Windows 8 Installer Usb
- For a Windows 7 installation USB, the MBR partition scheme for BIOS or UEFI is the best option. If we are installing Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 on a UEFI system with a GPT disk, we must select a 'GPT partition scheme for UEFI.' After that, we click on the disc icon and choose the ISO image.
- Create Bootable Windows 8 USB Flash Drive 1. Download Windows 8 USB Installer Maker and extract its contents onto your computer. Next, connect your USB drive properly and make sure it is recognized by your Windows. Right-click on the Windows 8 USB Installer Maker and choose ‘Run as.
I install the operating system using a Windows 8 installer USB drive. In today’s post I will explain the painless process I took to create the Windows 8.1 USB installer and how I installed it on my machine.
We need a Windows installation medium to reinstall Windows, install the OS on a new PC, or even hack the Windows administrator password. If we don't have one, it's quick, easy, and free to create a Windows installation disc or bootable Windows USB. We just need to download a Windows ISO, and then use Microsoft programs or free third-party applications.
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Table of Contents
- How to create a Windows installation bootable USB flash drive
- Rufus: The fastest way to create a Windows USB
Download the Windows version of your choice
This guide requires that we already have a Windows ISO. You can get one for the latest versions of Windows through the following guides:
How to create a Windows installation bootable USB flash drive
CDs and DVD aren't dead yet, but they are on their last legs. USB thumb drives have a smaller size, larger capacity, faster read and write speed, and they are impervious to scratches.
So, why bother to create a Windows installation disc, when we can have a Windows USB? Provided our motherboard's BIOS can boot from USB, of course.
Rufus: The fastest way to create a Windows USB
There are several programs we can use to create a Windows USB from an ISO.
For Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, we can create a bootable Windows USB straight from Microsoft's Media Creation Tool, no third-party apps required. It even skips over the step to download the ISO; it's a true all-in-one solution.
If, however, we have already downloaded Windows as an ISO, or wish to create a Windows 7 USB, Rufus is one of the best apps to create a Windows USB of any version. We will find the latest version at https://rufus.akeo.ie/downloads/.
The program's interface seems a bit cluttered and somewhat old-fashioned, but it's simple to use.
Rufus also claims to be much faster than its competitors, in comparisons with the same ISO and USB stick.
Windows 8 Usb Boot Download
Creating a bootable Windows USB with Rufus
To create a bootable Windows USB, we just need to make sure that we have selected our USB flash drive in the 'Device' field, and that it has a capacity of at least 4GB.
If we use a Windows 10 ISO that has both x86 and x64 versions together, we will need a thumb drive with a capacity of at least 8GB. Most other Windows versions will fit on a 4GB flash drive.
For a Windows 7 installation USB, the MBR partition scheme for BIOS or UEFI is the best option.
If we are installing Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 on a UEFI system with a GPT disk, we must select a 'GPT partition scheme for UEFI.'
After that, we click on the disc icon and choose the ISO image.
Rufus will automatically change the File system to NTFS, which is a prerequisite for creating a Windows USB. It will also change the volume label to ESD-ISO.
We don't need to do anything special to make the USB bootable, change any settings or check any options. If we use the Microsoft/Digital River ISOs, it will be bootable by default.
Finally, we click 'Start.' Rufus will warn us that it will destroy any data already on the flash drive.
If we have no data on the USB flash, or we don't care about the files, we proceed with 'OK.'
Depending on the speed of the thumb drive and the USB version, the Windows USB will take a few minutes to prepare.
With an old and slow USB 2.0 drive, the process took more than 23 minutes.
Using a fast USB 3.0 drive, with the same ISO on the same system, it finished in about two and a half minutes.
Remember to safely eject the USB
It's a good idea to remove the USB safely, to minimize any chance of corruption. Corrupted data is never fun, but it's especially bad on a Windows USB.
How to create a Windows installation disc
If we have an older-than-10-years motherboard on our PC, it is possible that it can't boot from a Windows USB. In that case, a Windows installation disc is the most compatible solution.
What's best is that Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 can create a Windows installation disc from an ISO without any third-party programs.
We just need to right-click on the ISO and select the 'Burn disc image' option.
Then, it's just a matter of selecting our DVD-R drive - in which we should have an empty DVD-R or DVD-RW - and click on 'Burn.'
Windows 8 Installer Usb Windows 10
We can optionally check the 'Verify disc after burning' checkbox, to make sure the Windows installation disc was created correctly and with no corruptions or any other problems.
As with the USB, we don't need to do anything special for the DVD to be bootable. With the official ISOs, it will be bootable by default.
How to boot our PC with the Windows installation disc or Windows USB
For detailed instructions on how to boot from the Windows installation medium, check out our guide:
Do you prefer other methods of creating Windows installation media?
There are many apps we can use to create a bootable Windows USB or burn the Windows ISO to DVD.
Windows 8 Installer Usb Windows 7
If you prefer some other applications, leave us a comment, to help the rest of our readers with their choice.
Windows 8.1 Usb Tool Download
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Windows 8 Usb Installer Mac
As of this writing you will not be able to source Windows 8 from Microsoft’s servers. It has been discontinued in favor of Windows 8.1 which, according to the community, is a better OS than Windows 8. This tutorial will show you how to create a bootable USB installer for Windows 8.1. Please make sure that the laptop you intend to install Windows 8.1 meets the minimum system requirements.
Minimum system requirements:
Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2
RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
If you want to avail touch sensitive operations, your laptop should have a touch sensitive screen.
1. You’re going to need a USB pen drive that is at least 4GB though having a drive larger than 4GB won’t hurt.
2. Plug it into an available USB port on your laptop.
3. Go to this site and on the bottom you should see a Download Tool Now button. This is the Windows Media Creation tool. Click on it and save it to a suitable location on your laptop’s drive.
4. Locate the app and then run in an elevated command (if you’re on a Windows based donor system). Double clicking it will produce the same result but you will need to click on Run if your UAC setting is elevated to notify.
5. On the new window, you will be asked the Language, Edition and Architecture for the Installation file. Choose accordingly and then click on Next.
6. You should then be greeted with two options, either to have the installation files downloaded to an USB flash drive or as an ISO onto your system. We’re choosing the first option.
7. Click on Next.
8. In the follow up window choose the pen drive from the list. If you only have one pen drive physically connected to the laptop then choosing it will turn the Next button solid (from grey if removable devices is merely highlighted).
9. Click on Next.
10. In the follow up dialog box, you will see a notification: The files on the USB drive in X: will be deleted. Where X: is the drive letter for your thumb drive.
11. Click on OK and the app will do the rest for you. You will need to be patient as the app downloads and creates the bootable USB installer.
12. Click on Finish to close Windows Media Creation Tool.
You can now proceed to installing off the USB after you’ve set the primary boot device to be your bootable USB installer.