Introduction
If you are unsure how to write a Windows 10/11 ISO to a USB flash drive, this guide will show you how to use the Microsoft MCT to create one. It can also be used to create an installer that works on “unsupported” PCs (1). This guide focuses on making a bootable USB drive, which is the most common method as most computers no longer include an optical drive.
IF YOU NEED TO BYPASS THE MSA OR CPU/TPM CHECKS, THIS WILL NOT WORK AS-IS; a autounattend file will be required if you use the MCT.
Choosing a USB drive:
TL;DR: When buying a new USB drive, stick with name-brand USB 3.0 32GB+ drives like SanDisk, and avoid Amazon if you can. Outside of clearance drives from name brand manufacturers, you never save more then ~$1 for 16GB drives and ~$2 for 64GB+ drives. USB2 drives work, but they should be avoided as they are slow, unless you have a PC with known issues booting from USB3 drives (this is increasingly rare as it was a UEFI transition era bug).
IF YOUR BUDGET IS THIN, YOU ARE BETTER OFF REUSING AN OLD 8-16GB NAME-BRAND DRIVE THAT CAN BE ERASED IF YOU ARE CHOOSING BETWEEN NEW NO-NAME JUNK OR A KNOWN-NAME BRAND! Your drive must be at least 8GB -- anything smaller (4GB or less) will not show up as these are too small.
Used drives should be erased before formatting in the MCT. The MCT tool also does this, but preformatting it (format, like NTFS/exFAT/FAT32 does not matter) makes detection easier if the drive has been used prior.
READ: 8GB USB drives will work, but leave limited extra spare space (e.g., application installers and device drivers). Generic drives are also known to be more troublesome compared to name brand ones as well. Any new 8GB drive made today will use failed 16GB chips with the bad half disabled.
Amazon purchase warning:
If you buy the flash drive on Amazon and it has issues out of the box, it is probably counterfeit - get rid of it and buy another one in person. If the drive is NOT directly sold by Amazon and came from a 3rd party reseller (even FBA), test it with H2TestW FIRST!
Win11 minimum specification bypass warning:
WARNING: YOUR PC WILL BE UNSUPPORTED BY MICROSOFT if you bypass the minimum requirements. Feature updates must be force-installed through bypassed bootable media. If you insist on doing it with the Rufus tweaks, try and limit it to the CPUs listed here as these are proven safe:
- AMD: Zen1/Zen+
- Intel 7th-gen
- Anything older then this means you run a higher risk of future compatibility or stability issues. The bypasses have generally been proven safe on 7th gen and Zen1/Zen+ CPUs. However, you are on your own in the eyes of Microsoft.
- Minimum CPU floor: SSE 4.2, PopCnt support (Population Count).
- Minimum RAM capacity is 4GB, but try for 8-16GB installed.
What you need
-
-
With the USB drive plugged into the computer, go into Windows Explorer, right click Format. For all intents and purposes format type used here does not matter as the MCT will reformat it again before writing the drive image. However, it can be picky and not see the drive if there are hidden issues.
-
Click on Format and click OK on the data loss warning. Once done the drive is ready to be imaged with the MCT.
-
-
-
Download a Windows 10 or 11 ISO from Microsoft - do not use other sources unless you trust it.
-
Windows 11: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software...
-
Windows 10: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software...
-
-
-
After downloading the tool you need with the Step 1 links, open it from your browser or Downloads folder.
-
Open the MCT application and then follow the prompts.
-
Select the version you want. If you intend to use an external tool for things like Legacy MBR support, use ISO file. For a modern PC, either option will suffice.
-
Click Next and then follow the prompts bassed on the option you selected.
-
-
-
-
If you write the image in the MCT, plug your USB drive in first.
-
Unplug any drives you do not want to erase, then select the one you want to write to. After this is done, click Next.
-
You will see this window, let it download. If you have a slow internet connection give this time or borrow a fast connection. Once this is done, you will see the next screen show the writing screen.
-
-
-
After going through the initial steps to open the MCT, select ISO Image. Click Next.
-
This is where the MCT is located by default. Modern Windows defaults to the Downloads folder.
-
Select a file location, then let the ISO download.
-
-
-
How you do this is up to you, but depending on the drive size -- you might find yourself with little room - in these cases, choose carefully what you put on the drive. If you have a larger drive like this one, you can have a more "full" label.
-
-
-
After selecting the drive from the BIOS startup menu, follow the prompts to install Windows 10/11 on your PC.
-
