Is creating a bootable USB drive permanent?

[Dwwop]

Hi guys,

I want to install Windows 10, but I don't have a bunch of spare USB drives at home. So my question is, when I finish the installation, can I reformat the USB drive back to normal use? And how big(Gb) are te instalation files? Is 4GB USB drive good enough?

 

Sorry for my english

Thanks for your answers

[Electronics Wizardy]

You can reformat it as many times as you want afterwards.

 

I think you can use a 4gb, but depends on the image, my offical 10ltsb 1506 is 3.6gb, and the newer builds for home are bigger. 8gb should be used.

[Meag]

17 minutes ago, Dwwop said:

Hi guys,

I want to install Windows 10, but I don't have a bunch of spare USB drives at home. So my question is, when I finish the installation, can I reformat the USB drive back to normal use? And how big(Gb) are te instalation files? Is 4GB USB drive good enough?

 

Sorry for my english

Thanks for your answers

You should be able to use the 4Gb drive, but you can definitely reuse the USB afterwards, you just need to format it using a formatting tool like the one built into windows.

[kb5zue]

Yes, you can format the USB after you are done using it for the install.  Mickeysoft website says minimum size USB should be 4 gig.  When done installing the OS, just right click on the USB drive in the file manager and click on "format".

It then responds, "Are you sure", and the answer is "yes".  That's it, all done and you can use that USB to store whatever you want just like any other drive.

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15088/windows-create-installation-media