How To Boot Pendrive?

Bootable USB or Pendrive is used to install the Operating System without any other resource but only with your Pendrive. Pendrive boot is the process of using a USB storage device to boot or start a Computer’s operating system. It enables the PC hardware to use a USB storage stick to get all essential system booting information and files rather than the standard or native hard disk or the CD drive. It is a disk that can boot up your PC if you don’t have any operating system. A common use of a bootable Pendrive is to use it to boot into Windows. Booting from the removable media such as a USB drive allows you to perform diagnostics on a system that is having trouble booting from the hard drive. You can use the flash drive to install the operating system, instead of using the Windows installation CD.

Uses of a Bootable Pendrive

Before making your Pendrive bootable, you must know the uses of a bootable Pendrive:

• In case of urgency like if your windows got corrupted you can boot from it.
• It is better to boot from USB in case you want a better interface. Hence rather than a Virtual box or a Vmware, you can go for Bootable Flashdrives.
• In case you have to format your hard disk again and again to install new operating systems you can use bootable Pendrives as an alternative. Since formatting an HDD again and again can create a bad sector in it.
• To Recover a system password.
• In case you created a bootable Pendrive and now you want to use it as a normal Pendrive, you have to quick format it as a Fat32.
• To Recover a PC.
• To Remove Viruses. Remove viruses or any other infections using bootable USB.
• Rescuing a broken system using software or equivalent to system repair disc.
• Perform administrative level system tasks like disk partitioning, formatting, etc.

How to boot Pendrive using CMD?

Since we all know that there are numbers of bootable Pendrive software like ‘EaseUS Todo Backup’, ‘ISO to USB’, ‘Rufus’ and many more. We will tell you about them later. Now let us tell you the method and some bootable Pendrive command in CMD (Command Prompt):

1. Now, first of all, insert your Flash Drive in the system and go to start.
2. Then search for CMD. Right-click over cmd and then click on ‘Run as administrator’. Then a new window will appear like this. It’s a black box at the top of the Start window. This will prompt a drop-down menu.

3. Now type ‘diskpart’ and press enter. Therefore, this will open the windows inbuilt disk part utility which is used to manage the storage on your computer.4. Hence, now type ‘list disk’ and press enter. This will list all the storage devices available on your PC.5. Choose your Pendrive or USB. For that type ‘select disk 1′ and now press enter. Remember that here it is disk 1. In your computer, it may differ so choose it wisely.6. Type ‘clean’ and press enter. This will format all data from your Pendrive.7. Now, type ‘create partition primary’ and press then enter.8. Type ‘select partition 1′ and hence, press enter. So this will choose the partition we just created.9. Now type ‘format=fs NTFS quick’ and then press enter.10. Hence this will perform a quick format with the NTFS file system. Because windows use the NTFS file system for storage.11. Type ‘active’ and press enter.12. This will mark your primary partition as active.13. Hence type ‘exit’ and press enter to exit disk part. And then close the command prompt.14. Now copy all the data from the Windows installation disk to your USB. Hence your Pendrive is bootable having desired windows installation.Remember that this method is for Windows users so that they will know how to make bootable USB windows 7, how to make Pendrive bootable for windows 10 etc.

How to use a Bootable Pendrive?

After making your Pendrive bootable, you must know how to use it afterwards. Now it’s time to boot it and install windows on the computer system. You can use your Pendrive or the USB as follows:

System Reboot

• When your computer starts after powered ON, some function keys basically F8/F12 is used to go into boot device selection.
• Just make sure to insert the Pendrive in your system before powering on the computer and then select your drive.

Change BIOS Settings

Another simple method which is mostly used is to change the boot device order from the BIOS menu. For this, you will have to go to BIOS settings and change the boot order. In details, you should now reboot and go into the BIOS configuration to boot from USB. Instructions:

1. Reboot the system.
2. While booting, get into the BIOS configuration screen by hitting something like F1, F2, Delete or Escape.
3. Hotkey instructions are generally provided on the screen.
4. Now you have to move to the section that contains your boot devices.
5. With your Pendrive plugged in, the USB drive should be listed.
6. If it isn’t, then your system might not support booting from USB.
7. Let’s assume that it is supported, then promote your USB drive to the primary boot device.
8. Exit from the BIOS configuration, saving all changes.
9. Remember that if something went wrong like you provide incorrect BIOS settings, then you can seriously screw up your system.

Suppose you properly configured your BIOS and your USB drive supports booting,  Windows setup should now load. Depending over the speed of your USB drive, this may take a while.

What if not working properly?

If it isn’t working, then check:

• Is your BIOS is properly configured for booting from the USB device?
• Have you correctly prepared your USB drive in step one?
• And last, does your USB drive properly support being booted from?