Windows 10: USB stick with 20H2 version formatted as NTFS and exFAT not bootable

Hello Redditors!

I downloaded the ISO file for Win10 from the Microsoft website (https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10ISO). The only available version for downloading is 20H2 - October update. The total of all files is somewhere around 6.2GB, which means, it is not possible to fit all of it on a FAT formatted USB stick.

I tried formatting the 32GB USB stick that I have as both NTFS and exFAT, but it is not bootable that way. The only way I could boot from the USB is when I formatted the USB as FAT, but then the install.wim file wasn't whole.

How should I take this from here? I currently have Ubuntu 20.04, and I'm trying to dual boot with Windows 10.

submitted by /u/ristiel
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:)

 

Correct Format for USB Stick | FAT32? | NTFS? | Some Other Format?

So, that appears to indicate that Macrium doesn't care about the format... as long as the file system can be "seen" by your system.

I'd suggest exFAT...
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3109559/hardware/why-your-usb-drives-file-format-matters-fat32-vs-exfat-vs-ntfs.html

 

how til convert 64 GB USB stick fra format exFAT to NTFS

how til convert 64 GB USB stick fra format exFAT to NTFS

 

USB stick works with exFat but not with NTFS when full

Thanks guys for all your replies. Couple observations and answers to your points.

@Compumind: I did not run it on a Mac. It was done only between two Win10 desktops. Both with the latest updates (versions.)
@hsehestedt and @Compumind: thanks for the tools. I'll try them tomorrow.

What's odd, guys, is that I was able to copy the entire 14.6 GB folder using the exFAT partition on that same USB stick and the files worked on the destination machine. (It was an Adobe installer, 3 .iso files, so I'm guessing that it wouldn't run if the file was half-baked.)

Also another interesting observation. Since I had about x10 of those USB sticks, I tried the exact same thing with another stick of the same capacity. And it repeated one-to-one. Again, steps are as follows:

Format it as NTFS. The stick gets recognized empty on both desktops. Then copy 14.6GB onto it from one PC, safely remove it, plug it into USB-3 port on the second PC and it just doesn't see it at all. Then format it with NTFS and the second PC again starts seeing it when empty. I can then repeat the same steps with another USB stick from the same batch.

(PCs are: the first one is my own build -- about a year old, gaming rig. No issues with USB ports. And PC 2 that refused to read that stick is Dell OptiPlex 3070 Micro, purchased from genuine Dell website.)

So I was about to throw out that USB stick myself, until I noticed this strange behavior (that I described above.) So then I decided to try another file system, which was available in the Win10 "format" menu, i.e. exFAT, and it worked! I was able to copy the entire 14.6 GB folder.

So the reason I'm posting this is not because I'm trying to save these cheap USB drives, I'm just genuinely curious what the heck had they done with them?

@Compumind: and about your question about trying it with "the same procedure with a name brand USB stick" -- I'm throwing it back at you -- what's the name brand? They're all made in China now. I don't know who to trust anymore.