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How to create a bootable USB drive for Windows 10 using Rufus

If you want to install or upgrade to Windows 10 on your computer, you will need to create a bootable USB drive. A bootable USB drive is a portable storage device that contains the necessary files to install or upgrade the operating system. There are various tools that you can use to create a bootable USB drive, but Rufus is one of the most popular and easy-to-use tools available.

In this post, we will guide you through the steps to create a bootable USB drive for Windows 10 using Rufus.

To create a bootable USB drive for Windows 10 using Rufus, you will need the following:

  • A USB drive with at least 8GB of free space.
  • A Windows 10 ISO file downloaded from a trusted source.
  • Rufus software downloaded from the official website or a trusted source.
  • A computer running Windows with a USB port.
  • An internet connection to download Rufus and Windows 10 ISO file (if not already downloaded).

Step 1: Download Rufus

The first step is to download Rufus from the official website. Rufus is a lightweight tool and doesn’t require any installation. You can download the latest version of Rufus from the official website or from other trusted sources.

Step 2: Download Windows 10 ISO

After downloading Rufus, the next step is to download the Windows 10 ISO file. You can download the ISO file from the Microsoft website or other trusted sources. Make sure that you download the correct version of Windows 10 that matches your system architecture (32-bit or 64-bit).

Step 3: Insert USB Drive

Now, insert your USB drive into your computer. Make sure that your USB drive has enough space to store the Windows 10 files.

Step 4: Open Rufus

Open Rufus by double-clicking on the downloaded executable file. Rufus will detect your USB drive automatically.

Step 5: Select Windows 10 ISO File

In Rufus, click on the “Select” button next to “Boot selection” to browse and select the Windows 10 ISO file that you downloaded in Step 2.

Step 6: Choose Partition Scheme

Under the “Partition scheme” section, select “MBR” if your computer uses BIOS or “GPT” if your computer uses UEFI.

Step 7: Choose File System

Under the “File system” section, select “NTFS” if your computer uses BIOS or “FAT32” if your computer uses UEFI.

Step 8: Create Bootable USB Drive

Click on the “Start” button to create a bootable USB drive for Windows 10 using Rufus. Rufus will format your USB drive and copy the Windows 10 files to your USB drive. The process may take a few minutes depending on the speed of your computer and USB drive.

Step 9: Boot from USB Drive

After Rufus has finished creating the bootable USB drive, you can now use it to install or upgrade to Windows 10. To do this, you need to boot your computer from the USB drive. You can change the boot order in the BIOS settings to prioritize the USB drive as the primary boot device. Alternatively, you can use the boot menu key (usually F12 or Esc) during startup to select the USB drive as the boot device.