Risks of Making Bootable Windows 10 USB

[jorenc]

Hi all,

 

I'm doing my first PC build and I was just wondering as to risks of making a bootable Windows 10 USB. It seems super easy with the Rufus software and gets rid of the need to spend $110 on a new key. However, and I don't remember where I heard/read this, but I recall hearing that making a bootable Windows 10 USB sacrifices the machine or product key you used to make the bootable USB. I guess the question I'm asking is if I can still use my laptop after I make the bootable USB or if I'm better off to buy the Operating System. Thanks!

[GoZone]

Make a usb and do use Rufus because Windows Program doesn't work as well. Usually you can fine alot of deals online.

[chiwas]

Rufus has nothing to do with windows product key and activation. Its almost the same if you use windows media creation tool or rufus.

[Djole123]

There is literally zero risk of making a bootable USB. I was dealing with Master Boot Record and my Windows is working fine, and I also booted dozens and dozens of USB's. 

 

Whoever said that it will damage your PC knows horses about computers.

[jorenc]

1 minute ago, chiwas said:

Rufus has nothing to do with windows product key and activation. Its almost the same if you use windows media creation tool or rufus.

Isn't it the software you use to make the bootable USB?

[jorenc]

1 minute ago, Djole123 said:

There is literally zero risk of making a bootable USB. I was dealing with Master Boot Record and my Windows is working fine, and I also booted dozens and dozens of USB's. 

 

Whoever said that it will damage your PC knows horses about computers.

Thanks! Is an 8Gb stick fine to work with?

[chiwas]

Just now, jorenc said:

Isn't it the software you use to make the bootable USB?

Yes it makes USB bootable but nothing else. It wont activate your windows lol.

[jorenc]

Just now, chiwas said:

Yes it makes USB bootable but nothing else. It wont activate your windows lol.

How then would I make a bootable USB drive to put Windows 10 on my new build?

[Djole123]

Just now, jorenc said:

Thanks! Is an 8Gb stick fine to work with?

Of course it is! Just make sure you have no personal data on it, because it will be permanently deleted if you decide to burn a USB.

[chiwas]

Download windows media creation tool

"Run the media creation tool.
Select Create installation media for another PC.
Choose the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) for Windows 10.
Follow the steps to create the installation media, and then select Finish when it’s done.
When you’re ready to perform a clean installation, turn on your PC, insert the DVD or USB flash drive you created, and then shut down your PC.

Restart your PC, and then press any key to boot from the DVD or USB flash drive."

[Yongtjunkit]

13 hours ago, jorenc said:

Thanks! Is an 8Gb stick fine to work with?

Yes it should be more than enough 

[Eztrcfyu]

I had an OEM Windows 10 USB and still used Rufus to make a bootable USB to install off (mostly because the OEM USB wouldn't allow me to install in UEFI mode, so my 950 Pro was booting much slower than it should have been). You can still use your usual Windows licence key, and 8GB is plenty of space for the W10 image.

[ShadesOfGrey]

I don't know who told you that, but it doesn't even make sense.  A bootable Windows 10 USB is nothing more than a media tool.  It has nothing to do with product keys.  In fact, if you already have an activated copy of Windows (as long as it's one of the versions of Windows that's eligible for the free upgrade) on the device in which you install Win10 via the USB, then the Win10 install will already be activated once you're done.

 

If installing Windows clean, you need to worry about things like making sure that you install the proper hardware drivers for your device.  And Win10 has even gotten better with this than previous versions.

 

You still need to have a valid product key.  If you're doing a build on a brand new PC, then you still need to buy Windows 10 for whatever price that it's going for nowadays.  If you are upgrading a PC that previously came with Windows 7 on up (and it's still activated), then you can just clean install on top of that, and you should be fine.

[Eztrcfyu]

2 minutes ago, ShadesOfGrey said:

I always use the Media Creation Tool because for some reason, no matter what I choose in Rufus, any bootable USB that I create (no matter which OS) only boots in BIOS/CSM, and will never boot with EFI.  I've troubleshot the hell out of it, but I can never get a Rufus-created bootable USB to boot in EFI.

I noticed Rufus resets your partition scheme selection when you choose the image to write. I selected the W10 image then set it to GPT for UEFI, otherwise it reset to MBR and wasn't bootable in UEFI for me.

[ShadesOfGrey]

1 minute ago, Eztrcfyu said:

I noticed Rufus resets your partition scheme selection when you choose the image to write. I selected the W10 image then set it to GPT for UEFI, otherwise it reset to MBR and wasn't bootable in UEFI for me.

Thank you!  I will pay mind to that in the future!