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Should I use USB 3.0 / 2.0 Installing Windows 10?

gh0st47
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I tried Googling it myself I can mix answers and rather confusing. My question is, which is the most stable and problem free and of course I would prefer the fastest ( that be USB 3.0 I guess lol ) way to fresh Install Windows 10 via Flash Drive. 
Well what I found out to be SAFE just go with USB 2.0 and with a USB 2.0 Flash Drive. But the downside is, where the hell do you even buy new USB 2.0 Flash Drive and secondly isn't USB 2.0 like super duper slow ??? Even a 3.0 is only like the speed of a 7200 RPM HDD which is rather slow as well....

Some claimed that only older generation hardware ( Mobo etc ) and Windows 7 you're unable to install the Windows using Flash Drive through USB 3.0. 
While Windows 10 has native support for USB 3.0 and most modern Mobo will work with USB 3.0 as well....

So what's everyone's opinion ? My planned build Mobo would be a Gigabyte X370 Gaming 5. I have a few USB 3.0 lying around. Wonder if the brand matters. 

Another question is which I couldn't find the answer to....do I actually need Driver to even get my USB 3.0 ports to work ?? On my current PC, all my peripherals are plugged into 2.0...so back when I was doing fresh Win 7 install I'm using a disc instead, so everything runs fine. 
Some people told me that USB 3.0 won't work till you install the Driver / Mobo Driver for it

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you are just creating headache, usb 2.0 is fine

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Depends on the motherboard, worked fine on 3.0 for me. 

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I've installed Windows 10 via a USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 flash drives countless times, never had an issue with either. I think it takes me between 10 and 15 minutes to do a full install with no noticeable difference between the two.

 

You shouldn't need drivers or anything to get it to work, USB should work out of the box regardless of rev.

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1 minute ago, deXxterlab97 said:

you are just creating headache, usb 2.0 is fine

USB 2.0 Flash Drive or installing through USB 2.0 Ports ?? 
Because as said, I couldn't find any USB 2.0 around my local stores anymore...who the heck still use it lol...
Ok let's say even if I could, and I must, what about in the future when my Flash Drive dies on me. Let's say 10 Years from now, where do I even find 2.0 then lol...
I find it's bit stupid that the standards are still so behind, Microsoft / whoever should really just make 3.0 a minimum standard now...and USB Type C is out for so long but there's barely any out on the market unless you willing to pay a hefty price... 

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2 minutes ago, Lurick said:

I've installed Windows 10 via a USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 flash drives countless times, never had an issue with either. I think it takes me between 10 and 15 minutes to do a full install with no noticeable difference between the two.

 

You shouldn't need drivers or anything to get it to work, USB should work out of the box regardless of rev.

I see, just curious if there's no Driver installed on USB 3.0 ports, it will still work but just not at the full speed as it should right ? 

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Just now, gh0st47 said:

I see, just curious if there's no Driver installed on USB 3.0 ports, it will still work but just not at the full speed as it should right ? 

It should, can't think of much as to why it wouldn't but maybe I'm not thinking properly, lol.

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1 minute ago, gh0st47 said:

I see, just curious if there's no Driver installed on USB 3.0 ports, it will still work but just not at the full speed as it should right ? 

Just use USB 3.0, as people have said before, it doesn't matter. Most Window installs now are USB sticks. Both OEM and retail. Worst case scenario, whip out a CD and create a bootable CD.

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I guess I just gotta try it myself. Tks for the replies. If it doesn't go well, welp....maybe I should make a Disc copy as well just in case lol ! 
This is the first time I ever install Windows via USB. It had always been Disc for me. Finally it's time for me to leave the Stone Age I guess lol...

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I don't have USB 2.0 ports on my motherboard/case so there wasn't really an option for me. But I used a USB 2.0 stick since it was the only one I had lying aroung. Installing Windows at USB 2.0 was faster then I expected but it took ages to create the Windows installation stick.

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Just for the sake of discussion and gaining more knowledge. Why does the Mobo manufacturers telling people to download their Windows USB Install Tool for Windows 7 on the latest Mobo ( Z270 ) ? ( And only for Windows 7 I think ) 
It's listed on their site on Specs. Scroll all the way to the bottom look for OS

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z270X-Gaming-5-rev-10#sp

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The issue is when you try to install windows 7 with usb 2 on a usb 3 board. I had such a headache with that I decided to go windows 10. 

