Windows operating system is pre-installed in most computers and laptops by manufacturers window bootable. However, if you want to re-install Windows on your computer or laptop after removing it for some reason, then you can do that using a bootable USB drive. In this article, we will tell you about ways to create a bootable USB drive so that you can easily and quickly re-install Windows operating system on any computer or laptop without having to connect it to the original PC, and also without requiring a disc drive. Once you create a bootable USB drive of Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP or later from an existing installation of Windows, then you can use another computer to install the same operating system.
How to create a bootable Windows USB drive?
Unlike a DVD or an ISO file, a USB flash drive does not require any software to be installed on your computer to create a bootable USB drive of Windows. All you need to do is to connect your USB drive to the computer with Windows installed, then right-click the drive and select the “Format as USB drive” option from the menu that appears. After that, you can format your USB stick as a bootable USB drive, or set the drive as the default one to boot your computer with the newly created bootable USB drive. To create a bootable Windows USB drive using any existing installation of Windows, create a folder named “USB” on the root of your USB drive, and then create an ISO file inside that folder named “bootable-windows.iso”. After that, connect your USB drive to the computer with Windows installed, and then right-click on the USB drive and select the “Format as Bootable Drive” option from the menu that appears. When the formatting process is complete, you can now boot your computer from the USB drive.
Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP USB media from the installation disc
If you have a Windows 10, 8, 7, or Vista installation disc lying around and you want to create a bootable USB drive from it, then you can use the Universal USB Installer (or “How-To Geek“) to create a bootable USB drive from any Windows installation disc. All you need to do is, insert your Windows installation disc into your computer, and then launch the download tool to create a bootable USB drive from it. In order to boot your computer using the newly created bootable USB drive, you need to change the default boot order of your computer so that your newly created bootable USB drive boots first. If you don’t know how to change the default boot order on your computer, then you can find out how to do that in the below article windows bootable.
Create Windows 10/8/7 Bootable USB with Official Installation Disc
If you have a digital copy of Windows 10, 8, 7, or Vista digital installation disc lying around, then you can create a bootable USB drive from it to re-install the same operating system on any computer or laptop. To create an ISO file from your Windows installation disc, follow the below steps. Now connect your digital copy of the Windows installation disc to the computer with an available USB port, and then right-click on the drive and select the “Format as USB drive” option from the menu that appears. After formatting the drive as a USB drive, right-click on the newly created drive and select the “Burn disc image” option from the menu that appears. Now, you must select the ISO file that you want to create a bootable USB drive from, and then click the Burn button to finish the process. Once the ISO file burning process is completed, you can now disconnect the USB drive from your computer, and now insert the USB drive into the computer/laptop with Windows installed.
Create Windows Vista/7 Bootable USB from ISO File
If you have a digital copy of Windows Vista or a later installation disc lying around, then you can use that ISO file to create a bootable USB drive of Windows. All you need to do is to launch the ISO image file with your virtual tool, and then select the drive letter of your computer/laptop and select the USB drive as the destination to save the image. When the image is saved, you can now create a bootable USB stick by formatting the drive as a USB drive.
Read More: How To Organize Your Files on Microsoft Windows: The Ultimate Guide
Create Windows XP Bootable USB Drive
If you have an existing Windows XP installation disc lying around, then you can create a bootable USB drive from it to re-install the same operating system. To create a bootable Windows XP USB stick, follow the below steps. Now, connect your Windows XP installation disc to your computer, and then right-click on the drive and select the “Format as USB drive” option from the menu that appears. Once the formatting is complete, you can now disconnect your computer’s USB port and insert the newly created USB drive into another computer or laptop to boot from it.
Final words
Above are the best ways to create a bootable USB drive in Windows, and even though each of these methods works well, we recommend using the official Windows USB/DVD tool to create a bootable Windows USB drive. This is because the official tool includes a wide range of useful features. Besides, the tool is completely free and safe to use. So, if you want to re-install any Windows operating system on any computer or laptop without connecting it to the original PC, then we recommend you try the tool right away.