Bootable USB tools are essential for installing or repairing a Windows operating system when your computer’s main drive is malfunctioning or you don’t have an OS installed. These tools allow you to create a bootable USB drive from an ISO file, which is a disc image containing the operating system installation files. With a bootable USB drive, you can boot your computer from the USB drive and proceed with the installation or repair process. There are several bootable USB creation tools available for Windows, each with its own features and functionalities. Let’s explore 10 Best Bootable USB Tools For Windows. These are:
- Rufus
- UNetbootin
- Universal USB Installer
- RMPrepUSB
What is a Bootable USB Tool?
A bootable USB tool is a software application that allows you to create a bootable USB drive. A bootable USB drive is a USB flash drive that has been formatted and contains files that allow a computer to boot from it. This can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as installing an operating system, running a live CD, or diagnosing computer problems.
There are many different bootable USB tools available, both free and paid. Some of the most popular options include Rufus, Ventoy, and Universal USB Installer. These tools all have slightly different features, but they all basically work the same way.
To use a bootable USB tool, you will first need to download the software and install it on your computer. Then, you will need to insert a USB flash drive into your computer. The bootable USB tool will then format the USB drive and copy the necessary files to it.
Once the bootable USB drive is created, you can restart your computer and boot from it. To do this, you will typically need to press a key on your keyboard during the startup process, such as F12 or Esc. The exact key will vary depending on your computer manufacturer.
Bootable USB tools are a great way to create bootable USB drives for a variety of purposes. They are relatively easy to use, and there are many free options available.
10 Best Bootable USB Tools For Windows
1. Rufus
Rufus is the best bootable USB diagnostic tool for Windows 11/10 used to format and create bootable USB flash drives or Live USBs. It’s a reliable utility for creating bootable USB drives.
With Rufus, you can easily format USB flash drives, create bootable USB drives from ISO images (like Windows, Linux, or other operating systems).
Rufus Portable Software Download For Windows 10: Download Rufus
Key Features of Rufus
Here are some key features of Rufus:
- Rufus helps format and create bootable USB flash drives.
- Rufus is a standalone app.
- Rufus is simple and easy to use.
- Rufus is a free and portable bootable USB maker software
- Allows to format USB drives
- Create dos bootable USB sticks
- Bootable drive creation
- Create windows to go drives
- Create VHD/DD images of a drive
- Create persistent Linux partitions
- Check USB media for corrupted blocks
- Portable and secure boot compatible
- Wide Compatibility
- Customization Options
- Fast and Efficient
2. UNetbootin
UNetbootin is a free and open-source utility that allows you to create bootable Live USB drives for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions without burning a CD. This makes it easy to try out a new operating system, install one from a USB drive, or even boot into a recovery environment. UNetbootin is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Key Features of UNetbootin
- Easy-to-use interface
- Cross-platform (available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X)
- Non-destructive install (does not format the device) using Syslinux.
- Supports mainstream Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, CentOS, Gentoo, Linux Mint, Arch Linux, Mandriva, MEPIS, Slackware as well as FreeDOS, FreeBSD and NetBSD.
- UNetbootin can create a bootable Live USB drive
- Can load a variety of system utilities, such as Ophcrack, BackTrack.
- Other operating systems can be loaded via pre-downloaded ISO image or floppy/hard drive disk image files.
- Automatically detects all removable devices.
- Supports LiveUSB persistence (preserving files across reboots; this feature is for Ubuntu only)
- ISO image support
3. Universal USB Installer
Universal USB Installer, also known as UUI, is USB bootable pendrive software used to easily create a multisystem bootable USB from ISO files.
Universal USB Installer is a free and open-source tool that allows you to create bootable USB drives for various operating systems, including Linux distributions, antivirus utilities, system tools, and even Microsoft Windows installers. It’s a simple and user-friendly application that can be especially useful if you need to install an operating system on a computer that doesn’t have a DVD drive or if you want to carry a portable version of a Linux distribution with you.
Key Features of Universal USB Installer
- Can be used to make a Multiboot live USB bootable flash drive containing many different Linux distributions and tools.
- Optionally create a persistent file for saving changes made from the running environment back to the flash drive.
- Can be used to create a Windows Setup or Windows To Go USB.
- Provides additional information regarding each distribution, including category, website URL, and download link for quick reference.
- Use formatting methods that allow the USB flash drive to remain accessible for other storage purposes.
