How to Use Rufus to Install Windows 10 2021 -- Complete Guide

Ready to Install Windows 10 on Your Computer?

Are you still using Windows 7 or XP on your Computer? It is time for change. After January 14, 2020, Microsoft officially stopped providing security updates or support for computers that run Windows 7. Your computer will be at risk every time it’s connected to the internet as no security updates or additional protection against viruses and other malware are provided.

If you want to keep using your computer, without any online threat and vulnerability, you have to upgrade to the latest Microsoft operating system, Windows 10.

In this article, we will show you the steps on how to create Windows 10 Bootable USB that includes UEFI and Legacy support using the Rufus tool.

What is Windows 10?

Windows 10, Microsoft’s latest operating system, was Launched in 2015. It has new features such as Cortana, Microsoft’s voice assistant. It also has an app store that lets you quickly download programs and a faster web browser called Microsoft Edge.

How Much is Windows 10?

When Microsoft initially launched Windows 10 it was available as a free upgrade to anyone who already owned Windows 7 or 8. However, that offer expired on July 29, 2016. Hence, you have to pay to upgrade or install a new or buying a new computer with Windows 10 already installed may be a better option.

Can Any Computer Run Windows 10?

There are minimum hardware requirements for Windows 10 to run on a laptop or desktop computer. Your computer needs to meet the following system requirements:

· Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster compatible processor or System on a Chip (SoC)

· RAM: 32GB or larger hard disk

· Hard drive size: 32GB of space or more

· Graphics card: Compatible with DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver

· GPU: DirectX 9 compatible or later with WDDM 1.0 driver

· Display: 800x600 resolution or greater

How do I check my computer for Windows 10 compatibility?

1. Click Start menu and type This PC.

2. Right Click on the top result, which is This PC, select Properties option.

3. Then, check RAM and processor specs.

To know how much free space there is, Click Start menu and type This PC. Then under Local Disk you can check how much free space you do have.

What is Rufus?

Rufus is one of the best, simple, and easy to use tool USB bootable software that helps format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB flash drives, memory sticks, etc. It can be downloaded from the official website for free. Rufus can be especially useful when you need to create USB installation media from bootable ISOs (Windows, Linux, UEFI, etc.).

Limitations of Rufus:

· Does Not Support External Hard Drive.

· You must reformat the USB every time you want to use Rufus.

· Not Supported on Windows XP: You Need to use old versions of Rufus (prior to Rufus 3.0) for windows XP.

How to Choose the Right Boot Process and Setup in Rufus?

You need to choose the right options according to your Target system (UEFI Boot, Legacy boot, or both). Both UEFI and Legacy BIOS are low-level software that starts when you boot your PC before booting your operating system, but UEFI is a more modern solution, supporting larger hard drives, faster boot times, more security features, and—conveniently—graphics and mouse cursors.
UEFI:

· Partition scheme: GPT

· Target system: UEFI (non CSM)

· File system: FAT32

Legacy:

· Partition scheme: MBR

· Target system: BIOS (or UEFI-CSM)

· File system: NTFS

UEFI and Legacy BIOS: By default, Rufus doesn’t support booting in both UEFI and Legacy (BIOS) modes. However, pressing ALT + E together enables it.

· Partition scheme: MBR

· Target system: BIOS or UEFI

· File system: FAT32.

How to Use Rufus to Install Windows 10

Creating Bootable USB with Downloaded Windows 10 ISO

To create a bootable flash drive using downloaded Windows 10 ISO file, connect a USB flash drive of at least 8GB of space and follow the steps shown below.

Caution: Since the flash drive is going to be formatted in using Rufus, you need to put your files on the flash drive somewhere else.

1. Download the latest Rufus tool and Run it.

2. Under the Device section, select the USB flash drive [with at least 8GB of space]

3. Under the Boot selection section, click the Select button on the right side and Select the Windows 10 ISO file from its folder location.

4. Use the Image option drop-down menu to select the Standard Windows installation option.

5. Use the Partition scheme drop-down menu to select the GPT (for UEFI) or MBR (for Legacy) option.

6. Use the Target system drop-down menu to select the UEFI (non CSM) option for GPT.

Note: Use Target system drop-down menu to select the BIOS (or UEFI-CSM) option for MBR.

7. Under the Show Advanced drive properties section, leave the default settings.

8. Under the Volume label, type a name for the flash drive.

9. Under the File system and Cluster size section, leave the default settings.

10. Click Show advanced format options. Select the Quick format and Create extended label and icon files options.

11. Click Start.

12. Click OK.

13. Finally, Click on the Close button.

After you completed the steps, Rufus will create a bootable USB flash drive with support for UEFI or Legacy to install Windows 10 with the ISO file you provided. You can restart your computer to do an upgrade or a new installation of Windows 10.

Note:

· If the ISO file is larger than 4GB, choose NTFS since FAT or FAT32 file system doesn’t allow more than 4GB.

· In general, choose GPT if you only need UEFI support. Selecting MBR and FAT32 will support both UEFI and Legacy. Select NTFS if the program errors as above.

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