Installing Windows 8 from a USB Drive is fairly easy. Whether you have a Windows 8 DVD or a Windows 8 ISO file you’ve downloaded from Microsoft, you can use a free Microsoft tool to copy the Windows 8 installation files to a USB drive and install Windows 8 from the USB drive.
Microsoft’s official “Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool” is used for this. It’s not just for Windows 7, it also works with Windows 8. You’ll need a USB drive that’s at least 4 GB in size for Windows 8’s installer to fit on it. The contents of the USB drive will be erased by this process, so back up any important files first.
Create a Windows 8 ISO File
To copy Windows 8 to a USB stick, you’ll first need to create an ISO file from the Windows 8 disc. If you already have a Windows 8 ISO file you’ve downloaded from Microsoft, you’re good to go. If not then create
> Launch the tool after installing it and browse to the Windows 8 ISO image you created or
downloaded from Microsoft.
> Select the USB device media type to continue.
> Ensure your USB drive is connected to your computer and select it in the list. Remember, the
USB drive must have at least 4 GB of free space and its contents will be erased.
> The tool will now format your USB drive, make it bootable, and copy the Windows 8 installer
files to it. This will take several minutes. You’ll see the message “Backup completed” when
the tool is finished.
Install Windows 8
You can now install Windows 8 from the USB drive. If you want to install Windows 8 on a computer that currently has Windows on it, you can insert the USB drive into the computer, browse to the USB drive in Windows Explorer, and launch the setup.exe program on it. This will start the installation process.
If you have a computer without Windows installed on it, you’ll need to boot the computer from the USB drive. Insert the USB drive into your computer, then restart it. It should automatically boot from the USB drive, starting the Windows 8 installation process.
If this doesn’t happen automatically, you’ll need to change the boot order in your BIOS. Press the key that appears when you turn your computer on (often Delete or F2), locate the Boot Order section in your BIOS, and increase the priority of your USB drive so that the computer will try to boot from the USB drive. Save your settings and exit the BIOS after changing this option. Different computers use different BIOSs that have different interfaces and require different key presses to open.
After going through this process, you’ll be able to install Windows 8 from a USB drive just as you could from a DVD
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