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It doesn't matter what you use, disk, USB 2.0 or 3.0. All that will change is the installation time.

If you have a USB 3.0 Flash drive, and it can actually reach "USB 3.0 speeds"-level, and your motherboard has USB 3.0 ports, then just use USB 3.0.

 

The only issue is with OSs that doesn't support USB 3.0, like Windows 7. Where due to lack of drivers, it can't resume the setup process after having it boot from it. Also, some motherboards, back when USB 3.0 was new, didn't support booting from USB 3.0. But beside these special cases, Windows 10 should have 0 problem installing from USB 3.0

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45 minutes ago, gh0st47 said:

USB 2.0 Flash Drive or installing through USB 2.0 Ports ?? 
Because as said, I couldn't find any USB 2.0 around my local stores anymore...who the heck still use it lol...
Ok let's say even if I could, and I must, what about in the future when my Flash Drive dies on me. Let's say 10 Years from now, where do I even find 2.0 then lol...
I find it's bit stupid that the standards are still so behind, Microsoft / whoever should really just make 3.0 a minimum standard now...and USB Type C is out for so long but there's barely any out on the market unless you willing to pay a hefty price... 

All USB 3.0 Flash drives are backward compatible to USB 2.0 ports. If you find things too fast for you, then you can insert your USB 3.0 flash drive to your USB 2.0 ports, and the flash drive will not exceed USB 2.0 speeds.

 

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46 minutes ago, gh0st47 said:

I see, just curious if there's no Driver installed on USB 3.0 ports, it will still work but just not at the full speed as it should right ? 

They are drivers, they are built-in into Windows 8/10 setup.

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38 minutes ago, gh0st47 said:

Just for the sake of discussion and gaining more knowledge. Why does the Mobo manufacturers telling people to download their Windows USB Install Tool for Windows 7 on the latest Mobo ( Z270 ) ? ( And only for Windows 7 I think ) 
It's listed on their site on Specs. Scroll all the way to the bottom look for OS

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z270X-Gaming-5-rev-10#sp

Probably because:

  1. If you have a problem, they can provide support. They can't provide support to you on something they don't/can't control.
  2. Later versions of Rufus and probably this Gigabyte utility, but not Microsoft own tool which they used to provide,  support EFI booting of Windows 7. So if you were to use Microsoft utility, and you wanted EFI booting, you had to use the official Windows 7 disk, at the time. Much later Rufus added support, and I guess Gigabytes, at some point, made this tool.
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What I woukld suggest is making sure you have the .iso of windows backed up somewhere, just in case... I really can't undertsand why people suggest using windows creation tool, as if something goes wrong you have to download it again. Just download the .iso file, keep it on a USB disk drive if you have one, and then just use rufus/etcher etc to make a bootable windows flash drive when you need to.

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If you want to see the issue with cheap cable, here a fun video with the iPhone cable, but the issue still stands, and you can read up more scientific articles on it if you are interested.

 

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23 hours ago, gh0st47 said:

I tried Googling it myself I can mix answers and rather confusing. My question is, which is the most stable and problem free and of course I would prefer the fastest ( that be USB 3.0 I guess lol ) way to fresh Install Windows 10 via Flash Drive. 
Well what I found out to be SAFE just go with USB 2.0 and with a USB 2.0 Flash Drive. But the downside is, where the hell do you even buy new USB 2.0 Flash Drive and secondly isn't USB 2.0 like super duper slow ??? Even a 3.0 is only like the speed of a 7200 RPM HDD which is rather slow as well....

Some claimed that only older generation hardware ( Mobo etc ) and Windows 7 you're unable to install the Windows using Flash Drive through USB 3.0. 
While Windows 10 has native support for USB 3.0 and most modern Mobo will work with USB 3.0 as well....

So what's everyone's opinion ? My planned build Mobo would be a Gigabyte X370 Gaming 5. I have a few USB 3.0 lying around. Wonder if the brand matters. 

Another question is which I couldn't find the answer to....do I actually need Driver to even get my USB 3.0 ports to work ?? On my current PC, all my peripherals are plugged into 2.0...so back when I was doing fresh Win 7 install I'm using a disc instead, so everything runs fine. 
Some people told me that USB 3.0 won't work till you install the Driver / Mobo Driver for it

it doesnt matter if it is usb 3.0 or 2.0. 3.0 is just faster

 

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