Windows 10 Usb Flash Download
Jeanine Baselice
This topic covers how to manually create a Windows installation flash drive from Windows installation ISO disc image file or DVD, and is intended for manufacturers looking into creating media that they can use to manufacture Windows devices.
The steps described on this page assume you have Windows installation media and access to a Windows technician PC. If you're looking for an easy, automated way to create a bootable Windows installation flash drive, see:
If your device encounters serious issues (such as being unable to enter the operating system) and you have not previously created a recovery drive (learn more about How to create and use Windows recovery drive), you can try using installation media to reinstall the Windows operating system. To use installation media for reinstalling Windows, you will need another device that can connect to the internet (if your device is unable to enter the operating system) and an empty USB flash drive (at least 8GB of space) to create the installation media for Windows.
Note: Reinstalling Windows using Microsoft's installation media will not retain personal files or ASUS bundled applications. Some programs may not be available for download from the ASUS website. If needed, please contact the ASUS service center for assistance. Learn more about How to search for and download utilities.
I just put an old flash drive which i used with a windows machine into my linux. I noticed many files, mostly exes which were never visible in windows (my windows does not hide hidden files and extensions). Most of those strange files had malware like names. I changed the properties of these files so that linux would allow me to delete them. It worked and now the drive seems to be fully clean.
Yes there's a way to hide the a file from Windows' and Linux's file explorers, which is to start the file name with a dot . and set the h and s flags. In Windows that can be done by using the command line
When you plug your flash disk in a Linux machine and open it using Nautilus, you may press Ctrl+H to show all hidden files. A better solution is to use your favorite shell to run this command in the flash disk's mounted directory.
First, in theory. There is a chance that the Linux machine is infected with malware that forces it to hide certain files (namely other malware files). But in reality, the chances are very slim. But like anything in security, you can never be sure.
Practically speaking, plugging your infected flash disk in a Linux machine and removing all the bad files (assuming you do know what all the bad files are) guarantees with a high probability that your flash disk is now clean. As long as you don't plug it back in the infected Windows machine, it's safe to use amongst other clean Windows machines (assuming you are sure about which machines are clean).
Malware Windows executable files on a Flash drive make sense only if they get, at some point, executed on a Windows machine. This requires that the files are "visible" to the said Windows, at least from the point of view of the operating system kernel. That the file are not seen through Windows file explorer means that the file explorer is either subverted (i.e. infected with malware of its own), or that it has a serious bug which prevents it from showing files. Either way, if the .exe files are visible from a Linux system but not from a Windows system, then chances are that the Windows system is corrupted. Cleansing the Flash drive is not enough to cure the disease...
Malware which infects both Linux and Windows is extremely rare; thus, it can be surmised, with a pleasantly high probability, that if a given Flash drive seems "empty" from both a Windows system and a Linux system, then it probably is really empty. This does not imply that either machine is itself "clean".
If this was an NTFS formatted drive, another very popular method amongst amateur malware authors is to use NTFS Alternate Data Streams, which Microsoft in their infinite wisdom decided to hide from both the explorer.exe program and the dir program, making them slightly difficult to dig up without the proper tools.
Only the latter method above, using Alternate Data Streams, will have any effect on Linux. If the proper NTFS kernel modules have not been installed, then ADS' are equally, if not more, difficult to spot on Linux unless you specifically go looking for them.
It seems like you want to know how to safely clean the flash drive so there is no malware left on it when it gets plugged back into your windows machine. One guaranteed way to do this is to open up "Gnome Partition Editor" which is available on many linux distributions by default (including Ubuntu).
Upon opening this program you should see the various filesystems associated with your computer. Find your flash drive among them. under the options you should choose to reformat the flash drive (I recommend FAT 32 for a new filesystem type. It is the default for most flash drives). Once reformatted, all data should be gone and you should be good to go.
If not, find yourself a copy of DBAN and write straight zeros through your flash drive. Then reformat it as above so you can use it again. This is time consuming and probably unneeded but if you are still worried, this will do the trick.
USB flash drives contain a flash memory controller IC with an integrated CPU and firmware. It is possible in many cases for the firmware to be modified such that a clean file gets switched out with a malware infected version of the file when certain conditions are met, such as access patterns associated with Windows drive access, or x86 system boot up from of USB. It's also possible for the flash drive to change in to any other USB device, such as adding a USB CD-ROM drive along side the flash drive (some flash drive default firmwares support this feature which can be enabled), or changing itself in to a USB keyboard.
These would be very rare and advanced attacks, and other than requiring special tools specific to the flash controller, removing such malware may in some cases be impossible or require a hardware level repair.
This should prevent automatic infection of your system if a USB Drive with virus is connected. Still must be careful when trying to open the Pen Drive, because doing that by "double clicking the letter" will start the virus anyway. Instead, browse to the drive letter using the Windows Explorer address bar (type "E:\" for instance) and then with Show Extensions of Known file types and View System and Hidden files enabled, I presume you will be able to identify and eliminate potential threats even while using the operational system this virus was designed for.
For those curious, it's possible to use a Mac to create a Windows 10 boot drive, but the process is fairly involved and requires familiarity with Terminal, the Mac's command-line tool. It's not a process that I'd recommend for the average user. I recently built my first gaming PC, and despite my mild comfort level with Terminal, I still found using a Windows computer to be a safer and easier process.
2. Once the download finishes, double-click the file called MediaCreationToolxxxx to run it. (The last four digits of the file name indicate the version number of Windows 10. Right now, the filename is MediaCreationTool21H1, but that will change as newer versions are released.) The file should be in your Downloads folder.
4. You'll be asked to select the language, edition and architecture you want to use. By default, the tool will use the best options for the PC you're creating the boot drive on. You can change any of the options by unchecking the box next to Use the recommended options for this PC and using the drop-down options. If you're unsure about whether you need a 64-bit or a 32-bit architecture, select Both from the Architecture drop-down.
Note, that according to Microsoft's support page, if you plan on using this tool to flash a different edition of Windows 10, such as Windows 10 Pro (or vice versa) on a different PC, it will be included when you select Windows 10 as the Edition. In fact, basic Windows 10 is the only option, so don't stress yourself looking for a Pro option.
6. Finally, select the USB drive from the list. If you have more than one drive connected to your computer and are unsure which one to pick, disconnect the extra drives. Picking the wrong drive could be catastrophic, as this process erases everything on the drive during the process. With the right drive selected, click Next.
Microsoft's tool will take care of the rest from there. Go get a drink, take a walk or browse the internet while the tool does its job. The process should take about 30 minutes, give or take, depending on your internet speed.
When the tool is done, click Finish and remove the USB drive from your computer. Going forward, if you need to install or reinstall Windows, you can connect the drive to your computer and reboot it. Your PC should boot to the drive, giving you the option to install Windows.
If it doesn't automatically boot to the drive, you'll need to reboot your computer into its BIOS firmware -- usually done by pressing Esc, F2, or a similar key while the computer is starting up -- and change the boot drive or "bootmenu" to your flash drive. The process for each computer (or motherboard if you're building a gaming PC) will be different. When you first turn on your computer, there'll be a small line of text telling you which button to press to enter BIOS. If you don't see it, or it goes away too fast, I suggest consulting your manual for instructions.
You can also use the media tool to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10, following these instructions. After getting Windows 10 installed, here are some tips to help get you started. If reinstalling Windows 10 feels like too much, use these tips to troubleshoot and speed it up.
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