Creating and using a live installation image.You can even use WinToFlash to create a MSDOS bootable USB drive. It will also transfer a Windows pre-install environments (WinPE), which are handy for troubleshooting and repairs, to a USB flash drive. WinToFlash is a free, portable tool that allows you to create a bootable USB flash drive from a Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Server 2003, or Server 2008 installation CD or DVD.

Update: we’ve been told by our readers that this application has a lot of adware so we’re removing the link. Then, you can use one of the other tools mentioned in this article to setup a bootable USB flash drive or CD/DVD for use in setting up a Windows system.

Simply tell the tool where the Windows setup files are and select a target folder for the new ISO file that will get created. WBI Creator is a free program that allows you to create a bootable ISO image from Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 setup files. Update: this tool doesn’t seem to exist anymore. Note: this tool doesn’t appear to be developed anymore. It’s a standalone tool that doesn’t require installation and it operates very fast. It supports an ISO file, a DVD, or a folder as the boot disk source. WiNToBootic is another free tool that allows you to create a bootable USB flash drive for installing Windows 7 or Windows 8. Rufus is very easy to use and the program looks like the default format window shown in Windows when you format a hard disk partition, USB drive, or other external drive. You can create bootable USB drives for the listed versions of Windows, as well as almost all popular Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Fedora, and OpenSUSE. It’s our current preferred way to create Linux Live CDs and USB drives. Rufus runs in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. It also allows you to check the USB device for bad blocks, using up to four passes.

Rufus is a small, portable program that allows you to create bootable USB drives for Windows and Linux. RELATED: How to Create a Bootable Linux USB Flash Drive, the Easy Way Please see the documentation for your computer for information about how to access BIOS and change the boot order of drives. You can change the boot order of the drives in your computer’s BIOS so the Windows installation on your USB drive runs automatically when you turn on your computer. The Windows USB/DVD Download Tool is an official, freeware tool from Microsoft that allows you to install Windows 7 and Windows 8 and Windows 10 without having to first run an existing operating system on your computer. Editor’s Note: if you want to create a bootable Windows install USB, this is the tool you should choose.

Create bootable usb