Tools: Creating a Windows 10 USB Install Drive (For Backups and Re-Install Needs)

Ever been in a situation where you need a Windows recovery disk or just want to re-install Windows on your computer because it died? Well, in this post, I will go over the steps to create a Windows 10 USB Install/Boot drive that you can use to perform diagnostics and install a fresh copy of Windows 10. You will need a few things for this tutorial, but I will be providing links and explanations where needed. Let’s jump in!

Some Assembly Required (What’s Needed)

In this tutorial you will need a few things before we can start. I’ll list them below (with links to purchase where needed).

  • 4GB (or larger) USB Flash Drive [Amazon]
  • A Working Windows PC (Windows 7, 8 or 10)
  • An active internet connection for most of the process as you need to download Windows 10

Just a note: We will be wiping the flash drive, so make sure you have copied everything you want off of the flash drive before getting started!

Creating the Windows 10 USB Drive

Let’s just jump into this thing. I’m going to assume you’ve plugged in your USB drive to your computer running some (relatively) recent version of Windows.

  1. Download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool from Microsoft at: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

  2. Open it up, and accept the UAC warning by clicking Continue or Yes

  3. Accept the license terms

  4. In the next screen, choose Create installation media for another PC 

  5. In the next screen, choose Use the recommended options for this PC (unless you know what you are doing and need a specific version of Windows 10) 

  6. In the next screen, select USB flash drive 

  7. In the next screen, select your flash drive from the list of connected drives (if you aren’t sure, disconnect all other USB drives except the one you want to use to ensure you select the right drive) 

  8. At this point, the Windows Media Creation tool will start to download the files it needs for Windows 10 and then promptly create the USB drive. This will take some time, so just be patient while it runs. It’s worth noting you will need an active internet connection while the download is taking place. 

  9. And you’re done! You can disconnect your flash drive and store it in a safe place for use whenever you need a Windows 10 recovery drive or installation disk. 

Hopefully this quick tutorial helped you get a Windows 10 recovery USB setup. If you had any trouble, you’re welcome to post a comment below, and I’ll do my best to assist. Thanks for reading!

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