How to create bootable Windows 10 installer USB for PC?

Question

I've downloaded Windows 10 from Microsoft and want to create a bootable USB stick for a PC. I've tried to flash the image with dd, but the stick did not boot.

Then I've flashed the image with bootcamp, it didn't boot either on my PC; it did however boot on my Mac.

How can I create a bootable Windows 10 USB stick to be bootable not on a Mac, but on a PC?

Answer 1

From Create a bootable Windows 10 installation USB on macOS

Step 1: download Windows 10 ISO

Step 2: install Homebrew

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Step 3: install wimlib

brew install wimlib

Step 4: format USB flash drive as “MS-DOS (FAT)” with “Master Boot Record” scheme

Step 5: open Win10_21H1_English_x64.iso and copy files to USB flash drive skipping install.wim found at sources/install.wim (which is larger than 4GB FAT32 limit)

rsync -rv --exclude install.wim” /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9/ /Volumes/WINDOWS10/

Step 6: split install.wim

Heads-up: replace CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9 with actual Windows 10 ISO volume name and UNTITLED with USB flash drive volume name.

wimlib-imagex split /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9/sources/install.wim /Volumes/WINDOWS10/sources/install.swm 4000

Done

Answer 2

I followed the instructions in Create a bootable Windows 10 installation USB on macOS:

1. Preparing The USB drive
   Well, this was simple for my Windows 11 laptop:

   1. You firstly plug the USB drive into your Mac,
   2. Open Finder.
   3. Open the Applications folder (for example by selecting Go > Applications from the menu bar) and look for a folder named "Utilities".
   4. Double-click it and search for the Disk Utility app.
   5. Launch it and in the sidebar, search for your USB drive by name and select it (NOTE: the USB drive's name is originally "Unnamed" unless changed by a user).
   6. You then must find the Erase button located on the top right. Click it and select FAT/FAT32 as the format and “Master Boot Record” as scheme.
   7. When done, double-click the USB drive icon on the desktop to open it.

2. Preparing The Media
   Next, head to this link and download the ISO file. Once this file is downloaded, mount it by double-clicking it.

3. Moving Files
   Follow these instructions carefully:

   1. On the ISO file window, open the folder named 'sources'.
   2. Once in the folder, do Cmd+A and search for the file named install.wim and do Cmd+click to deselect it.
   3. Do Cmd+C
   4. Switch to the USB drive window and make a folder named 'sources', double-click it, and do Cmd+V.
   5. Now, on both the ISO file and USB drive windows, click the back button to go to the root folder and move all files except the 'source' folder from the ISO file window to the USB drive window. When the file moving is done, you can eject and unplug the USB drive.

4. Installation Process
   

   1. Plug the USB drive into the corrupted or empty computer and go to your boot selector by turning on your device and holding Esc down.
   2. After you see the startup menu, use the key combination that it says beside select boot device or boot selector or boot options.
   3. When you're done, then select the USB drive. Once down click Continue and unplug the USB drive.
   4. Plug the USB drive into the Mac, open Disk Utility again select the USB drive, erase it but this time choose ExFAT as the format. Once done, copy all the files from the ISO drive into the USB drive.
   5. Eject the USB drive and plug it into the Windows machine again.
   6. Then Click Install or the button in the middle of the screen and keep the USB plugged in until you have finished setup and are at the Desktop.

5. Final Setup
   Finish setting up Windows and done!

Answer 3

Step 1----------------------------

Get an 8GB USB Flash Drive as this is easily to make on it even though it may seem small, but Windows USB Flash Drive Install/Windows Install via USB Flash Drive only takes about 4GB to 7GB of space.

SAVE FILES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU IF YOU ARE FORMATTING A USB FLASH DRIVE IN USE You Need to format this USB Flash Drive to FAT32, as come computer do not support exFat on BIOS or when booting up from my experience. Once Formatted you have prepared the USB Flash Drive to add files to it.

Step 2----------------------------

You now need a separate computer, a computer that you can download and move files. Not a phone. Examples:

• Windows PC
• MacBook (Air, Pro, or Regular Will Work)
• Friend's Computer

Windows PC ____________

• Install Windows 10/11

After, you have to plug in the USB Flash Drive in the computer, open your browser (Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Chrome) and download Windows 10 or Windows 11. MAKE SURE YOUR PC IS COMPATIBLE WITH WINDOWS 11 Download the Media Install Media Creation Tool for WINDOWS ONLY (Required for Windows 10 install), after downloading the tool installer, download it, run the new exe file. Once running click Setup, then click create installation media. Click next and select USB Flash Drive, wait until downloaded and done! You have made a WIU (Windows Installer USB) on a Windows PC!

MacBook________________

• Install Windows 10/11

YOU WILL REQUIRE A WINDOWS EXE RUNNER/EMULATOR LIKE WINE

Download Wine if necessary. and Load the EXE File From WINDOWS MEDIA CREATION TOOl to download WMCT and open it using wine as well. Now You May continue the steps above that are for Windows PC, This is an extra step you NEED TO take to download on MacBook!