How to Create a boot-able USB Pendrive! - MBR or GPT


Bootable Pendrive is one of the most common methods now to install the Windows operating system. If you are wanted to make a bootable Pendrive you need some tools and some requirements files to do that. So let's get started.

  • You need an ISO file of the windows to get started with the Pendrive bootable method.
    • So how you manage the windows ISO file if you don't have, see our post: How to make ISO offline from a disk (For windows and any type of Disk)
    • Also Read: How to download Windows from Microsoft in a valid way (With Product Key)
  • Secondly, you need software for making your Pendrive bootable, follow the bellow step.

Some information before Starting

First of all, you need to know about the two methods of booting windows. The first and common method of the windows installing process is MBR (Legacy) method and GPT (UEFI) method.
  • MBR (Legacy): The Master Boot Record (MBR) is the information in the first sector of any hard disk or diskette that identifies how and where an operating system is located so that it can be boot (loaded) into the computer's main storage or random access memory. The Master Boot Record is also sometimes called the "partition sector" or the "master partition table" because it includes a table that locates each partition that the hard disk has been formatted into. In addition to this table, the MBR also includes a program that reads the boot sector record of the partition containing the operating system to be booted into RAM. In turn, that record contains a program that loads the rest of the operating system into RAM.
  • GPT (UEFI): The GUID Partition Table (GPT) is a standard for the layout of partition tables of a physical computer storage device, such as a hard disk drive or solid-state drive, using universally unique identifiers, which are also known as globally unique identifiers (GUIDs). Forming a part of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) standard (Unified EFI Forum-proposed replacement for the PC BIOS), it is nevertheless also used for some BIOS systems, because of the limitations of master boot record (MBR) partition tables, which use 32 bits for logical block addressing (LBA) of traditional 512-byte disk sectors. All modern personal computer operating systems support GPT. Some, including macOS and Microsoft Windows on the x86 architecture, support booting from GPT partitions only on systems with EFI firmware, but FreeBSD and most Linux distributions can boot from GPT partitions on systems with either firmware interface: the legacy BIOS or the modern EFI.

Identifying your Current booting Method

If you are going to install Windows first time on your system, decide about the windows method depending on your system, update devices support both but GPT is the best method for updated hardware systems. If you have a pre-installed operating system then you can identify your boot method by watching your booting screen.

Booting screens with your device name such as MSI, Gigabyte, HP, Asus, Dell, etc. are identified as a GPT method. If your windows installed in GPT mood you should boot your windows files in GPT mood on your Pendrive.

If your windows boot using the windows logo itself then your boot method is MBR or Legacy, then you should boot your Pendrive in MBR mood.

Remember:  Changing your Disk MBR to GPT or GPT to MBR will erase all your data from HDD or SSD. So if you want to change your partition style backup your important file into your other disk, and boot your pendrive using the new partition method and delete all the partition from the disk and create new partition to create new partition format.

 

Starting Boot Process of the Pendrive

If you have the ISO file ready, you can now good to start the process.


The Main Process:

  1. Download Rufus
  2. Now install/Run Rufus Program.
  3. Select ISO from Boot Selection from Select Option.
  4. Choose Partition Scheme (MBR/GPT).
  5. You can change the volume label otherwise just click start and after every process is done, it shows ready like that.

Some information is taken from whatis, Wikipedia

This post may be helpful for you!

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  • BIOS Keys of Modern PCs । Boot Menu Key Commands । Boot from USB