Rufus 3.0.1304 Released
Matthew Pendergrass
Rufus 3.0.1304: The Latest and Greatest Tool for Creating Bootable USB Drives
If you are looking for a fast and easy way to create bootable USB drives from ISO files, you should check out Rufus 3.0.1304, the latest version of the popular utility that helps you format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB keys/pendrives, memory sticks, etc.
Rufus is a small application that runs on Windows 8 or later and does not require installation. You can download it from rufus.ie and run it right away. Rufus is open source and licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 or later.
What's New in Rufus 3.0.1304?
Rufus 3.0.1304 was released on May 29, 2018 and it comes with a number of improvements and fixes over the previous versions. Here are some of the main changes:
- UI redesign to follow the flow of user operations (with thanks to Fahad Al-Riyami for the concept)
- Drop Windows XP and Windows Vista platform support
- Switch all downloads to SSL and use https://rufus.ie as the new base URL
- Add ARM64 support for UEFI:NTFS
- Fix delays when querying floppy drives during device enumeration
- Improve support of efi.img files on Linux ISOs
- Improve support for non-ISO9660 compliant openSUSE Leap ISOs
- Improve translation support and remove manual positioning
- Internal fixes and improvements
Why Use Rufus?
Rufus is a powerful tool that can help you with various scenarios where you need to create bootable USB drives, such as:
- You need to create USB installation media from bootable ISOs (Windows, Linux, UEFI, etc.)
- You need to work on a system that doesn't have an OS installed
- You need to flash a BIOS or other firmware from DOS
- You want to run a low-level utility
Rufus is fast and reliable. For instance, it's about twice as fast as UNetbootin, Universal USB Installer or Windows 7 USB download tool, on the creation of a Windows 7 USB installation drive from an ISO. It is also marginally faster on the creation of Linux bootable USBs from ISOs. Rufus supports a wide range of ISOs, including Windows, Linux, UEFI, DOS and more. You can find a non-exhaustive list of Rufus supported ISOs here.
How to Use Rufus?
Using Rufus is very simple and straightforward. Here are the basic steps you need to follow:
- Download Rufus from rufus.ie and run it. You can choose the standard or portable version. No installation is required.
- Insert the USB drive you want to use with Rufus into your computer. Make sure you backup any important data on it, as Rufus will erase and format it.
- Select your USB drive from the "Device" dropdown menu in Rufus.
- Click on the "Select" button and browse for the ISO file you want to use with Rufus. Rufus supports a wide range of ISO files, including Windows, Linux, UEFI, DOS and more.
- Click on the "Start" button and confirm that you want to proceed. Rufus will copy the contents of the ISO file to your USB drive and make it bootable.
- Click on the "Close" button when Rufus finishes preparing your USB drive.
- Eject the USB drive from your computer and use it to boot or install your desired program or operating system.
Rufus also offers some advanced options that you can access by clicking on the arrow next to "Format Options". For example, you can change the partition scheme, file system, cluster size, volume label, boot selection, image option and more. You can also check for bad blocks, add fixes, use a custom icon or label, enable NTFS compression and more. However, these options are not necessary for most users and you should only use them if you know what you are doing.
What are the Benefits of Rufus?
Rufus has many benefits that make it one of the best tools for creating bootable USB drives. Here are some of them:
- Rufus is fast and efficient. It can create bootable USB drives in minutes, and it is faster than most other tools in the market.
- Rufus is small and portable. It does not require installation and it can run from any folder or USB drive. It also has a low memory footprint and does not affect your system performance.
- Rufus is versatile and compatible. It can create bootable USB drives from a wide range of ISO files, including Windows, Linux, UEFI, DOS and more. It can also work with different partition schemes, file systems, boot modes and image options.
- Rufus is open source and free. It is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 or later, which means you can use, modify and distribute it as you wish. You can also access its source code and contribute to its development.
Where to Download Rufus?
You can download Rufus from its official website at rufus.ie. There you can find the latest releases, as well as older versions and beta versions. You can also find a list of supported ISO files, a FAQ section, a contact form and a donation link.
You can also download Rufus from other sources, such as GitHub or FossHub. However, you should always verify the authenticity and integrity of the downloaded file before running it. You can do that by checking its digital signature or its checksums.
