Create Bootable Windows 10 USB: Media Creation Tool and Rufus Guide

A reception PC won’t boot, and someone has to create a bootable Windows 10 USB. The laptop next to it just got a new SSD. Both need the same thing: an installer on a stick. Building the stick needs no product key.

To create bootable Windows 10 USB media you need a blank flash drive of 8 GB or more and Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool. It takes about as long as a coffee.

We’d keep one of these sticks in a desk drawer, next to the spare keyboard. It installs, reinstalls and repairs. Below: how to build it, which settings matter, and what to do when it refuses to boot.

What you need before you start

Three things. A blank flash drive with at least 8 GB. A working Windows PC with an internet connection. Administrator rights on that PC.

A product key isn’t on the list. It only matters later, at activation.

The drive is the part people underestimate. A no-name giveaway stick often fails halfway through a write. Then you’re guessing whether the problem is the PC or the media.

We’d buy a known brand, USB 3.0 or faster, in 16 GB or 32 GB. And keep it only for installers. Speed matters more for writing than for booting. A slow USB 2.0 drive works, it just takes longer.

Which tool for which job

How to create a bootable Windows 10 USB with the Media Creation Tool

Start here. The tool makes no decisions you can get wrong.

1. Open the Windows 10 download page on microsoft.com and select Download Now under “Create Windows 10 installation media”.
2. Plug in the USB drive. Close anything that has files open on it.
3. Run the downloaded file, MediaCreationTool22H2.exe or similar, and approve the User Account Control prompt.
4. Accept the license terms. Then choose the Create installation media option, the one for another PC.
5. Untick “Use the recommended options for this PC” if the target PC needs a different language or architecture.
6. Choose USB flash drive, select the drive by its letter and size, and click Next.
7. Wait for “Your USB flash drive is ready”. Then click Finish.

What the options screen asks

Why this stick boots almost anywhere

It formats the drive as FAT32. Every UEFI firmware can read that. The image on it comes compressed, as install.esd, and fits under FAT32’s limit of 4 GB per file.

The result boots in UEFI mode on new PCs and in Legacy BIOS mode on old ones. No partition scheme to choose, no file system to pick.

What you get is Windows 10 version 22H2. How long the download takes depends on your connection and on the speed of the stick.

On a Mac or a Linux computer the same Microsoft page skips the tool and offers the ISO directly. Download it there and write it with a USB writer. Or use Rufus later on a Windows PC.

Create a bootable Windows 10 USB with Rufus

Rufus, a free open-source USB writer for Windows, does the same job from an ISO file. We’d reach for it in three cases.

• The ISO from Microsoft is already sitting on a network share.
• The Media Creation Tool keeps failing on a slow connection.
• The stick is for one specific old machine.

1. Get the Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft. On Windows, the Media Creation Tool can save an ISO file instead of writing a USB drive.
2. Run Rufus and select the USB drive under Device. Check the size twice, because Rufus wipes whatever you pick.
3. Click Select and choose the ISO.
4. Set Partition scheme. The table below shows which one.
5. Keep the suggested file system and cluster size. Add a volume label if you like, and click Start.
6. Confirm the warning that all data will be destroyed. Wait for “Ready”.

Rufus usually formats the drive as NTFS when the ISO holds an install.wim larger than 4 GB. It adds a small helper partition for UEFI boot.

Some customization options appear before writing. They come from Rufus, not from Microsoft. On business PCs we’d leave them off.

GPT or MBR, FAT32 or NTFS

Go with GPT if the target PC boots in UEFI mode. That covers most PCs sold since around 2012. MBR is only for older computers with Legacy BIOS.

For the file system, FAT32 boots on every UEFI PC and can’t hold files over 4 GB. NTFS holds large images. It needs Rufus’s UEFI helper to boot on UEFI.

Not sure what your PC uses? On a working Windows PC press Win+R and type msinfo32. Look at “BIOS Mode”. It says UEFI or Legacy. Match the stick to that.

