- Creating a bootable USB drive for Windows and Linux involves wiping the drive and adding an OS image file onto it.
- You can do this in Windows via Disk Management.
- While Linux has more freedom, USB Imager is a great tool to format a bootable USB drive.
If you’re looking to install Windows or Linux from scratch, then you’re going to need an external device to do so. A USB can be the perfect tool, with the right speed and storage for both operating systems. In this article, we’ll be showing you how to make a bootable USB drive.
Backup Before All Else
Whether Linux or Windows, it’s important to know that creating a bootable drive means losing all information currently on that drive, be it SSD or USB. Make sure you’ve backed up the drive you’re going to format before converting it to a bootable one.
Make a Bootable USB Drive – How to Make Windows USB Boot Drive
Let’s start with Windows. If you’re wondering how to make Windows USB Boot Drive, then worry not. The process is quite simple, but does involve a few steps:
Format the USB
You first need to turn your USB drive into a bootable device. This requires formatting. The FAT32 file system works well for cross-platform tasks, but only allows 4GB of storage per file. NTFS, on the other hand, has no such limitation and is the way to go.
Formatting can be done through a third-party app (Rufus is a very good open-source example), but Windows also has Disk Management to help make the task easier. It’s perfectly serviceable. Here’s how to make a bootable USB drive:
Step 1. Connect the USB. Type “Disk Management” into the search bar and choose the option that pops up.
Step 2. Right-click the drive and choose “Format” from the context menu.
Step 3. Ensure that “File System” is set to “NTFS” and press “OK.”
Step 4. Click “OK” on the warning window and allow your drive to be reformatted.
Downloading the Windows Image File for Installation
Your newly formatted bootable USB needs something to boot. Windows makes its “.iso” files easy to download, and you can do so from their site, for both Windows 10 and 11 .
You’ll need to extract and download the “.iso” image file you want and copy it to your USB.
Make a Bootable USB Drive – How to Make a Linux Bootable Drive
Linux has a lot more freedom when doing things, including creating bootable drives. An effective way to get things done is by using USB Imager. Here’s what to do:
Use USB Imager
USB Imager is a simple GUI tool that’ll convert any USB into a bootable drive for Linux (and Windows). It can be easily downloaded for whatever version of Linux or Windows you have by simply visiting its site . It’s open source and free to use, too. Here’s what to do:
Step 1. Choose your Linux version from the options and download the file.
Step 2. Open a Terminal to install the “.deb” file that’s been downloaded. In the Terminal, type: “cd downloads/” to enter the Downloads folder. If saving to another folder, use that name instead.
Step 3. Next, type “sudo apt install ./usbimager_1.0.10-amd64.deb” (or whatever the version name of your download is) and press “Enter” to install.
Step 4. USB Imager should be installed in your Apps folder. Open it.
Step 5. You can then add the image file for whatever Linux OS you want to install. You can download them from here or anywhere online.
Step 6. Add the “.iso” image to the Imager, then confirm your USB. Click the “Write” button to finalize the process.
