NOTE: The resulting USB drive is only bootable on PCs, not Macs. Either use UNetbootin to download one of the many Linux distributions it supports or provide the location of your own Linux ISO file. UNetbootin is a free program for both Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X that allows you to create bootable Live USB drives for Ubuntu, Fedora, and other Linux distributions instead of burning a CD.

In addition to Windows and Linux systems, you can also use Rufus to put utilities on USB drives, such as Parted Magic, Ultimate Boot CD, and BartPE. Rufus is very easy to use and the program looks like the default format window shown in Windows when you format a hard disk partition, USB drive, or other external drive. You can create bootable USB drives for the listed versions of Windows, as well as almost all popular Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Fedora, and OpenSUSE. It’s our current preferred way to create Linux Live CDs and USB drives. Rufus runs in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. It also allows you to check the USB device for bad blocks, using up to four passes. Rufus is a small, portable program that allows you to create bootable USB drives for Windows and Linux. RELATED: How to Create a Bootable Linux USB Flash Drive, the Easy Way Please see the documentation for your computer for information about how to access BIOS and change the boot order of drives. You can change the boot order of the drives in your computer’s BIOS so the Windows installation on your USB drive runs automatically when you turn on your computer. The Windows USB/DVD Download Tool is an official, freeware tool from Microsoft that allows you to install Windows 7 and Windows 8 and Windows 10 without having to first run an existing operating system on your computer.

Editor’s Note: if you want to create a bootable Windows install USB, this is the tool you should choose.

Free boot disk utility