Windows 8.1 Pro Installation Media

[Etta Lesniak]

Ihave several laptops/PCs with Windows 10 that I want to upgrade to the latest Windows 10 version (Creators' Upgrade). To speed things up and avoid re-downloading the same stuff over and over, I've used the Media Creation Tool to build a USB stick with the installation media. Now I'm running setup.exe from the stick, and everything is going well.

At what point can I remove the USB stick to start the upgrade on the next PC? Do I need to wait until the entire upgrade is finished, or does Windows have all the necessary files on the upgrading PC at one point, and if so, how can I tell when to unplug the stick?

Early on in the process Windows will copy all the files it needs from the USB drive to your hard drive. Typically when the first reboot starts, you can remove it. In the unlikely event that the installation process needs it again, it will ask for it.

Wasn't paying attention when it got to that process and it started all over again right before my eyes. So when it gets to the end of the second process "#2" on the screen, you can yank the USB out and it should be good.

After experimenting, I've successfully removed the installation media immediately after the "Copying Windows Files" stage, IE, as soon as "getting file ready for installation" starts. I've done this on all the computers and suffered no ill effects.

Hi. I will be giving my old desktop away, and I want to thoroughly wipe the hard disk. I do not have a Recovery USB flash because when I purchased the computer, the organization I bought it from said that the system is set to prevent me from creating a Recovery drive due to a 1 year warranty and the licensed copy of Windows 10 Pro. I tried to Reset with the remove everything option, but the system said that there is no Recovery environment. I tried DBAN but there is an error and I cannot get past it.

I do have a Windows Installation media that I created when I first got the computer. If I use this Windows Installation media, will the hard disk be wiped clean so that I can safely give away the computer?

No, using Windows installation media (such as through a bootable USB drive or DVD) itself does not wipe a disk clean. The purpose of Windows installation media is to install or repair the Windows operating system on a computer, not to erase data.

However, during the Windows installation process, you are given the option to format and partition the disk where Windows will be installed. If you choose to format a disk or partition during installation, it will erase all data on that particular disk or partition.

Use third-party software*: There are many third-party disk wiping tools available, such as DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke), which can securely wipe entire disks. These tools often provide more advanced options and better data security than the built-in utilities.

Eraser: Eraser is a Windows-based, open-source data erasure tool that can securely delete files, folders, and even free space on your drives. It supports various erasure methods, including Gutmann and DoD standards.

Parted Magic: Parted Magic is a Linux-based live CD/USB distribution that includes a suite of disk utilities, including a secure disk eraser. It's a versatile tool for various disk-related tasks, including data wiping.

HDDErase (for older drives): If you have older hard drives that support the Secure Erase feature, HDDErase is a command-line utility provided by the drive manufacturers for securely erasing data. It's best suited for traditional hard drives and may not work with newer SSDs.

Please keep in mind that when using any disk-wiping utility, especially on SSDs, it's essential to understand the implications and limitations of the tool. SSDs have their own mechanisms for wear-leveling and data management, so secure erasure can be more complex. Make sure to follow the instructions carefully and, if necessary, consult the documentation or support resources for the specific utility you choose.

I don't have a Recovery environment on the computer. I tried to Reset with removing everything, but the system stated that there was no Recovery environment. I couldn't create a Recovery drive when I first got the computer because I was told it would invalidate the warranty.

I am using Ventoy to install the LTSC edition of Windows 10 (this is the version of Windows often installed on kiosks, etc. to avoid the bloat). This is an official Windows iso and I have successfully installed it on a Virtualbox guest on my Linux installation, so I have confirmed that the iso itself works.

During installation I am getting a prompt to browse for missing drivers on the installation of Windows 10. I know about the Framework driver bundle, but this is for post-install and the Windows installer does not understand the format of those drivers as one big .exe file.