What are the Alternatives to Rufus?
Rufus is not the only tool that can create bootable USB drives. There are many other alternatives that offer similar or different features and functionalities. Here are some of them:
- UNetbootin: UNetbootin is a popular Rufus alternative for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions. It is an incredibly lightweight tool that is compatible with several Linux distros. The best part is that UNetbootin is available on all major platforms including Windows, Linux, and macOS.
- balenaEtcher: balenaEtcher is another open-source tool that can flash operating systems on USB drives. It has a simple and elegant user interface that makes the process easy and fast. It also has a validated flashing feature that ensures the integrity of the data. balenaEtcher supports Windows, Linux, and macOS.
- Windows Media Creation Tool: Windows Media Creation Tool is an official tool from Microsoft that can create Windows bootable USB drives. It can automatically download the latest version of Windows and flash it on your USB drive. It also allows you to upgrade your current Windows system or create an installation DVD. However, it only works on Windows.
- Ventoy: Ventoy is a unique tool that allows you to create a multi-boot USB drive with multiple ISO files. You don't need to format or reflash your USB drive every time you want to switch between different operating systems. You can simply copy and paste the ISO files to your USB drive and boot from them. Ventoy supports Windows, Linux, UEFI, Legacy BIOS and more.
- PowerISO: PowerISO is a powerful tool that can handle various types of image files, such as ISO, BIN, NRG, CDI, DAA and more. It can also create bootable USB drives from these image files. It can also extract, edit, compress, encrypt, split and convert image files. However, it only works on Windows and it is not free.
What are the Reviews of Rufus?
Rufus has received many positive reviews from users and experts alike. It is praised for its speed, simplicity, reliability and compatibility. Here are some of the reviews of Rufus:
- "No nonsense piece of software that does what it claims. Use to use it regularly when I worked IT. No complaints." - dicherino on AlternativeTo
- "Fast, easy to use and in a few clicks you're good to go" - Guest on AlternativeTo
- "It's my go to for previously difficult tasks, e.g. updating Samsung NVME devices." - johncjmd on SourceForge
- "Great work use it and it was help full with a lot of videos online for help" - buyglocarts on SourceForge
- "Rufus is a utility used to format and create bootable USB media, such as \"USB sticks\", memory cards, etc." - halo1halo2 on SourceForge
- "Rufus is a small utility that helps format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB keys/pendrives, memory sticks, etc. Despite its small size, Rufus provides everything you need!" - Razvan Serea on Neowin
- "Rufus is a utility that runs under Windows. The tool helps format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB keys/pendrives, memory sticks, etc. Ive using Rufus for a long time, to transfer bootable copies of Windows, Linux and Android on USB keys." - Günter Born on BornCity
What are the Tips and Tricks for Rufus?
Rufus is a simple and easy-to-use tool, but it also has some tips and tricks that can help you get the most out of it. Here are some of them:
- Use the portable version of Rufus if you want to run it from any folder or USB drive without installation. You can download it from here.
- Use the "Check device for bad blocks" option if you want to scan your USB drive for errors before flashing it. This can help you avoid problems with corrupted data or boot failures.
- Use the "Add fixes for old BIOSes" option if you want to improve the compatibility of your bootable USB drive with older systems that may have issues with modern boot methods.
- Use the "Use Rufus MBR with BIOS ID" option if you want to customize the MBR code and ID of your bootable USB drive. This can help you avoid conflicts with other bootable devices on your system.
- Use the "List USB Hard Drives" option if you want to use Rufus with external hard drives or SSDs. This option is hidden by default, but you can access it by clicking on the arrow next to "Format Options".
- Use the "Advanced Drive Properties" option if you want to change the device type, partition type, file system type or cluster size of your USB drive. This option is also hidden by default, but you can access it by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F.
Conclusion
Rufus 3.0.1304 is a powerful and versatile tool that can help you create bootable USB drives from various ISO files. It is fast, reliable, compatible and open source. It can be useful for installing or running operating systems, flashing firmware, running low-level utilities and more. It also has some advanced options and features that can enhance your experience. Rufus is available for Windows 7 or later, and you can download it from rufus.ie. If you are looking for a simple and effective way to create bootable USB drives, Rufus is one of the best options you can try.
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