Create a bootable USB driver

Create Bootable USB Drives to Install (Almost) Any OS

With the advent of ultra portable laptops, optical drives are becoming a thing of the past. Although not having optical drives allows manufacturers to make lighter devices, it causes problems to users when they want to fresh install operating systems, as most of them are still available in the form of CDs, DVDs and downloadable ISOs. For users of these devices, the only option then remains is to use a flash drive to install the operating system of their choice.

Not surprisingly, there are also a few of us who prefer installing operating systems from flash drives for its faster speeds. There are also a few of us who prefer to keep live operating systems on our flash drives to access computers without having an OS by simply plugging in our devices.

With such a lot of users needing to create bootable USB flash drives, it appears imperative that OS manufacturers provide an inbuilt way to create them with each DVD and CD they provide. However, that is not the case with all operating system manufacturers.

In fact, most of the users are left hunting for third party applications that can create a bootable USB drive for their specific operating system. To add to a user's misery, the OS manufacturers that do provide an application for this make them OS specific (like the Windows 7 USB/DVD tool) and do not support ISOs and DVDs of other OSs. Some of them fail to work even if the original ISO/DVD is slightly modified (slipstreamed etc.).

Use Rufus to create bootable USB media

If you too are one such user looking for a solution, you can stop looking and try Rufus, an open source tool to create a bootable USB drive from any bootable ISO.

Rufus is small in size (nearly 615 KB) and claims to be faster at creating bootable USB drives than most applications of its type. Rufus is also portable which means that you need not install this software to use it. Just double click on the executable file and the application will start working. Rufus also allows you to add fixes to use your bootable flash drives on older computers having BIOSs which do not support booting from them.

Strangely however, Rufus can only create bootable flash drives from ISOs meaning you need to have an ISO image of the CD or DVD of the OS of your choice.

I do not think this should be too much of a problem considering how easy it is to create ISOs from DVDs and CDs.

How to use Rufus?

1) When you start Rufus, the first option that you will see is Device:. It contains all your connected USB drives. If you plug in a USB drive after starting Rufus, the drive you have connected will shortly be available here.

2) You will not need to modify the Partition Scheme and target system type, as the default choice is suitable for making the USB drive work on both UEFI and legacy BIOS computers.

Rufus in Windows 8

3) Change the file system from FAT32 to NTFS from the dropdown menu. This is the file system with which your USB drive will be formatted with. Do note that older computers will not boot from a flash drive formatted as NTFS. Do not modify the cluster size. Enter the name you want for your USB device in the Volume label box.

4) Check the Create a bootable disk using checkbox if it is not already checked. In the dropdown menu next to it, select ISO image. Click on the button right to it to locate your ISO image.

Do note that Rufus will format your USB drive deleting everything on it before making it bootable. So, make sure that it does not contain any important data.

5) Click on Start to format your USB drive and extract all files of the ISO to it.

To install the OS, restart your computer and select your USB device as the primary boot option in the BIOS boot menu.

Compatibility
Rufus works on all the latest versions of Windows and can be used to extract the following ISOs to a bootable USB drive:-

Arch Linux, Archbang, BartPE/pebuilder, CentOS, Damn Small Linux, Fedora, FreeDOS, Gentoo, GParted, gNewSense, Hiren's Boot CD, noppix, KolibriOS, Kubuntu , Linux Mint, OpenSUSE , ReactOS, rEFInd, Slackware, Tails, Trinity Rescue Kit, Ubuntu, Ultimate Boot CD, Windows XP (SP2, SP3), Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and many more.

Computer Tricks

Computers have simplified our life to a great extent. Things that were impossible earlier can now be completed instantly thanks to computers. However, this does not mean that a PC is all work and no play.


Here are some of the best tricks you can try out on your Windows based computer.




Have fun with Notepad
If you think that Notepad is just a basic text editor, then, you will be amazed by its capabilities. You can use Notepad to create everything from personalized logs to harmless viruses that are incredibly annoying. Go see this post to know just how useful Notepad is.


Command Prompt too has some tricks up its sleeves
If you think that the Command prompt is a boring old program that no one uses, you are making a huge mistake. It can be used for everything from watching ASCII Star Wars to making folders that you cannot delete. See this post to know about all the cool stuff you can do with the Windows Command Prompt.


Use Keyboard Shortcuts to get work done in no time
If you are tired of having to alternate between your mouse and keyboard to operate your Windows computer, you would love to know these really useful keyboard shortcuts which greatly increase your speed and efficiency. See this post for details.


Make your computer speak what you type
You can use your PC's built in features and some VBScript magic to create a simple program that will make your computer speak whatever you input to it. Enter the right words and you could imitate a real conversation. Head over to this post to talk with your PC.


Make your computer greet you every time you start Windows
A simple modification in the previous trick will make your computer welcome you in its own mechanical voice every time you log onto Windows. This is achieved by placing the VBS script responsible for making your computer talk in the Start up folder. Read this post to have a computer said welcome.


Find your computer's gender
Want to know if your PC is a male or a female? Simple. Try the previous trick to know if your computer is a 'he' or a 'she'. On a serious note, this depends upon the voice you have selected in Microsoft Text to Speech options.


Lock Folders with password
If you have important personal files that you do not want other people to see, you can hide them in a password protected folder to prevent unwanted users from seeing them. Go see this post to hide your personal files effectively.


Change your Processor's name


If you are bored of your old processor and want a new one with a staggering name, you will definitely want to see this trick which allows you to change its name to something extraordinary to make your PC special.


Make a Keyboard Disco
You can use some VBScript coding to create a live disco on your keyboard by making the LED lights flash alternately. See this post to know how your keyboard can turn into a disco.


Recover permanently deleted files in Windows
If you have ever deleted a file in Windows that you did not want to and now want to recover it, you would definitely want to know about some free tools to recover your deleted files easily.


Use your Keyboard as Mouse.
You know you can use your mouse as keyboard using the On-screen keyboard utility. What if I tell you that it is also possible to do the reverse? Just read this post to see how.


Disable USB ports to prevent others from taking your data
Ever wanted to disable your USB ports to prevent others from using their flash drives on your PC? This post explains how to do just that with a simple registry trick. Do note that disabling USB ports will also disable your USB connected peripheral devices.