Think of the partition scheme as matching the plug to the socket. A GPT stick on a Legacy-only machine doesn’t show up in the boot menu.

An MBR stick may be hidden on a PC with CSM switched off. Neither is broken. They’re talking to the wrong firmware.

Stick size, and a bootable Windows 10 DVD instead

Two sizes on two pages, which confuses people. The ISO page asks for a blank USB of at least 5 GB. The Media Creation Tool section asks for at least 8 GB. We’d simply buy an 8 GB or bigger stick and stop thinking about it.

• Blank, really blank. Everything on the drive gets deleted.
• DVD route: a burner and a blank disc. “Disc image file is too large” means you need Dual Layer media.
• Burning on Windows: right-click the ISO, then Burn disc image.

The USB steps are above, partition styles included. Then the boot menu. We cover that part in installing Windows 10 from USB through BIOS.

Booting the PC from the stick

Plug the drive into the target PC and power it on. Press the one-time boot menu key. Then pick the entry for your USB drive. On a UEFI PC, choose the one that starts with “UEFI:”.

Windows Setup starts and offers two things: “Install now” and “Repair your computer”.

Boot menu key not working? Enter firmware setup and move the USB drive to the top of the boot order.

From inside a working Windows 10 there’s a softer route. Open Settings, Update & Security, Recovery. Under Advanced startup click Restart now, then “Use a device”.

We cover the firmware screens in our step-by-step on installing Windows 10 from USB through the BIOS. The full setup flow is in our Windows 10 clean install guide.

Windows 10 doesn’t need TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot. So it installs on many PCs that Windows 11 rejects. A UEFI PC with Secure Boot on still boots the Media Creation Tool stick without changes.

The first screens after the stick boots

Checking that the bootable Windows 10 USB works

The quickest test: boot a spare PC from the stick and stop at the first Windows Setup screen. If the language selection page shows up, the drive is good.

For an ISO, a hash check before writing proves the file wasn’t corrupted. In PowerShell:

Get-FileHash .\Win10_22H2_English_x64.iso -Algorithm SHA256

Compare the result with the hash on Microsoft’s download page, where one is listed. Or with a copy you know is good.

A good routine before a stick goes back into the drawer:

1. Boot a test PC, or a virtual machine pointed at the ISO, and reach the language screen. Close setup without installing.
2. If the PC supports both modes, try one UEFI boot and one Legacy boot.
3. Label the stick with the Windows version and the date. Future you will be grateful.

Rebuild the stick every few months if you install often. In most cases that’s the cheapest fix for odd setup errors too. The Media Creation Tool always fetches the latest Windows 10 22H2 image, so fewer updates wait after setup.

Several installers on one drive

Possible, with a multiboot tool such as the open-source Ventoy. It installs a boot menu on the stick once. After that you copy several ISO files onto it.

The Media Creation Tool and Rufus write one installer per drive. So a multiboot setup needs that separate tool.

We’d keep two kinds of sticks.

• The plain one. Built with the Media Creation Tool. It’s the most compatible, and nobody has to wonder whether it works.
• The big multiboot one. Windows 10, Windows 11 and a few diagnostic ISOs on a large drive.

Multiboot loaders do occasionally clash with Secure Boot on picky firmware. So the plain stick stays as the backup for the backup.

A single-installer stick also has room for a “Drivers” folder. Copy the network and storage drivers for the PCs you manage there. If setup can’t see the disk, click “Load driver” and point it at that folder.

Repairing a PC that won’t start

Boot from the stick and choose your language. Then click “Repair your computer” instead of “Install now”. That opens the Windows Recovery Environment, which fixes many boot problems without a reinstall.

This is the reason the stick lives in the drawer. A typical rescue goes in that order, top to bottom.

