How to Make A Windows Boot USB

Ever been greeted by the dreaded blue screen of death or a startup error that renders your PC useless? It's a frustrating experience that can halt your productivity. Fortunately, having a Windows bootable USB on hand is like having a digital first-aid kit. This guide will walk you through exactly how to make a Windows boot USB.

Why Make a Windows Boot USB?

Before diving into the "how," let's understand the "why." A bootable USB is a versatile tool that can save you from a variety of computer headaches. This section will introduce the key reasons why creating one is a smart move for any Windows user.

A bootable USB drive is more than just a storage device; it contains the necessary files to start a computer's operating system. Here’s why you should have one:

System Repair and Recovery: When Windows fails to start, a bootable repair USB allows you to access advanced startup options. From here, you can troubleshoot issues, restore your system from a backup, or use command-line tools to fix boot records.

Clean Windows Installation: If your system is bogged down by junk files, viruses, or persistent errors, a fresh installation is often the best solution. A bootable installation USB lets you reinstall Windows 10 or 11 from scratch, giving your PC a clean slate.

Operating System Portability: With a feature called Windows To Go, you can create a bootable USB that runs a full, portable version of your Windows system on any compatible computer. It’s like having your desktop on a flash drive.

Updating Your OS: It can also be used to upgrade an older version of Windows to a newer one, such as moving from Windows 10 to Windows 11.

How to Make a Boot USB for Windows 10 & 11: Three Proven Methods

Ready to create your own bootable drive? We'll explore three distinct methods, from a manual command-line approach to powerful, user-friendly software solutions. This section details how to make a boot USB for Windows 10 or 11, covering scenarios for both system repair and full reinstallation, whether your PC is currently working or not.

Solution 1: How to Make a Windows Boot USB Using CMD (Command Prompt)

This method uses Windows' built-in Command Prompt and is ideal for creating a standard installation USB for a clean install of Windows. It requires you to be careful with commands, as mistakes can affect your drives.

First of all, we will show you how to create a bootable USB drive for installing the OS.

Tips:
● The USB drive should be at least 4GB of storage (for a 32-bit operating system) or at least 8GB (for a 64-bit system).
● Back up files you have stored on the USB drive because the drive will be formatted during this process and all files on it will be erased.

Step 1. Open Command Prompt windows: click “Start” button, input “cmd” in the Search box and press “Enter”. Right click the “Command Prompt” icon and select “Run as administrator”.

Step 2. In the pop-out Command Prompt window, type “diskpart” and press “Enter” to launch Diskpart utility. Inside the Diskpart window, input the following commands in turn and press “Enter” after each one.

•  list disk

• select disk #

• clean

• create partition primary

• select partition 1

• format fs=ntfs quick (if you plan to create UEFI bootable USB using Diskpart, type “format fs=fat32 quick” instead to format it into FAT32 file system)

• active

• exit 

Don’t close the Command Prompt. You can minimize it for a little bit since the process is not finished yet. Now, put the Windows DVD into your computer’s DVD drive. Open Windows File Explorer to check out the drive letter of the Windows DVD drive and the USB drive.

Then, go back to the CMD window and type in “D: CD BOOT” (replace D: with your DVD drive letter) and press Enter. Type “CD BOOT” again and press Enter. Lastly, type “BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 H: “ (replace your USB flash drive letter for H:) and press Enter.

At last, copy all the files and folders of the Windows DVD to your USB flash drive in File Explorer. Now, you can plug the bootable USB flash drive into the target computer to start installing OS.

Solution 2: Create a Bootable USB Drive for Windows Repair

When your primary goal is repair, not reinstallation, creating a dedicated recovery drive is a more efficient approach. For this, we recommend a professional disk management tool: AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. It is a comprehensive and reliable Windows computer management software designed to simplify complex disk and partition operations. It offers a much safer and more intuitive alternative to manual methods like CMD.

Its "Make Bootable Media" wizard guides you through creating a recovery USB that contains a suite of repair tools. This is the perfect solution for when your PC won't boot and you need to get it running again.

Step 1. Connect the USB drive to a working Windows computer, install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Click “Make Bootable Media” and hit on “Next” to proceed.

Step 2. Choose the right USB drive under “USB Boot Device” and click “Proceed”.

Step 3. Then you will be told the USB will be formatted, please back up important data. If you have done that, click “Yes”.

Step 4. Then wait for the process to be completed.

Note: the bootable USB drive contains the pre-installed AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional.

When the process is done, insert the bootable USB drive into the computer with boot issues, change boot order in Boot menu to make it boot from the bootable USB stick. Then you can rebuild MBR on the system primary hard drive.

Or you can right-click the system partition to check whether there are some bad sectors on the partition and fix them if necessary. Those two functions are the most commonly used functions to repair Windows boot failures.

Solution 3: Create a Bootable USB Drive for Portable Windows

What if you want to take your entire operating system with you? AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional makes this possible with its "Windows To Go Creator" feature. This lets you install a fully functional Windows 10 or 11 environment onto a USB drive, which you can then boot from on other computers.

Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro on your PC. Click “Tools” > “Windows To Go Creator”.

Step 2. Select "Create Windows ToGo for personal computer". PS.: if you want to run Windows from USB on Mac, you can use the seond option.

Step 3. Choose "Create Windows ToGo with system disc/ISO" and click on "Next".

Step 4. Choose Windows ISO file in this window. Click “Next”.

Note: If you don’t have Windows ISO files, go for the second method to create Windows bootable USB with current system.

Step 5. Select USB drive and click  on “Proceed” to start creating a bootable USB drive in Windows computer.

Ending

Mastering how to make a Windows boot USB is an essential skill for any Windows user. It empowers you to handle system failures, perform clean installations, and even create a portable workspace. We’ve covered three solid methods: the manual CMD approach for a clean install, and two far simpler, more powerful solutions using AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional for creating dedicated repair media and a portable Windows To Go drive.

For peace of mind and ultimate control over your system, having a tool like AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is invaluable. It not only simplifies the creation of bootable media but also provides a robust suite of tools to manage, protect, and optimize your hard disks. Prepare your bootable USB today and be ready for whatever comes your way.