Laptop and netbook users face a different challenge these days, as many manufacturers are leaving out the optical drive, such as DVD or CD. The only way left to install Windows 7 or XP or Vista is using a USB flash drive. Users are inadvertently creating a bootable USB flash drive for such use, using command-line arguments and Windows PowerShell.
Using a USB pen drive also speeds up the installation process compared to using a DVD. You can install Windows 7 or Windows 8 using a USB drive in just 15 minutes. Generally, novices who are accustomed to GUI-based software tools may find it hard to create a bootable USB drive using command-line arguments and the command prompt window.
What is Rufus—Create Bootable USB drive
Rufus is an easy, graphic-based, intuitive tool for creating bootable USB drives in an easy and fast way. It can create and format USB keys/pendrives, memory sticks, etc., with relative ease. The specialities of this software are as follows:
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- you need to create USB installation media from bootable ISOs (Windows, Linux, etc.)
- you need to work on a system that doesn’t have an OS installed
- you need to flash a BIOS or other firmware from DOS
- you want to run a low-level utility
It’s twice as fast as other software tools like UNetbootin, Universal USB Installer, Windows 7 USB Download Tool, etc., in creating bootable USB flash drives, etc. You can also create a Linux bootable USB from ISOs.
System Requirements:
- Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8
- 32-bit or 64-bit doesn’t matter
How to use Rufus?
The simplicity of this software allows you to create a bootable USB drive in a flash.
Just download the .exe file from the download page and run the file.
The following pop-up opens, and it automatically detects your USB drive. If not, you can select your device under Device. The capacity of the USB memory stick or flash drive is displayed (like mine, which is 1 GB), and the file system is detected to be NTFS if the USB supports it.
You can leave the cluster size to default and enter text for the new volume label, which is nothing but text to identify your device.
The other options are
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- Quick Format
- Create a bootable disk using:
- Create extended label and icon files.
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You can use the default values for the above options. For the “Create a bootable disk using” option, you can select “ISO Image.”
Note: Clicking the icon beside this option will allow you to select it. ISO installation files for Windows 7, 8, Vista, or XP.
Then click on the “Start” button below. The process will start and finish quickly.
Now, to install Windows 7 or Windows 8 using this USB drive, your motherboard must support booting from USB drives. To access the CMOS options on your motherboard, press the F2 or Del key, depending on your brand, and set booting from the USB hard drive as the top priority under Boot options.
Now just insert your USB drive and restart your system. Your PC or laptop should now automatically boot from the USB drive and start giving you the options to install your favorite Windows OS.
Try this method and let us know your opinion in the comments section. Is the process better than other tools? Is it simpler than the command-line method? Is it faster than other tools in creating a bootable USB drive? Please let us know!
