It has become very common for people nowadays to use handy USB flash drives rather than the traditional CD-ROM or DVD drives to install an operating system to your computer or laptop. Rufus, which is a free software, has made everything easy for us. Rufus is a free tool that allows us to create bootable USB flash drives that makes it easier for everyone when installing an operating system to a computer or laptop. Gone are the days of the floppy disk drives or CD-ROMS or DVD drives and now it just comes in very handy with a USB flash drive. Here is the list of the things that you would definitely love about this magical software:
- It is totally free! You don’t have to spend a single penny to use this.
- It’s just a small size. So, that’s another thing for you not to worry about.
- It is fast and furious! It can run about twice as fast as other tools available out there!
- 32 bit or 64 bit? Windows 10 or the older ones? Whichever you have, Rufus gets the work done!
So, are you as excited as I am? I hope you do. This may sound a little bit too techy but even beginners can get this done!
With all the available operating systems in the market, Linux has also stood out for the following features:
- It is an open source operating system. Getting the source code is pretty easy.
- It is more secured. It’s more about trusting the operating system than the Anti-virus programs!
- Not everyone has the latest computer systems, and Linux doesn’t care. It’s flexible in a way that it can still be used for your older computer systems.
- Reboot is the key. No need to re-install. Save more time with a faster and better system.
How about we start something magical with these two tools that we have!
Step 1: Head over to Rufus’ official website at https://rufus.ie/
Step 2: Download the software… It’s FREE!
- Once you’re on their official website, scroll down a little and you will see the Downloads It’s always better to have the latest version so just click on whatever’s displayed first to start the download.
As of now, the latest version available is Rufus 3.8 which was updated last September 16, 2019. After a few seconds this should finish downloading.
Step 3: Open Rufus
- Just go to your Downloads folder
- Search for the Rufus software that you just downloaded
- Right click on the file and choose “Run as Administrator”
- Click “Yes” when the message “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?” pops up
Yes! There is no need to install the software on your computer or laptop to be able to use it.
Step 4: Grab your USB flash drive and plug it in
Once the USB flash drive is plugged into your computer or laptop, the Rufus software will be able to detect your device and if you take a look at the bottom part, it should say “1 device found”.
Just a reminder: For this to work, your USB flash drive should have a minimum of 4GB of storage or may vary depending on the Linux distribution that you wish to download.
P.S.
Keep in mind that all the files inside the USB flash drive will be deleted. So make sure to transfer or back up those files if you still need it.
Step 5: Download the Linux Operating System
- You can download it on their website: https://www.linux.org/pages/download/
Step 6: Choose the device
This should display the name of the USB flash drive that you are going to use to create a Linux bootable USB. If in any case you have more than one USB flash drive plugged into your laptop or computer, make sure to select the correct device that you are going to use.
Step 7: Boot Selection
- Select “Disk or ISO image” as pre-selected
- Click the “SELECT” button to choose the Linux ISO file from your computer or laptop – which is the one that you just have downloaded earlier
Step 8: Image Option
- You can just go ahead and leave it with the default option which is the Standard Windows Installation
Step 9: Partition Scheme
- Usually, the default option should work fine. So, the tool will pre-select the option that is suitable for the partition scheme of your computer or laptop.
But in case you would like to know how to identify your computer or laptop’s partition scheme, here’s how:
- Type “Create and format hard disk partitions” on the search bar
- Right click on the Disk. Choose the disk where your Windows is currently installed
- Go to Properties
- Then Volumes
- Look for “Partition Style”
- Then it shows whether you have a GPT or MBR
Step 10: Target System
- You can just go ahead and leave it with the default option.
With the GPT partition scheme, it has pre-selected UEFI (non CSM). UEFI stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface.
Step 11: Volume Label
- Label it as you wish
Step 12: File System Type
- Choose FAT32 for the File System Type
Step 13: Cluster Size
- Choose 4096 bytes (Default)
Step 14: Start creating a Linux bootable USB flash drive
- Go ahead and click START
A message will pop-up telling you that you need newer SysLinux files. You don’t have to worry about this, Rufus got you! Rufus will do the work for you so once you see the pop-up message:
- Go ahead and click “Yes”
- Rufus will then start the download for the newer SysLinux files
You will then be asked by Rufus about how you want to write the image:
- Just go ahead and choose “Write in ISO Image Mode (Recommended)”
- Then click “Okay”
You will then see a warning message, letting you know that all the data stored in your USB flash drive will be erased:
- Go ahead and click “Okay”
Rufus will then start creating a Linux Bootable USB flash drive for you!