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

The \efi\boot\bootx64.efi file exists by default in the Windows 8/10 installation media, but does not exist by default in the Windows 7 installation media.

edit: When you boot from the USB flash drive in UEFI mode, the UEFI firmware do not use boot sectors and do not require active partition to be set. As long as the USB flash drive is FAT32 formatted and has \efi\boot\bootx64.efi file, it should be UEFI bootable.

How to create a bootable Windows 10 USB flash drive

- both UEFI and BIOS bootable USB

Microsoft Media Creation Tool > select the "USB flash drive" option.

- only UEFI bootable USB

Open File Explorer and format USB flash drive to FAT32 file system.
Copy all files and folders from the mounted Windows 10 ISO file to USB flash drive.

- both UEFI and BIOS bootable USB

diskpart
list disk
select disk #
clean
create partition primary
format fs=fat32 quick
active
exit
Copy all files and folders from the mounted Windows 10 ISO file to USB flash drive.

- only BIOS bootable USB

diskpart
list disk
select disk #
clean
create partition primary
format fs=ntfs quick
active
exit
Copy all files and folders from the mounted Windows 10 ISO file to USB flash drive.

- only UEFI bootable USB

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way
Partition scheme and target system type > GPT partition scheme for UEFI
File system > FAT32

- only BIOS bootable USB

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way
Partition scheme and target system type > MBR partition scheme for BIOS or UEFI
File system > NTFS

 

Thanks mate..you've covered all bases there. As I suspected if you format the flash drive as FAT32 in windows explorer (the flash drive was previously FAT32 ,UEFI and Legacy BIOS mode bootable before the format)...the windows explorer FAT32 format removes the active command so it is no longer bootable in Legacy BIOS mode. From then on the flash drive becomes UEFI bootable only because when you Mount the ISO, select all files and copy and paste them to the flash drive...the UEFI boot files are copied over to the flash drive at the same time as they are contained within the ISO

 

Cheers... I fully understand now. The format would remove the boot files placed on the flash drive by the previous ISO. But as soon as you Mount the newly downloaded Windows 10 ISO, select all files and Copy and Paste them on to the flash drive. The boot files are put back onto the flash drive as they are included with the new ISO. The fog is clearing lol

 

FYI, I just now (on my Win 7 work laptop) shrunk my Windows partition by 1024 MB, created a new primary partition, quick formatted it FAT32, made it active, changed the format to NTFS (it remained active), and then changed the format back to FAT32 - it retained its active status. All done within Disk Management.

 

Now youre confusing me again!!! lol Active means bootable from that partition...right. You've told me that when you format the flash drive FAT32 in Windows file explorer it makes the flash drive bootable in UEFI only so I was presuming Active status would be removed from the drive. UEFI doesn't need Active status but Legacy BIOS mode does. So if the drive remains active then it means it would be bootable still in Legacy BIOS mode when you copy over the Mounted ISO files. What am I missing? I can feel a headache coming on!! lol

 

Sorry for the confusion.

First of all, I was about to edit my prior post: I "forgot" I had actually created that new primary partition from with diskpart (could only make logical partition in Disk Management) - so that's a technical but significant correction to what I said I did.

Secondly, I missed the mark a bit by formatting from within Disk Manager when you spoke of formatting from within Windows/File Explorer. So, I repeated my experiment but using Windows Explorer to switch the format back and forth - still had the same result, however - no change in active status.

My intention was only to push back a little bit on your statement that the formatting removed the active status.

Active is necessary to be bootable in MBR/Legacy mode. Active is not required for UEFI boot. However, FAT32 is necessary for UEFI boot. NTFS or FAT32, either one, as long as active, can be booted MBR/Legacy. SO, hopefully without adding confusion, FAT32 + active is bootable either way, as long as the files needed for booting are there.

True, if you format the partition FAT32 within File Explorer without having it active, it IS only bootable UEFI. However, if the partition was already active, formatting it FAT32 in File Explorer will NOT remove the active status and it WILL boot either way.

Chappie wrote above that simply formatting FAT32 with File Explorer is only bootable UEFI - note, no mention of whether the partition is active or not. UEFI boot only needs FAT32 and the bootloader files.

My whole point was simply that formatting the partition has no impact on its active status.

 

It sounds like Chappie was thinking that the flash drive wasn't marked as Active with Diskpart so a simple FAT32 format within windows file explorer would just boot to UEFI only . It was set up as Active..thats where my confusion began. Because it was Active it would still boot to UEFI or Legacy BIOS mode because both sets of boot files would be available after the Windows ISO was mounted and copied over to the Flash drive. It was because of that that we were getting crossed wires and confusion

 

These two statements, to my eyes, seem to do the same thing but you say they give differing results. What's missing between the two aside from the fact you marked a partition active in diskpart?

 

From explorer your missing

clean
create partition primary

 

Hi mate, you've misunderstood Chappies instructions slightly that's all.......both UEFI and BIOS bootable USB refers to the diskpart method below in his instructions.
only Bios bootable USB refers to the instructions below that in his list and those are the diskpart instructions where the difference is an NTFS format which only works in a BIOS boot and not in a UEFI boot

 

Hi Ztrucker..both USB and BIOS bootable USB refers to the Diskpart instructions below and not the file explorer instructions above as it appears in the image shown