Windows 10: Windows 10 v1903 different behavior of USB installation media , Basic versus Removable (RMB)

Latest Windows upgrade to v1903 using windows installation media build 18362.30 on USB flash is still blocked and the suggested workaround is to remove any USB drive or SD card that is plugged in and running the setup from the windows.iso residing on an internal drive.

The original problem of disk letter assignment has been fixed with build 18362.145 or higher, but up to June 16, 2019, MS did not release a new installation media without this block.


After a few experiments, it turns out that the block only applies to USB devices that have the RMB bit set (current flash drives do) and appear as "removable" in disk management.

There are still some USB flash drives that do not have the RMB set on, those show as "Basic"disc. The upgrade done from one of those drives is not blocked and the upgrade works fine and continues to completion.

The same is true if the upgrade is done from an external USB HDD which shows as "Basic" disk rather than removable.





On the other side of the coin, the RMB not set can cause a different problem when the windows installation media is used for recovery. IE: To restore a windows image from a previous backup when a reformat of the volumes is needed.

In that case you get the message in the picture below based on the assumption that the recovery is running from the internal recovery volume. I think is the wrong assumption in this case because the boot was already done from the external USB device with Windows Installation media. In this case the missing RMB on the USB device causes this confusion.

Note that if the reformat is not needed the restore proceeds normally to completion.


Using the Windows installation media on a USB device that shows as "Removable" eliminates this problem and the restore works fine.





:)

 

Windows 10 USB boot

Hi there, am not a windows 10 expert. I have a pc in the bedroom on windows 10, I messed up the bootloader trying to fix the xp on that system.

System wont boot, trying to repair via win 10 usb installer.

Downloaded the media creation tool to install windows 10 installer on usb stick. Not compatible with a host of usb sticks I have. Tried the usb sticks that others use, but I think they use rufus; as the media creation tool by win 10 does not detect the usb stick.

So quick question, the win10 machine i am trying to repair the bootloader is a win7 upgraded to win10.
If i were to use the usb win10 installer to "repair installation" does the version of the iso downloaded via the media creation tool matter?

There is three options:
Windows 10
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 N

Also is there a step by step instead of using rufus as I want to try an alternative method of creating a usb win 10 installer. Preferably with more compatibility.

System is a asus sabertooth 990 (r2?) with AMD phenom X 6.

Also is there any other software I can load onto the usb that can repair the bootloader easily?
That would be the ideal alternative. Thanks

 

Windows 10 install "S" WTF

I just created install media like 2-3 weeks ago (still September FCU to my disappointment) and Windows 10 S wasn't even an option in the list. I don't know how you ended up with S in the first place because that's pretty much restricted to OEMs selling bargain-bin tablets.

Use Media Creation Tool and have it write directly to USB itself. Shouldn't have any problems as long as you can get the machine to boot to it.


Windows 10 S is basically Microsoft's answer to ChromeOS.

 

Is it time for Windows 10 already?

Here's a good step by step guide on doing a fresh install.

How to clean install Windows 10 from a USB drive - Software - Feature - HEXUS.net