Create Windows Installation Media (Bootable USB)

Here in this blog post, provides the step-by-step instructions to create a bootable USB drive for windows installation (to install any Windows OS software) without using Windows server media creation tool (Windows Media Creation Tool).

After the end of this blog, you will be able to.

• Create Bootable USB Windows 11.
• Create Windows 10 bootable USB.
• Create Bootable USB Windows 7.
• Windows Server Bootable USB.
  • Create Windows Server 2022 Bootable USB.
  • Create Windows Server 2019 Bootable USB.
  • Create Windows Server 2016 Bootable USB.

Steps to Create Windows Installation Media

The following steps help to create a windows bootable USB. The steps are guides to create windows 10 bootable USB. It can also be used to create the above windows installation media. Insert a USB flash drive into a running computer.

1. Insert a USB flash drive into a running computer.
2. Open a Command Prompt window as an administrator, you can open using following option.
• Just type “cmd” into the search bar and click on “Command Prompt”
• To access a command prompt using the Start menu:
  • Open the Start menu.
  • Select All Programs.
  • Select Accessories.
  • Select Command Prompt
• To access a command prompt using the Run command box:
  • Open the Start menu or press the Windows key + R
  • Type cmd or cmd.exe in the Run command box.
  • Press Enter.
3. Type diskpart like below image.

   

   Windows Installation Media (Bootable USB)

4. In the new command line window that opens, to determine the USB flash drive number or drive letter, at the command prompt, type list disk, and then click ENTER. The list disk command displays all the disks on the computer like below image. Note the drive number or drive letter of the USB flash drive. Here the bootable disk number is disk 1

    

   

   USB Boot Disk

   
   
5. At the command prompt, type select disk  <X>, where X is the drive number or drive letter of the USB flash drive, and then click ENTER
6. Type clean, and the click ENTER. This command deletes all data from the USB flash drive.
7. To create a new primary partition on the USB flash drive, type create partition primary, and then click ENTER
8. To select the partition that you just created, type select partition 1, and then click ENTER.
9. To format the partition, type format fs=ntfs quick, and then click ENTER.
10. Type active, and then click ENTER.
11. Type exit, and then click ENTER.
12. Copy the Windows OS setup file or your custom image, save it to the root of the USB flash drive.
13. I have copied the Windows 10 setup file to the root of the USB flash drive.

I did my dell laptop boot from USB. I hope after completing this, you able to create Windows Installation Media or bootable USB drive.

Thanks