Reinstalling Windows from USB recovery drive will remove your files, while clean installing Windows 10 from installation USB should not (but there are still users who have lost some files in the process). Will installation media or recovery drive erase your data? If fact, Windows MediaCreationTool will reformat the drive automatically, and Recovery Drive will create a FAT32 formatted USB that can boot in both BIOS-based and UEFI-based PCs. Is it necessary to format USB for Windows 10 installation or recovery? *You can find detailed steps with screenshots to create Windows 10 bootable USB. Remember to tick 'Back up system files to the recovery drive.'

> For troubleshooting or reinstalling Windows 10 on the same computer, you could use Windows built-in utility to create a recovery USB. > For installing a clean copy of Windows 10 or reparing installing Windows 10 with an in-place upgrade on the same or another PC, you could download MediaCreationTool from Microsoft, and use it to create an installation USB.

Easy alternative: create bootable media to restore system from startup.

Boot Windows 10 from USB flash drive (at startup) Boot Windows 10 from USB flash drive (inside Windows)

Overview for bootable USB in Windows 10.

Keep reading to learn what USB can you use for what situation, and how to boot Windows 10 from it. No matter what your purpose is, a bootable USB drive is the prerequisite. a clean installing or upgrading of Windows 10.īesides, when you encounter system errors that seriously affect normal operation, you may also want to boot from a recovery USB for troubleshooting or factory resetting.

Why boot Windows 10 from USB flash drive? The above case described one of the most common intentions, i.e.

'Hello guys, I bought a new flash drive, a Cruzer Blade 16GB to make a fresh install on Windows 10, but the Windows doesn’t boot from flash drive. Case: I want to install Windows 10 from USB flash drive

How to reformat windows 10 from boot