Make USB Bootable: The How to Guide

Many a times you get into a situation where your PC’s security is compromised due to some viruses. At those times you may need to format your whole PC and install the operating system again. But what if you don’t have the OS / Windows CD or DVD to install the OS or maybe the DVD drive or the CD drive is damaged and not working. In that situation the only option left is to install the OS from a Pen Drive i.e. a USB drive. This post talks about how to make USB bootable to install Windows from it.

How to make USB bootable ?

There are mainly two ways to make USB bootable

1. Using Command Prompt in Windows: But this method may not be suitable for all users and sometimes may not work.

2. Using some software: There are many softwares available out there which help us to make USB bootable. All you need to do is to download the software and install it and use it.

This method works for all Windows including Windows XP, Vista, 7 and Windows 8.

Here also we are going to use a software named: WinUSB by Joshcellsoftwares. Follow the below steps to make USB bootable:

1. Download WinUSB by JoshCellsoftwares from the link below:

Download WinUsb: http://joshcellsoftwares.com/download/?appID=WUSB

2. You will get a ZIP file after downloading. Extract the ZIP file. And then open the extracted folder and you will find an exe file with the name WinUSB Maker.exe. Plugin the USB drive / Pen Drive and then Run WinUSB Maker.exe. You will see something like the screenshot below:
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3. Select the USB drive which you want to make bootable by clicking on the Drop-down button. See the screenshot below:
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4. Now on the left hand side there are many options. Click on Setup to USB.

5. On the next screen choose whether you want to use an ISO file to make USB bootable or you want to use any directory or folder containing Windows files to make USB bootable. Now click on Select an ISO or directory. And browse to the ISO file or the directory containing the Windows files.
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6. Now click on the button saying Make USB Bootable on the bottom right corner.
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7. It will ask if you want to format the USB drive and continue with the process. Click on Yes.

8. Now just wait for some time. The process may take time so do not cancel in between. Wait for at least 15-20 minutes or may be some more time depending on your PC’s configuration and the size of the ISO file.

9. When it’s done the program will show Process Completed. And voilà !! You now have a bootable USB drive.

Now remove the USB drive from the PC and your bootable USB drive is ready for use.

You can install OS on any PC using this bootable USB drive. As I wrote above that this method works for all Windows so you can use this USB drive to install any Windows from this bootable USB drive.

Hoping that this method will help you to make your USB drive bootable and install Windows from that bootable USB drive.