How to make a bootable Windows 10 installation media for free

Looking to upgrade to Windows 10? This step by step tutorial will help you create a bootable Windows 10 installation media using free software.

Prerequisites

To follow along with this tutorial, you need the following:

1. A USB device with at least 8gb of storage
2. A working internet connection
3. A computer with the following Windows 10 minimum system requirements:

Method #1: Use the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft

Media creation tool is a free application from Microsoft that can be used to upgrade, install or repair Windows 10. In this method, you will learn how to create bootable installation media for Windows 10.

Step 1

Download the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft website using the path below:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Step 2

Run the downloaded file. Click on ‘Accept’ to agree to Microsoft Software License Terms.

Step 3

Choose the second option then click on ‘Next’ to proceed.

Step 4

You can untick the ‘Use the recommended options for this PC’ to edit the available options then click on ‘Next’ to proceed.

Step 5

Select the ‘USB flash drive’ option then hit ‘Next’. Ensure that you have a formatted USB drive of at least 8gb storage.

Step 6

Plug in your USB drive then ‘refresh drive list’. Select your drive then click ‘Next’ as shown below:

Step 7

The wizard will download then prepare the Windows files. Once the process is finished, you will be notified using a message like the one below:

Step 8

Confirm that the USB drive contains the files and folders as illustrated below:

If they match, then you have successfully created a bootable Windows 10 installation media using Media Creator Tool!

Method #2: Use Rufus

Rufus is a free tool that creates a bootable USB flash drive the easiest way. Rufus is a lightweight software that doesn’t need any additional frameworks and software to install.

Step 1

You need to download a copy of the Rufus software from their official website:

https://rufus.ie

Step 2

You now need to use the Media Creator tool to download a genuine copy of Windows 10 iso file. Go through Step 1 to Step 5 under method #1. You need to select the ‘ISO file’ option then click on ‘Next’. Your Windows 10 iso file should start downloading immediately.

Step 3

Launch the Media Creator tool. Ensure that you have a formatted USB drive with at least 8GB of storage space plugged into your computer. Rufus software will autodetect the USB drive.

Click on ‘Select’ and highlight the Windows 10 iso file you downloaded in step 2. Edit the ‘Partition Scheme’ and ‘Target system’ to suit your computer’s specifications. The settings above are common settings and usually work on most computers. Hit ‘Start’ to begin the process.

Step 4

Once the process is done, cross-check the USB files with the ones provided below.

If they match, then you have successfully created a bootable Windows 10 installation media using Rufus!

Conclusion

If you followed all the steps in this tutorial, you now could create a bootable Windows 10 installation media. It is important to use only valid Windows 10 iso that is available on Microsoft’s official website.