Bootable usb allows you to install an new OS or recover old data. Free bootable software that available for Windows.
If you’re thinking about starting your PC from a USB, then this article is for you. We’ll go over 10 of the best free bootable software options available on the market today. We’ll also provide step-by-step instructions so that you can create and set up your own bootable USB drive in no time. Let’s get started!
Introduction to Bootable USBs
So, what can bootable USBs do for you? In short, a bootable USB is a device that contains an Operating System, which allows you to start up a computer and run it directly from the USB drive. This means that if your computer isn’t functioning properly, you can use the USB to try and recover data or fix system errors. The best part is that you don’t even need an external device – you can start up your PC from the bootable USB itself.
Bootable USBs can also be used to install a fresh version of Windows on your machine without having to go through the tedious process of downloading the OS files, burning a disk, and then performing a clean install. You can also use them to test out different versions of Windows without having to commit to one right away. Plus, with an increasing number of machines coming without DVD drives, bootable USBs are now more important than ever before.
Rufus: Create Bootable USB Drives From ISO Images
One of the most popular choices for creating a bootable USB is Rufus, an open-source tool that offers a ton of awesome features. Even though it’s not the most advanced option around, it’s perfect if you want a free and highly reliable way to start your PC from a bootable USB.
Rufus offers several useful features that make creating bootable USBs really easy. It supports both MBR and GPT during installation, and you can customize the size of your partitions. If you’re looking to create bootable USBs from ISO images, Rufus can do that too—it supports various image formats (such as IMG, BIN, ISO) and allows you to format your disk using FAT32, NTFS, or exFAT file systems. Plus, it provides several pre-defined settings for different scenarios (like creating a UEFI-compliant drive for a Windows OS).
Balena Etcher
If you’re looking for a reliable, open-source tool to create a bootable USB, Balena Etcher is one of the most popular options. It’s completely free and incredibly easy to use.
User-friendly Interface
Balena Etcher’s interface may look slightly intimidating at first glance, but don’t worry — it’s actually quite straightforward, once you get the hang of it. All you have to do is drag and drop your IMG file, select your USB drive, and click “Flash!”
Features
Balena Etcher has some useful features that make the process even easier:
- Auto-verify: Balena Etcher will compare your image file with its own copy after flashing is complete. This helps ensure that the individual images weren’t corrupted during the flash.
- Flash from ZIP file: If you need to flash a ZIP file instead of an IMG file, Balena Etcher will unzip it and then burn it onto the USB drive.
- Formatting: If your USB drive doesn’t have any data saved on it yet, Balena Etcher will format it for you automatically before flashing your image; no need to download separate formatting software.
Plus, unlike many other bootable USB tools designed for Windows systems, Balena Etcher also works with Macs and Linux — so whatever your OS or hardware setup looks like, Balena Etcher should be able to help you out!
UNetBootin
UNetBootin is another great free tool for you to use if you want to start your PC from a bootable USB. It supports Windows, Ubuntu, and many other Linux distributions, and it comes with great features like:
- A user-friendly interface with a simple selection of bootable USB creation options
- Compatible with Windows and almost all versions of Linux
- Customizable options that allow you to tweak settings like memory size, driver lists, languages, and more
- The ability to download and install various ISO images directly from the web
UNetBootin also has built-in safety features meant to protect your data by ensuring no data is written on the disk. This should give you peace of mind that your files aren’t in danger while using UNetBootin.
The only downside is that it doesn’t work with Mac OS X systems. But if you’re looking for something simple and free that works on Windows, UNetBootin should do the job just fine.
UUI – Universal USB Installer
The seventh free software option for creating a USB bootable drive is UUI – Universal USB Installer. With UUI, you will get the ability to quickly create bootable USB drives from a range of different ISO images. By taking advantage of UUI, you can make sure your PC boots from the correct disk and that all of your data is secure.
Apart from supporting ISO images, UUI also has some great features such as:
- The ability to backup and restore entire hard disks
- Support for a wide range of operating systems like Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, or 10
- Data Transfer & Encryption tools to help keep data secure
- The ability to create bootable USB drives even in the absence of an OS
- An integrated disk formatting feature that helps reduce setup time
UUI is an incredibly user-friendly tool that ensures you can easily create a bootable USB with minimal effort. Plus, it’s free!
Windows USB/DVD Download Tool
If you prefer to use a free, basic tool, Windows USB/DVD Download Tool is the right choice for you. It’s a Microsoft product, and you can download it for free from their website.
With this software, you’ll be able to make your USB drive bootable so that your PC will be ready to start from the USB drive. Plus, it also gives you the option to create a backup disk (a DVD), so if you don’t have a USB drive lying around, this is an easy way to do that.
