How do I create a bootable USB?

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   • About This Article
   • Is this article up to date?
   • How do I create a bootable Windows 10 USB drive?
   • How can I make a bootable USB drive for free?
   • How do I make a bootable USB for Mac disk utility?
   • How do I make an ISO file bootable on a USB?

   1

   Download or create an image file. If you have an image file (usually ending in .ISO or IMG) that you want to turn into a bootable USB drive, great! If not, check out How to Create an ISO File to learn how to create one from an existing CD/DVD or from existing files and folders.

   • For example, if you want to make a bootable Ubuntu drive, you can download the ISO of Ubuntu at https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop.

2. 2

   Download Rufus from https://rufus.ie. Rufus is a free, lightweight tool that comes widely recommended by developers and product specialists across the internet.[1] To download it, scroll down the page and click the first link under the "Download" header—it'll be the latest version of the tool (versions 3.11 as of July 2020).[2]

   • If the download doesn't start automatically, click Save to start it.

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3. 3

   Double-click the downloaded file to run Rufus. It's the file called rufus-3.11.exe (the version number may vary) in your default Download folder.

   • You may have to click Yes when prompted to open the file.

4. 4

   Insert your USB flash drive. Make sure to use a drive that's large enough to accommodate the size of your image file. Also, if you already have files on the drive, back them up before you continue—this process will erase everything on it!

5. 5

   Select your USB drive from the "Device" menu. It's at the top of the Rufus window.

6. 6

   Select Disk or ISO image from the "Boot selection" menu.

7. 7

   Select your image file. To do this, click the Select button to the right of the checkmark, navigate to and select the ISO or IMG file, and then click Open.

   • This updates the "Volume label" field to match what's in the ISO. If you want to give the drive another name, you can replace that text with anything you wish.
   • The remaining settings should be fine in their default state, but feel free to change any parameters if you need to.

8. 8

   Click Start to create the drive. Rufus will now copy the image file to the drive, which will make the drive bootable upon completion. When the drive is ready, click Close at the bottom-right to exit Rufus.

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1. 1

   Download or create an image file. To create a bootable USB flash drive, you'll need a bootable image. Image files usually end with .ISO, .IMG, or .DMG. If you already have an image file you want to turn into a bootable USB drive, you're good to go! Otherwise, see this wikiHow to learn how to create an image from an existing CD/DVD or files on your Mac.

   • For example, if you want to create a bootable Ubuntu install drive, download the Ubuntu ISO from https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop.

2. 2

   Download Etcher from https://www.balena.io/etcher. Etcher is a free, widely-recommended tool that allows you to create bootable USB flash drives from image files on your Mac.[3] To download the installer, click the Etcher for macOS option below the animation.

3. 3

   Insert a USB flash drive. Your USB flash drive should plug into one of the rectangular or oval USB or USB-C ports on your computer's housing. Traditional flash drives only fit one way, so don't force the drive if it doesn't fit!

   • This process will delete everything on your flash drive. Back up your files so you don't lose anything.
   • The flash drive should be at least 16 GB to accommodate most operating system files.

4. 4

   Open Etcher on your Mac. Once the installer is downloaded, double-click the file (it'll be called balenaEtcher-1.5.101.dmg, but possibly with a different version number). You can now either double-click the Etcher icon to run the application, or drag it to the Applications folder to install it. Once installed, you can then click Etcher in the Applications folder to run the app.

5. 5

   Select the image file. This is the ISO, IMG, or DMG file you're using to create the bootable USB drive. If you just downloaded the image file, it'll probably be in your Downloads folder.

6. 6

   Select your flash drive. If the drive is already selected and it's not the right one, click Change to select the correct one now.

7. 7

   Click Flash to create the bootable USB drive. Etcher will now copy the image file to your flash drive, which makes it bootable. When the process is complete, you'll see a success message.

8. 8

   Click Eject if you see a disk error. If you see an error that says "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer," don't worry—just click Eject instead of "Initialize," and then unplug the drive. You can then use the drive to boot when you wish.

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1. 1

   Insert a USB drive that's 16 GB or larger. If you ever experience problems booting into Windows 10, having a bootable Windows recovery drive gives you access to troubleshooting tools and, if worse comes to worse, allows you to reinstall Windows. You won't be able to use your recovery drive for other things, such as file storage, once you make it a bootable recovery drive.

