A QUICK INFORMATION GUIDE
Using Rufus
to Create a
bootable
USB drive
WHAT DOES RUFUS SOFTWARE DO?
Rufus is a utility that helps format
and create bootable USB flash drives,
such as USB keys/pendrives, memory
sticks, etc.
IS RUFUS IS A SAFE TOOL?
Rufus is a legitimate application and
it doesn’t come with advertisements.
It is free for both personal and
commercial usage.
[Link]
Step 1:
Download Rufus if you haven’t already.
Scroll down the page to where you can
select the latest updated links or any
older versions. Along with a regular
installer, Rufus also comes in a
portable variant. Download the
portable version if you don’t want to
install Rufus on your system. In this
case, I downloaded the portable
Rufus Download Page (Portable version selected) version. After downloading the .exe
file, install and open Rufus.
You will get an alert asking whether you would like to allow
Rufus to check for updates online. Click “yes” to proceed.
Rufus Updates Alert Notification
STEP 2:
Plug in the USB drive,
and you will instantly
see it in the top drop-
down menu. Once you
see the drive, click on
the “Select” button.
Rufus Drive Properties
Step 3:
On the Browse window
menu, locate the folder
where you’ve stored
your ISO file. Select it
and click on the “Open”
button. In this case, as
I wanted to create a
Rufus Select ISO
Linux Lite bootable USB
drive, I chose the ISO.
Step 4:
(OPTIONAL) CLICK ON THE MD5, SHA1, and SHA256 Checksums
LITTLE “CHECK” ICON
NEXT TO THE “BOOT
SELECTION” DROP-DOWN
MENU TO COMPUTE AND
SEE THE MD5, SHA1, AND
Wait a few seconds for the computation to be over. If no red flags show up,
it means the operating system/software edition is safe to use on your PC.
SHA256 CHECKSUMS OF Checksum Calculations
THE ISO FILE. THIS IS
USED TO VERIFY WHETHER
THE ISO FILE WAS
TAMPERED WITH
PREVIOUSLY.
Step 5:
SELECT “MBR” FROM THE
PARTITION SCHEME DROP-
DOWN MENU AND “BIOS OR
UEFI” FROM THE TARGET
SYSTEM DROP-DOWN MENU. IF
YOU ARE TRYING TO USE THIS
BOOTABLE USB DRIVE ON AN
OLD SYSTEM, SELECT THE “ADD
FIXES FOR OLD BIOSES”
CHECKBOX UNDER THE
Rufus Select Partition Size and Target System
“ADVANCED DRIVE
PROPERTIES” SECTION.
Step 6:
(Optional) Change the USB
drive name using the
“Volume Label” field.
Additionally, under
“Advanced Format
Options,” make sure the
“Quick Format” checkbox is
selected. As the name
implies, Quick Format
formats the drive quickly by
skipping the check for bad
sectors.
Step 7:
CLICK ON THE “START” BUTTON.
Rufus Start Formatting Options
Step 8:
DEPENDING ON THE ISO FILE,
RUFUS MAY PROMPT YOU TO
DOWNLOAD ADDITIONAL
FILES. FOR INSTANCE, TO
CREATE A BOOTABLE
UBUNTU DRIVE, RUFUS
PROMPTS YOU TO DOWNLOAD
THE NEWER VERSION OF
SYSLINUX. CLICK ON THE
“YES” BUTTON, AND RUFUS
WILL TAKE CARE OF
EVERYTHING.
Step 9:
IN THE NEXT PROMPT,
SELECT THE RECOMMENDED
“WRITE IN ISO IMAGE
MODE” OPTION AND CLICK
ON THE “OK” BUTTON. YOU
MAY ALSO SEE A DRIVE
FORMAT WARNING – CLICK
ON THE “OK” BUTTON.
Step 10:
As soon as you start the
process of formatting, you
will get a warning that all data
on the device will be
destroyed. It’s nothing to
worry about, as you can
recover the data later, so
click OK. If you wish to re-use
the USB drive again for data
storage.
STEP 11:
As soon as you click
on the button, Rufus
starts to create the
bootable USB drive.
Depending on your
USB drive, it can take
a few seconds or
minutes to complete
ISO Being Created
the creation process.
Step 12:
ONCE DONE, YOU WILL
NOT SEE A
COMPLETION
MESSAGE BUT WILL
HEAR A COMPLETION
SOUND, AND THE
PROGRESS BAR WILL
TURN FULLY GREEN.
Step 13:
From the File
Explorer,
verify
whether a
new bootable
drive was
created.
Here is a short video on how to
create a bootable USB drive
using Rufus