot Section" and "SELECT" buttons, it calculates MD5, SHA1 and SHA256 checksums of ISO files.
3. Image Option
Use "Standard Windows installation" (3)
4. Partition Scheme
Select a "Partition scheme" (4) and a "Target system" as it was mentioned earlier.
Fields "Target system" and "File System" (5) depends on Partition scheme (GPT or MBR), they will be selected automatically, or use BIOS and NTFS for MBR, UEFI and FAT32 for GPT.
5. File System
Select "File System" and "Cluster Size". Use "NTFS" system and default cluster size for MBR.
6. Create bootable USB
Warning! All the data on the Flash drive will be erased, be aware of this.
If there are important data on the USB Drive, copy it somewhere else.
Press the button "START" (6). There will be a warning message:
WARNING! ALL THE DATA ON THE DEVICE [YOUR DEVICE] WILL BE DESTROYED.
To continue with this operation, click OK. To quit, click CANCEL.
Click OK, the writing will start. After a while it will be completed. Now you can eject the USB Drive and use it for Windows 10 installation.
Watch the video How to use Rufus to create bootable USB on Windows 10 