Before you begin

Step 1: Insert the flash drive into your Windows computer and download Windows 10's media creation tool from Microsoft. There are 32-bit and 64-bit versions, depending on which Windows system you. This bootable USB drive creation tool is made by Microsoft. Although it is known as Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, it works for other versions of Windows also. One device which Microsoft didn't say the software would work on is Apple's Mac computers, but thanks to pieces of software like Parallels, users have been running Windows on their Apple machines. Microsoft offers a simple tool to create a bootable USB on Windows, but there is no such tool for Mac users. Fortunately the process is pretty easy, if you know how. Plus, this is a great opportunity to get Microsoft’s last version of Windows for free. Install Office for Mac now Office 365 customers get the new Office for Mac first. You’ll have Office applications on your Mac or PC, apps on tablets and smartphones for when you're on the go, and Office Online on the web for everywhere in between.

To install Windows 10 Education Edition from IUware, or if you have a Windows 8.x or 7 installation disk but do not have an optical (CD/DVD) drive on your computer, you can create a bootable flash drive for the installation.

On a Windows computer, you can use either a tool from Microsoft, or the Rufus software; using the Microsoft tool is generally simpler, while Rufus has some additional features.

What you'll need

To complete the process, you'll need:

A Windows or macOS computer connected to the internet.
On a Windows computer, you must have administrator privileges.
A flash drive with at least 8 GB of space for Windows 10 and 8.1, or at least 4 GB of space for Windows 7
The process described below will delete any data currently on your flash drive. Make sure to back up your flash drive's data to another storage location before proceeding.
A valid product key that came with your Windows software. For Windows 10, this will be available on IUware. For Windows 8.x or 7, this will be with the disc you purchased.

Insert your flash drive before beginning.

Create a bootable installation flash drive forWindows 10 Education Edition

This process will delete anything saved on your flash drive. Save anything you want to keep before following these steps.

Go to the IUware Windows 10 Education page, and select either the 32-bit or the 64-bit version. Review and accept the terms, and then click Get product key. Copy the product key to use later.
Download and run the Academic Media Creation Tool. Accept the license terms, select Create installation (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC, and click Next.
On the 'Select language, architecture, and edition' prompt, leave the default selections.
To have the Microsoft tool create your bootable flash drive, make sure your flash drive is plugged in, select USB flash drive, and click Next.
If you plan to use Rufus instead, select ISO file and click Next. This will save the .iso file to your computer; then, to use Rufus and your .iso file to create a bootable installation flash drive, follow the directions below.

Create a bootable installation flash drive forWindows 8.1

Because Windows 8 is no longer supported, you must create a Windows 8.1 bootable flash drive and upgrade to Windows 8.1.

Download Windows 8.1

To download Windows 8.1:

Go to Microsoft's Download Windows 8.1 page.
From the Select edition drop-down menu, select Windows 8.1, and click Confirm.
Select the desired language and click Confirm.
Select the 32-bit Download or the 64-bit Download (recommended, unless the machine you're installing on doesn't support it), and download the disk image.

You can now use the .iso file to create a Windows 8.1 bootable installation flash drive using either a Windows tool or Rufus.

Create a bootable drive using the Windows USB/DVD Download tool

This process will delete anything saved on your flash drive. Save anything you want to keep before following these steps.

This method formats the flash drive using the NTFS file system, which is incompatible with UEFI (secure boot). You will have to disable secure boot, if enabled, in order to boot from a USB drive made using this tool.

To create a bootable installation flash drive using the Windows tool:

Download and install the Windows USB/DVD Download tool. The final four letters of each file (before .exe) represent the language and region of the installer. Download the one for your desired language/location.
Open the Windows USB/DVD Download tool. The tool refers to itself as a Windows 7 tool, but works for 8.1 media creation as well.
When prompted, browse to your .iso file, select it, and click Next.
When asked to select the media type for your backup, make sure your flash drive is plugged in, and then choose USB device.
You may be prompted to insert the USB device even if the flash drive is already inserted. Ignore this, and choose the USB device you'll be writing to.
Click Begin Copying. If prompted, confirm that you wish to erase the flash disk.
The .iso files will start copying to the flash drive; the process can take several minutes. When it's finished, close the wizard and eject and remove the flash drive.

Create a bootable drive using Rufus

To use Rufus to create a bootable drive that is compatible with UEFI, follow the instructions below.

Create a bootable installation flash drive for Windows 7

At IU, you have two options for creating a bootable installation flash drive for Windows 7:

The Support Center will create a bootable installation flash drive for you at the IU Bloomington Support Center walk-in location; bring a blank flash drive with at least 4 GB of storage.
If you are unable to visit a walk-in location or would prefer towork with the .iso file yourself, download the Windows 7 .iso from Microsoft's Download Windows 7 Disc Images (ISO Files) page.

You can now use the .iso file to create a Windows 7 bootable installation flash drive using either a Windows tool or Rufus.

Create a bootable drive using the Windows USB/DVD Download tool

This process will delete anything saved on your flash drive. Save anything you want to keep before following these steps.

This method formats the flash drive using the NTFS file system, which is incompatible with UEFI (secure boot) You will have to disable secure boot, if enabled, in order to boot from a USB drive made using this tool.

To create a bootable installation flash drive using the Windows tool:

Download and install the Windows USB/DVD Download tool. The final four letters of each file (before .exe) represent the language and region of the installer. Download the one for your desired language/location.
Open the Windows USB/DVD Download tool.
When prompted, browse to your .iso file, select it, and click Next.
When asked to select the media type for your backup, make sure your flash drive is plugged in, and then choose USB device.
You may be prompted to insert the USB device even if the flash drive is already inserted. Ignore this, and choose the USB device you'll be writing to.
Click Begin Copying. If prompted, confirm that you wish to erase the flash disk.
The .iso files will start copying to the flash drive; the process can take several minutes. When it's finished, close the wizard and eject and remove the flash drive.

Create a bootable drive using Rufus

To use Rufus to create a bootable drive that is compatible with UEFI, follow the instructions below.

Use Rufus to write an `.iso` file

Downlo

Before you begin

What you'll need

Create a bootable installation flash drive forWindows 10 Education Edition

Create a bootable installation flash drive forWindows 8.1

Download Windows 8.1

Create a bootable drive using the Windows USB/DVD Download tool

Create a bootable drive using Rufus

Create a bootable installation flash drive for Windows 7

Create a bootable drive using the Windows USB/DVD Download tool

Create a bootable drive using Rufus

Use Rufus to write an .iso file

Use Rufus to write an `.iso` file

Microsoft Media Creation Tool For Mac