- Unsupported or (unlisted) ISO files can also be tried against several unlisted ISO options
4. RMPrepUSB
RMPrepUSB is a free utility for Windows that lets you format and partition USB drives, making them bootable. This means you can use a USB drive to install an operating system, run diagnostic tools, or boot your computer from a different source. RMPrepUSB also includes features for recovering lost files, checking drive health, and more.
Key Features of RMPrepUSB
- Install/repair boot code
- Clear write-protect\read-only drive flags
- Sector editor
- SD cards can be up to 10% faster (when formatted as FAT32)
- Test for ‘Fake’ size drives
- Fix various USB boot issues
- Run a 32-bit MBR Emulator to boot from a USB drive (QEMU) with full write access
- Includes the command line utility RMPartUSB.exe
5. Ventoy
Ventoy is a free and open-source tool to create bootable USB drive for various ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files. With Ventoy, you can copy multiple ISO files to a USB drive and boot from any of them without needing to reformat the drive each time. This makes it a convenient tool for carrying around multiple bootable ISOs, such as Linux distributions, antivirus rescue tools, or Windows installation media.
Key Features of Ventoy
- 100% open source
- Very simple to use (Get started)
- Fast (limited only by the speed of copying iso file)
- Can be installed in USB/Local Disk/SSD/NVMe/SD Card
- Directly boot from ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files, no extraction needed
- Support to browse and boot ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files in local disk Notes
- No need to be continuous in disk for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files
- Both MBR and GPT partition styles are supported
- x86 Legacy BIOS, IA32 UEFI, x86_64 UEFI, ARM64 UEFI, MIPS64EL UEFI supported
- IA32/x86_64 UEFI Secure Boot supported Notes
- Linux Persistence supported Notes
- Windows auto installation supported Notes
- Linux auto installation supported Notes
- Variables Expansion supported for Windows/Linux auto installation script Notes
- FAT32/exFAT/NTFS/UDF/XFS/Ext2(3)(4) supported for main partition
- ISO files larger than 4GB supported
- Menu alias, Menu tip message supported
- Password protect supported
- Native boot menu style for Legacy & UEFI
- Most type of OS supported, 1200+ iso files tested
- Linux vDisk(vhd/vdi/raw…) boot solution Notes
- Not only boot but also complete installation process
- Menu dynamically switchable between ListView and TreeView mode Notes
- “Ventoy Compatible” concept
- Plugin Framework and GUI plugin configurator
- Injection files to runtime enviroment
- Boot configuration file dynamically replacement
- Highly customizable theme and menu style
- USB drive write-protected support
- USB normal use unaffected
- Data nondestructive during version upgrade
- No need to update Ventoy when a new distro is released
6. Windows 10 installation media tool
The Windows 10 Media Creation Tool is a free utility from Microsoft that allows you to create a bootable USB flash drive or DVD that can be used to install or reinstall Windows 10. This tool is especially useful if you need to install Windows 10 on a computer that doesn’t have an optical drive, or if you want to create a backup of the installation media.
7. Bootable USB Creator
A bootable USB creator is a software tool that allows you to create a bootable USB drive. A bootable USB drive is a USB flash drive that has been formatted and prepared to boot a computer system. This can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as installing a new operating system, repairing an existing operating system, or running diagnostic tools.
8. WinToUSB
WinToUSB is a free tool that lets you create a bootable USB drive containing a Windows installation. This can be useful for installing Windows on a computer that doesn’t have a DVD drive, or for carrying a portable Windows installation with you.
9. WinSetupFromUSB
WinSetupFromUSB is a free and popular tool that allows you to create a bootable USB drive containing various operating systems, antivirus utilities, and other tools. This can be useful for installing operating systems, running diagnostics, or recovering data from a computer.
10. Multibootusb
MultiBootUSB is a free and open-source application that allows you to create a bootable USB drive containing multiple live Linux distributions. It’s a great tool for trying out different Linux distros without having to burn separate CDs or DVDs for each one.
11. FlashBoot
FlashBoot is a software tool that allows you to create bootable USB drives. This means you can create a USB drive that can be used to boot up a computer, similar to how a traditional operating system boots from a hard drive. FlashBoot can be used for a variety of purposes, such as installing a new operating system, running a portable operating system, or recovering data from a damaged hard drive.
Related Short Questions and Answers
Which is the best bootable USB creator?
Ans: Rufus
What is the best tool to create a bootable USB drive for Windows 10?
Ans: Rufus
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