From the Command Prompt, these rebuild the boot records on Legacy systems:

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /rebuildbcd

And this checks system files offline:

sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\Windows

Drive letters can differ in the recovery environment. Confirm them first:

diskpart
list volume

A recovery drive made with the built-in “Create a recovery drive” tool works differently. It’s tied to that PC and can reinstall it. An installation stick works on any PC.

Automating setup with an answer file

Windows Setup reads an answer file named autounattend.xml from the root of the USB drive. It uses the file to answer setup questions by itself.

• Language.
• Disk layout.
• Edition.
• Local account.

You build the file with Windows System Image Manager. That’s part of the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit, the ADK.

For one or two PCs it generally isn’t worth the effort. For a batch of identical office laptops it saves a lot of clicking.

Start small. Automate only the language and the license screen, and test on one machine. Then add disk partitioning.

A wrong disk section in an answer file wipes the wrong drive with no questions asked. We’d test on a spare PC first.

Windows 10 in 2026: when the stick still earns its place

For anything long term, Windows 11 is the safer target if the hardware qualifies.

We’d still build Windows 10 sticks, for three reasons.

• Repairing existing Windows 10 PCs.
• Reinstalling machines that can’t run Windows 11.
• Running one old line-of-business app that refuses newer systems.

When the hardware supports it, we’d build a Windows 11 stick instead. The process is almost identical, with the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool. It’s in our guide to installing Windows 11 from USB.

About activating Windows 10. A PC that ran activated Windows 10 before reactivates by itself after a clean install.

Old Windows 7 keys stopped activating newer systems around September 20, 2023. Windows 8 keys too. Don’t count on that former free upgrade trick.

Need a key? Browse Windows 10 keys. Genuine licenses for Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro. Delivery is instant to email. Enterprise is there too.

When the bootable Windows 10 USB doesn’t work

Start with the cheapest checks.

1. Try a USB 2.0 port, or another port on the back of the desktop.
2. Rebuild the drive with the Media Creation Tool.
3. Switch the firmware boot mode to match the stick. UEFI for GPT, Legacy or CSM for MBR.

Most failures come from the boot mode or a worn-out flash drive.

Always back up important data before installing or repairing Windows. The installer is polite about most things. Deleting partitions isn’t one of them.

Common mistakes with a bootable Windows 10 USB

• The wrong drive selected. Both tools erase whatever you pick. Unplug other USB disks first.
• A stick with files still on it. Copy them off. Nothing survives the write.
• A GPT stick for a Legacy-only PC. It never appears in the boot menu.
• An ISO copied onto the stick as a plain file. That doesn’t make it bootable. A tool has to write the image.
• The boot order left on USB. After the first restart, some PCs start setup over from the beginning. Pull the stick, or use the one-time boot menu.

Typical bootable Windows 10 USB problems

The stick that never showed up

A stick written as GPT, an old desktop with Legacy BIOS. The boot menu lists the hard disk and nothing else. Rewritten as MBR, the same stick appears straight away.

The giveaway flash drive

The write stops halfway, twice. A different port changes nothing. A branded drive finishes the same job on the first try.

The disk setup couldn’t see

Setup reaches the disk selection screen, and the list is empty. The laptop uses Intel VMD storage mode. One click on Load driver, the maker’s storage driver from the Drivers folder, and the SSD appears.

The key that wasn’t needed yet

Someone asks for a key before building the stick. No need. The stick gets built without one. The key goes in during setup, or later in Settings. Lost the old one? Here’s how to find a Windows 10 product key.

Looking after the stick

• Label it with the Windows version and the build date.
• Keep it for installers only. No holiday photos, no spreadsheets.
• Rebuild it every few months, so setup starts from a fresh image.
• Test it once after every rebuild.
• Store it where the next person can find it.

Windows 10 versions and tools this bootable USB guide covers

For a closer look at what’s inside the image file itself, see our explainer on Windows 10 ISO files.

Related guides

• Windows 10 download from Microsoft
• Bootable Windows 11 USB on a Mac