   • Creating a recovery drive will delete any files that were on the drive already. If there's data you don't want to lose, back it up now.
   • If you already can't boot up your Windows 10 PC but have access to another, see How to Install Windows from a USB Flash Drive to learn how to download and use the Windows Installation Tool to create a recovery drive.

2. 2

   Open the Start menu and type create a recovery drive. A list of search results will appear.[4]

   • If you don't see the search bar after clicking the Start menu, click the circle or magnifying glass to its right.

3. 3

   Click Create a recovery drive in the search results. You may have to click Yes to start the application.

4. 4

   Check the box beside "Back up system files to the recovery drive" and click Next. This option should be selected by default, but it's a good idea to make sure. Windows will then scan for your USB drive.

5. 5

   Select your USB drive and click Next. A warning message will appear, letting you know that everything will be erased if you continue.

6. 6

   Review the warning message and click Create. This reformats the USB drive and installs the Windows recovery media.

7. 7

   Click Finish to close the window. Your bootable Windows 10 recovery drive is now ready for use.

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1. 1

   Download macOS. If you need to be able to install macOS from a USB drive, you can use this method to create the drive. In general, there's no need for the average user to do this—everything you need to upgrade or reinstall macOS is built into the computer already. But if you need to install macOS on multiple computers, a USB drive will be helpful. MacOS Catalina, Mojave, and High Sierra can all be downloaded from the Mac App Store.[5]

   • For example, if you want to create a bootable Catalina disk, click this link to go to the Catalina page on the Mac App Store, click GET, and download the installers. Just don't click Install—you just need the files.
   • If you already have the version you're trying to download, you'll see a warning message—just click Continue to save the installer to your Applications folder.[6]
   • If the installer runs automatically, close the window.

2. 2

   Insert a USB flash drive. Your flash drive should plug into one of the rectangular or oval USB or USB-C ports on your Mac's housing. Traditional flash drives only fit one way, so don't force the drive if it doesn't fit. The drive should be at least 12 GB and formatted as Mac OS Extended.

   • All of the data on your drive will be deleted during this process. If there's anything you want to keep, back up your files now.

3. 3

   Open a Terminal window. You'll find the Terminal app in the Applications folder under Utilities.

4. 4

   Enter the command for your version of macOS. Type or paste the appropriate command for your operating system, and then press the Return key to run it:

   • Catalina: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Catalina.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume
   • Mojave: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume
   • High Sierra: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

5. 5

   Enter your administrator password and press ⏎ Return. This runs the command and prompts you to confirm.

6. 6

   Press the y key to confirm and then press ⏎ Return. This creates an image of the installation files on the USB drive. When the process is complete, you'll see the word "Done" and return to the prompt. This means you can eject the drive and use it to boot this or another Mac.

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Add New Question

• Question

  Can this answer be expanded to include Windows 10?

  The method listed first (method 1) also works for Windows 10, just follow along as if it were Windows 8.

• Question

  Will this remove the operating system that the PC is running?

  Algertzharri

  Community Answer

  You are making your USB bootable, like a CD. So there will be no change in the running PC.

• Question

  If it is 64 bit and I shouldn't use the formatting method FAT32, should I skip it, or format to NTFS?

  FAT32 is a drive organization scheme, it doesn't matter whether your processor is 16, 32, 64, or 128 bits. You need to use FAT32 if you're going to make a DOS-bootable flash drive, but you'll be limited to a flash drive no larger than 32 GB; you cannot format a larger partition than 32 GB with FAT32. If you need that much space then you must use NTFS, and you won't be able to use plain old DOS to access it.

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About This Article

Article SummaryX

1. Download or create an ISO.
2. Download Rufus and run it.
3. Insert your USB flash drive.
4. Select the drive from the "Device" menu in Rufus.
5. Select Disk or ISO image from the "Boot selection" menu.
6. Select the image file.
7. Click Start.

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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 4,759,268 times.

Is this article up to date?

How do I create a bootable Windows 10 USB drive?

How can I make a bootable USB drive for free?

How do I make a bootable USB for Mac disk utility?

How do I make an ISO file bootable on a USB?