It’s important to note that Windows USB/DVD Download Tool only supports Windows Vista and later versions of the operating system, so it won’t work on older machines. Here’s how to get started with this software:
- On the Microsoft website, download the setup file of the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool
- Install the setup file by following the on-screen instructions
- Select your ISO file in the windows bootable image creator
- Choose “USB device” as your media type
- Select your desired USB drive and click begin copying
XBoot: Create Multi-Boot USB Drives With Multiple Distros
Are you looking for free software to create a multi-boot USB drive with multiple operating systems? Well, look no further, because XBoot has got you covered.
XBoot is software that lets you create bootable USB drives with multiple operating systems, including Windows and other Linux distros. It’s also easy to use and comes with an intuitive user interface. Here’s why it stands out from the crowd:
Magical Multi-Boot Options
XBoot makes it super simple to create multi-boot USB drives, so you don’t have to worry about manually setting up a bootloader. Just select all the distributions that you want to install, click Next, and let XBoot do the rest!
Supports Major Operating Systems
You’re not limited to just one type of OS either – XBoot supports major operating systems like Windows XP, 7/8/10, Linux Distros, and macOS. That means you can have an all-in-one USB drive with your favorite OSes!
Easy To Use Toolkit
You can also use it to manage your bootable USB drives and customize them in any way you want. Just launch XBoot and then use its toolkit to add or remove ISO images or even back up your existing data. It takes just a few clicks and it’s completely free!
WinToFlash: Create a Bootable USB
When you want to create a bootable USB drive from a set of files instead of an ISO image, WinToFlash is the answer. Best of all, this software gives you the power to do it completely free.
WinToFlash features include:
- Easy-to-use GUI with drag-and-drop support for quickly selecting files to use
- Ability to clone existing Windows installation from one drive to another drive, even if it’s larger
- Create multiple partitions on USB devices and select the bootloader for each partition
- Create dedicated partitions for EFI, extended or logical partitions for some distributions of Linux
With WinToFlash, you can customize your download by choosing what version of Windows OS you’d like installed on the USB. You can also schedule automatic backups of your existing data before beginning to copy files and create a bootable drive. WinToFlash also integrates a Windows installation menu that allows you to choose other options too, such as reformatting or troubleshooting your computer.
YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator
YUMI – Multiboot USB Creator is a great option if you want to create a USB drive that can boot more than one operating system. It also supports various ISO images, some of which are specialized, like antivirus or system recovery disks.
The software is easy to use and requires no technical knowledge. It lets you:
- Create a multiboot USB based on your own selection
- Install multiple versions of Windows on the same drive
- Create your own multi-boot Linux rescue disk
- And more!
Plus, when you are done you can always customize your installation by adding or deleting files. All in all, YUMI is an excellent tool to have in your arsenal when it comes to USB bootable creation for Windows users.
EasyBCD: Configure and Debug a Bootable Drive
Now let’s take a look at EasyBCD, number nine on our list of free USB bootable software. EasyBCD is an advanced bootloader/MBR modifier/configure tool and you can use it to easily configure and debug your bootable drive. It’s designed to run fast and safely while giving you full control over the bootloader configuration.
EasyBCD’s key features include:
- Configure, manage and diagnose multiple operating systems in your computer, edit existing Windows BCD options, recover Grub/Lilo/Syslinux configurations, detect some strangeness in partitions, and correct it if possible
- Full GRUB2 support for UEFI-based Windows 10 installations
- Full management of Linux entries inside the Windows Bootloader
- Support for running Linux distributions directly from NTFS partitions
- Ability to display a graphical or text menu at boot time so you can choose what you want to do: load the default OS or something else
- Add your own custom entries with specific operating system paths or scripts of your choice!
So there you have it — if you need an advanced tool for configuring and debugging a USB bootable drive, EasyBCD is definitely up to the task!
UltraISO: Create Bootable ISOs
Finally, we have UltraISO. This is great software for those who want to create bootable CDs and DVDs or USB drives on the go. Not only does this software allow you to create an ISO of your current operating system, but it also allows you to customize it and create bootable disks from scratch. Plus, you can also extract multiple files from an existing disk or ISO image.
So what makes UltraISO so special? Here are a few features that make it stand out:
- Easy-to-use graphical user interface
- Ability to directly edit ISO files
- High compression ratios and support for multiple formats (such as ISO, BIN, and NRG)
- Ability to add, delete and rename files within the ISO image
- Ability to check the integrity of disk images with built-in checksums
- Password protection for protected ISOs
- Support for drag & drop operations
With its powerful features and simple interface, UltraISO makes it quick and easy to create bootable disks or USBs from any kind of media.
Conclusion
Getting a bootable USB is fairly straightforward, though there are many software options out there to choose from. We’ve done the hard work for you and put together a list of 10 free software options to help you create your own bootable USB without any hassle.
Whether it’s for system repairs, debugging, or even just for testing out new operating systems, having a bootable USB can really come in handy. With the right resources and a bit of know-how, you’ll be able to create one in no time!
Happy booting!