Rufus is a program that lets you create a bootable USB drive from an ISO file. This program is useful when you want to install programs and operating systems on a Windows computer without an optical drive. To use Rufus, you will need to download Rufus to your computer, format the USB drive with the application, and insert the drive into the computer where you want to install the.iso file.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Using Rufus
Step 1. Visit the official Rufus website at
Step 2. Scroll to the “Downloads” section, then select the option to download the latest version of Rufus to your Windows computer
Step 3. Once done, double click Rufus to start the application
You don't need to install any other program to use Rufus.
Step 4. Connect the USB drive that you want to use for Rufus to your computer
Step 5. Copy the files that you want to keep in the USB drive to the computer before using Rufus
Rufus will format the drive and erase all data from the USB drive.
Step 6. Select the USB drive from the Device menu in Rufus
Generally, your USB device will appear labeled “No_Label.”
Step 7. Check the Create a bootable disk check box, then select ISO Image from the menu that appears
An ISO file is an image containing all the contents of a particular file system, such as an operating system.
Step 8. Click the drive logo to the right of the ISO Image label, then select the ISO file you want to copy with Rufus
Step 9. Click Start, then click OK to confirm the deletion and process of formatting the drive
Rufus will start the process of copying the ISO file to your drive -- this process may take up to 5 minutes.
Step 10. Click Close once Rufus has finished setting up your USB drive
Step 11. Remove the USB drive from your computer
Step 12. Make sure the computer you want to mount the ISO file on is turned off, and connect the USB drive to an available USB port
Step 13. Turn on the computer
The computer will start via the USB drive containing the ISO image, and you can now install the operating system or programs as usual.
If the computer doesn't start directly from the USB, check your BIOS and change the boot order so that USB is the first priority
Method 2 of 2: Troubleshooting Rufus
Step 1. Check the List USB Hard Drives check box in Rufus if the program does not detect your USB drive
Some types of USB drives are not compatible with Rufus.
Click the arrow next to Format Options to access Rufus' advanced options
Step 2. Try using another USB drive if you see the message Device eliminated because it appears to contain no media in Rufus
The message generally states that the USB drive is no longer usable or writable.
Step 3. Re-enable automounting if you see the error message: [0x00000015] The device is not ready.” in Rufus. The error may appear if you have ever disabled the automounting function
- Type "cmd" into the search field in the Start menu or Windows Explorer.
- Right-click cmd.exe, then click “Run as administrator.”
- Type “mountvol /e” in the dialog box that appears, then press Enter.
- Close the command line window, then try using Rufus again.
