How to Make Bootable USB Using CMD

Installing Windows from CD or DVD has become old fashion. And most of the new motherboards support booting from USB drives. Additionally, bootable USB disks are more portable and easy to handle. So, in this tutorial, we are going to show you how to make a bootable USB using Command Prompt or cmd.

This method doesn’t require any third-party software. You just need the command prompt utility which is already available in all versions of Windows, a USB drive of the required size, and the Windows ISO file. You can also use Windows setup files copied on any other drives. Let’s proceed.

SEE ALSO:
1. How to Create Windows 11 Bootable USB for Supported or Unsupported Hardware?
2. How to Make Bootable USB for any OS using Rufus?

Create a Bootable USB Drive Using Command Prompt

The Diskpart utility in Windows allows you to modify the file system on disk drives. So, we will use Diskpart in Command Prompt to make our USB disk bootable.

Step 1: Insert a USB disk and Mount the Windows ISO File on Your PC

Insert the USB drive in the USB port and Windows DVD into DVDROM. You can also use the Windows ISO file instead of a CD/DVD. Just double-click on the ISO file to mount it.

Next, note down the drive letters of both USB Disk and DVD drive (or mounted ISO file drive). In our case USB drive has letter E: and the mounted Windows ISO has the drive letter F:.

Insert Windows Dvd Or Mount Iso And Insert Usb Drive
Insert Windows DVD or Mount ISO and Insert USB Drive

SEE ALSO:
1. Get Windows 10 ISO Download Links from Microsoft Website?
2. How to Upgrade your PC to Windows 11?


Step 2: Launch DISKPART in CMD and Select USB Drive

Now, go to Start and search for cmd. Click Run as Administrator to launch Command Prompt as administrator. We will use the CMD prompt to make a bootable USB for Windows.

Search For Cmd On Start And Click Run As Administrator To Open Command Prompt With Admin Rights
Open Command Prompt with Admin Rights

Next, launch DISKPART utility in Command Prompt. Type the following commands one by one and press Enter after each command.

diskpart
list disk
select disk 1

The disk number of the USB drive is 1. So, we have used the select disk 1 command. It may be different for you.

Run Diskpart And Select Usb Disk From List Disk
Run DISKPART and select USB Disk from List Disk

SEE ALSO:
1. How to Launch Command Prompt in any Folder?
2. A to Z List of Windows CMD Commands – PDF Download Available.


Step 3: Clean the USB Drive and Create a Primary Partition

Now, we are going to wipe clean your USB disk. After cleaning the USB drive, we will create a primary partition on it. Only the primary partition can used to create a bootable USB. Once the primary partition is created, select the partition for further steps.

NOTE: THIS WILL DELETE ALL DATA ON YOUR USB DRIVE. IF YOU HAVE ANY IMPORTANT DATA ON USB DRIVE, THEN TAKE IT’S BACKUP BEFORE PROCEEDING.

Type the following commands one by one and press Enter.

clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
Clean Usb Disk And Create Primary Partition to make bootable usb using command prompt
Clean the USB Disk and create a Primary Partition

SEE ALSO: 10 Cool Command Prompt Tricks for You.


Step 4: Format the USB Drive and Mark it as Bootable

After you have successfully created and selected primary partition on USB drive, it’s time to format it. We will format it using the NTFS file system. After formatting, we will mark the USB drive as active to make it bootable using cmd. You can exit DISKPART after that. Just type the following commands and press Enter every time.

format fs=ntfs quick
active
exit
Format The Partition And Mark As Active To Make Bootable Usb Using Cmd
Format the Partition and mark it as Active

INFO: NTFS file system supports Legacy boot (BIOS). But if your system supports UEFI, you should format the USB drive using FAT32 file system. Use format fs=FAT32 quick command to format USB using FAT32 file system.

SEE ALSO: How to Format Corrupt SD Card or USB Drive using Chromebook Recovery Utility?


Step 5: Copy Windows Files to USB Drive

Now, you have successfully created a bootable USB drive using Command Prompt. It’s time to copy Windows installation files to a USB drive. So, you can close the Command Prompt now.

After that open the DVD drive or the mounted Windows ISO. From there, select and copy all files/folders to the USB drive.

Copy Windows Files To Usb Drive To Make It Bootable Using Cmd
Copy Windows Installation files to USB Drive

SEE ALSO:
1. How to Setup your Computer to Boot from USB Drive?
2. How to Create a Multiboot USB Disk using YUMI?

Make Bootable USB using the Command Prompt

Now you can install Windows from this USB drive. However, this method may not be feasible for everyone as not many people are handy with command prompt. To install Windows from a bootable USB drive, you have to set up your computer to boot from the removable media i.e. USB drive. Check this tutorial for making necessary changes to BIOS settings.

You can also use Rufus to make a bootable USB drive if you don’t want to get your hands dirty with CMD commands. Check this tutorial to make a bootable USB using Rufus. Feel free to comment below if you face any trouble.

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Hi there, we are the editorial staff at WINDOSPC (former HELLPC). We are a team of funny and technical people. Feel free to get in touch with us via Contact-Us page.

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