How to create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows?

Computer systems and programs were installed for many years using CD/DVD discs or (at least on Windows) files with the .exe extension – that is, as standard applications. Meanwhile, due to the growing popularity of digital versions of applications and the almost dying disc market, the system often goes to the hard drive directly from a USB drive. To install Windows on a hard drive using a USB pendrive, just perform a few steps to enjoy the new OS. How to create a bootable pendrive? You will learn this from this guide.

Bootable pendrive from iso – what is it?

Before we move on to the instructions on how to make a bootable pendrive, let’s start with a basic reminder. The name of the ISO file format comes from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), more specifically ISO 9660 – one of its standards defining file recording norms on a CD.

An ISO file is a complete recording of data contained on a disc. Thanks to this, we can place an ISO file on a pendrive to create, for example, a Windows 10 bootable pendrive, thus installing the operating system without needing to use a CD/DVD, using only the file and a USB data carrier. This is especially important when the user purchases a digital system version instead of a physical one, or when a computer does not have a mounted CD/DVD drive – nowadays, due to a massive drop in popularity of discs as media, many laptops and even desktop computers no longer have the common "trays" mounted.

ISO files, aside from operating system installations, have been popular allies for games or computer programs downloaded illegally or semi-legally from the internet for many years – files with pirated applications could be mounted in virtual drives using programs like Daemon Tools or UltraISO, enabling playback. This is, of course, only one option – in the case of purchasing a legal digital version like Windows 10 or Windows 11, installation via a bootable pendrive is fully permitted in every respect.

A legal key for the Windows 10 operating system (as well as for other editions of Microsoft Windows) can be purchased at a low price in the Key-Soft.pl store – just visit the Windows 10 product page. Windows 10.

How to make a bootable pendrive – step-by-step instructions

To create a Windows 10 bootable pendrive from iso, you only need 3 things – an image file with the operating system installer, a pendrive with enough space (at least 8 gigabytes), and a program that will write the ISO file to the pendrive with the ability to boot the installer.

Warning: when creating a bootable pendrive, data previously stored on the flash memory will be deleted.

You can download the installation file from the official Microsoft site – for Windows 10 it will be https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

With this software, you can both update your system to the correct version and create a bootable pendrive.

Go to the appropriate section, then click the "Download tool" button.

After downloading and running the installation file, the license content will appear. Read it and accept if you want to continue the whole process. Then, you will be able to choose two options – upgrade the computer to the selected Microsoft Windows version or create a bootable pendrive. Choose "Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another computer.

A new selection menu will appear where you can choose the language, Windows version, and match your computer architecture – in the vast majority of cases it will be the 64-bit version (x64).

After clicking "next," a menu with two options will open – choose "USB flash drive" to make a bootable pendrive or an ISO file, which you can save for later and it will remain on your disk for now. In our case, it is better to choose the USB flash drive option and prepare a suitably large pendrive in the meantime (the installer will suggest it should be at least 8 GB).