I tried live booting from Ventoy to Ubuntu and it worked fine. Since I was getting errors on the Primary Partition, I went ahead and used GParted from Ubuntu to reformat the primary partition as NTFS just to have a clean slate for my next attempt, but it was of no help.

Looks like it is accepting a vanilla Windows install but only if that vanilla windows was from the Media Creation Tool. Personally, I am willing to fiddle around with manually installing drivers, etc. if it results in a better final result but it looks like whatever it is was producing problems.

I wonder if this issue could be resolved by merely bundling the Framework Driver pack as a zip file that I could unzip and put on a USB drive to browse for during install rather than an exe that depends on a completed install first.

I had that same error when installing Windows 11 during my last two installations. I found that if I got to that error, backed all the way out into the main menu, then tried to install again it would just work. Not sure why but it has happened twice now (with my Dell tower and my Framework Laptop).

This message can appear for a number of reasons unrelated to a missing driver. A common one is a version mismatch in the setup files. For example, if you applied a Setup DU such as KB5007402 to sources/ on the installation media, you also have to apply the same update to the Setup image inside sources/boot.wim:2. If you were not applying any updates, the files can just be missing or otherwise damaged.

Windows Server operating systems include many optional components. Including all optional components in each Amazon EC2 Windows Server AMI is not practical. Instead, we provide you with installation media EBS snapshots that have the necessary files to configure or install components on your Windows instance.

For Availability Zone, select the Availability Zone that matches your Windows instance. Choose Add tag and enter Name for the tag key and a descriptive name for the tag value. Choose Create volume.

(Optional) When you are finished with the installation media, use the detach-volume command to detach the volume from your instance. After you detach the volume, you can use the delete-volume command to delete the volume.

(Optional) When you are finished with the installation media, use the Dismount-EC2Volume cmdlet to detach the volume from your instance. After you detach the volume, you can use the Remove-EC2Volume cmdlet to delete the volume.

I'm running into a frustrating issue where I need to create a Windows 10 bootable USB for my Macbook Pro 2023, but every attempt to use Boot Camp Assistant has ended in errors. This has left me in a bit of a bind, as I'm keen to find an alternative method that bypasses Boot Camp altogether. The goal is to successfully prepare a USB drive with Windows 10 installation files, which I plan to use on a PC. If anyone knows how to do this directly on macOS, avoiding Boot Camp issues, I'd really appreciate a simplified guide or tool suggestions to get this done.

There are many ways and tools can be used to make Windows 10 bootable USB installer on Mac, like rufus, WonderISO or Unetbootin. But for me, I used to installed windows 10 in a VM (vmware i think is what I used) on Mac and then created the USB drive from there. I wish that you had known about this method.

Bootcamp assistant app is removed from Apple Silicon on Mac so you can't create Windows 10 bootable USB on Mac with Bootcamp app. I am using WonderISO on my Apple Silicon Mac running the latest macOS Sonoma and it only takes 3 clicks to create a Windows 10 bootable USB on my Mac.

Parallels Desktop, a popular virtualization software for Mac, allows you to run Windows and other operating systems within macOS without needing to reboot. So you can create Windows 10 bootable USB on Mac in a Windows virtual machine.

Firstly, you need to have a copy of the Windows 10 ISO file. Microsoft provides this file for free on their website, intended for users who need to install or reinstall Windows. Download this file to your Mac before proceeding to the next steps.

With the Windows 10 ISO file downloaded, the next crucial step is to obtain a USB drive with sufficient storage space. Typically, a drive with at least 8GB of space is recommended. This ensures that there is enough room for the Windows installation files and any additional updates or drivers you might need to include in the bootable media.

Once Parallels Desktop is installed, you can use it to create a new virtual machine using the Windows 10 ISO file. During the setup process, Parallels will ask where you want to install Windows. At this stage, instead of installing it on a virtual disk, you'll choose your USB drive as the installation destination. This process effectively turns your USB drive into bootable Windows 10 installation media.

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