Windows 10: Query for others who use Rufus to create a bootable Win10 flash drive

Ive been playing around with various methods for creating a Bootable Windows 10 flash drive to clean install Windows 10.
Ive always used the Media Creation Tool to Download/Create the USB until recently it no longer works for me. You guys on here gave me instructions on using the Diskpart method but before trying the method I decided to use Rufus because Ive used that before without any issues.
Now on to my question lol ....Has any body used Rufus and had the settings screen flicker and reset whilst you're in the middle of making your adjustments (naming a volume label, browsing for the ISO and setting GPT partition table etc). In my case ..the screen flickers and reset the adjustments I'd made back to the defaults that were there when i first opened Rufus. I didnt continue because I wasnt sure if I carried on and re-entered my settings again if the process might get corrupted.
Has anyone else experienced this and either found out the cause or what did they do?

:)

 

Windows 10 won't update - not enough memory

By memory you are referring to hard drive space ?

What is the size of the system drive in gigabytes ?

An option would be to move installed programs to the

external drive.

For win10 apps-programs it is best to leave them on the system

drive.

The other option is to download win10 iso and create bootable

media on a usb thumb drive, rufus can do this, it is free and

can create both legacy and uefi bootable media.

I found that it is best to use rufus to create the media only for

the type of bios on the system as both may not work on

some uefi bios if a hybrid bios is on the system.

 

Window 10 Media Creation Tool errors with 0x80070456 0xA0019 (I *know* there are about 1000 threads about exactly this already)

If the media Creation tool doesn't work, pull up the ISO from the Microsoft website using some workaround and then subsequently use Rufus to Create a USB Flash Drive: Workaround: Windows 10 creators update available to Install now for global users, ISOs also released - Your Windows Guide
Use rufus after download-Step 2 Lists in Detail: Create Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 10

 

With Rufus, select the USB, then load the .iso and then amend your settings (GPT partition scheme for UEFI BIOS and FAT32 recommended unless your computer is >5 years old).

Failure to do this in the correct order may result in the settings reverting after the iso is loaded.

 

Hi Philip. My PC is 2 1/2 years old so it is UEFI. In my case I inserted the USB before running Rufus. The USB drive was already listed so there was nothing to select there. I then manually selected the ISO option (I think it said FreeDOS or something similar as the default) and then selected the Disc at the side of that and browsed and selected my ISO. Then I changed to GPT partition for UEFI and FAT32. It was while I was in the middle of naming the Volume Label that the screen flickered and I lost my settings. I didn't carry on because I was concerned about corrupted files or other problems

 

I'm looking into the best way to create a bootable Windows 10 USB flash drive having had the Media Creation Tool fail twice on me (never had any problems with it before) when allowing it to create my flash drive. I then ran into a glitch with Rufus yesterday.
My PC is UEFI. Rufus recommends using GPT partition for UEFI. If you use Media Creation Tool or Diskpart you use MBR partition table on the USB flash drive. Why does Rufus say to use GPT partitioning on a USB flash drive for Windows 10 UEFI systems.
Im just curious really if anybody knows?

 

Hello sportsfan, *Smile

I've always like using the method in Option 2 of the tutorial below for Rufus. The key is to select your ISO first in Rufus, then make changes to the other settings.

*Arrow Create Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 10 Installation Upgrade Tutorials

 

Hi Brink..thats exactly what I did. I explained above in which order I did things and Rufus screen flashed and reset to defaults so instead of trying again I closed Rufus down and decided to investigate further on here.
1. What are your feelings on the Command Prompt Diskpart method? Ive noticed there isn't a tutorial on here for that method with instructions on how to copy the files over etc. I'm pretty sure you just Right click the ISO, select Mount and then copy and paste the files that are shown over to the USB flash drive.
2. I have a bit of confusion as to the Assign (for assigning a drive letter) command in Diskpart. Can you leave the Assign command out and windows will dynamically automatically assign the Flash drive with a letter?
3. The other question I asked earlier on here is... Rufus sets up a UEFI system like mine with GPT partition table as the recommended option.
I notice that Media Creation Tool and Diskpart both set the USB flash drive up as MBR partition table. Is there a reason for that?

 

BIOS-based system: Can generally only boot from MBR
UEFI-based system: Can boot from GPT and from MBR (if CSM is enabled)

The MS tools are going for maximum compatibility by default since they don't know what type of system you're going to install Windows onto.

If you're using Rufus then it's assumed you know what you're doing and will choose the correct partition type. See: FAQ · pbatard/rufus Wiki · GitHub

 

For UEFI only, I like selecting "GPT partition scheme for UEFI" instead in Rufus.

The screen flickering sounds like is being caused by something else. Explorer restarting or video drivers being installed??

I personally don't like creating USB media via the command prompt method since it's too easy to make a mistake. Rufus makes it much easier.

Media Creation Tool creates a USB that can be used for both UEFI or Legacy BIOS.

 

Thanks for that mate. That makes it a bit clearer. So Rufus hasn't recommended GPT partition table for UEFI systems because its better or anything like that. I'm trying to choose a method that I can stick with that causes least problems. Do you think the Diskpart method might be the better one to get used to i.e not likely to change in the future or is Rufus the way to go?

 

Is there a particular reason why you say you like selecting GPT partition scheme for UEFI instead in Rufus?
Also, is Rufus as reliable at transferring all the files across as say I should imagine it would be using the Mount option on the ISO after using the Diskpart Command prompt method?

 

I find Rufus to be very reliable in creating a bootable USB with an ISO.

I like using "GPT partition scheme for UEFI" when creating a USB for only UEFI installations. There's no need for the other when it's only going to be for UEFI, but either is fine.

 

I always have to manually select GPT partition Scheme for UEFI. Is that normal? It is never selected automatically by Rufus. Some people say you shouldn't change anything as Rufus selects the best option for your system after you've selected the ISO image to be used. The Tutorial on TenForums says to select GPT partition scheme for UEFI though so that's what Ive done in the past. It is a 2 1/2 year old Dell laptop with UEFI and Secure Boot enabled. Also when I used Rufus last year I noticed that I didn't have to Disable Secure Boot during the installation..even though I saw that as a suggestion on TenForums

 

GPT is the current standard and has numerous advantages over MBR - there's no reason to use MBR anymore except for compatibility with old BIOS-based machines.

As discussed in the FAQ I linked, Windows Setup will partition your hard drive based on whether you booted the USB from MBR or GPT. So even if you have a UEFI system, if you boot Windows Setup from MBR then you would get an MBR hard drive and lose the advantages of GPT. That's why Rufus makes you explicitly choose the partition type when creating the USB drive.

Rufus is fine. It's doing the same operations as when you manually use diskpart and mount the ISO.

Edit: There's no need to disable Secure Boot if you create a drive with Rufus as long as you use FAT32. That's because most UEFIs don't support NTFS - in order to support NTFS Rufus adds a UEFI driver. However, that driver is not signed by Microsoft therefore Secure Boot will fail.