How to Create a Bootable Windows 10 USB in Linux

Brief: This tutorial shows you how to create a bootable Windows 10 USB in Linux with a GUI tool called WoeUSB.

I have talked a lot about creating bootable USB of Linux in Windows. How about the other way round? How about creating a bootable Windows 10 USB in Linux?

If you are uninstalling Linux from dual boot or if you want to reinstall Windows completely or you simply want to have a Windows installation disk ready, you’ll need a bootable Windows 10 USB or DVD.

In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to create a Windows 10 live USB in Linux. I am using Ubuntu for this tutorial but the steps should be valid for other Linux distributions as well.

How to Create a Bootable Windows 10 USB in Linux

Here’s what you need:

Windows 10 ISO
WoeUSB application
A USB key (pen drive) with at least 6 Gb of space

If you have an active internet connection, you can follow the instructions below. If not, you’ll have to get Windows 10 ISO and WoeUSB installer from some other means.

You can also watch a video of creating Windows 10 bootable USB. Do subscribe to our YouTube channel for more Linux videos:

Let’s see how to create a bootable Windows 10 USB in Ubuntu and other Linux distribution.

Step 1: Download Windows 10 ISO

Go to Microsoft website and download Windows 10 ISO:

Download Windows 10 ISO

Step 2: Install WoeUSB application

WoeUSB is a free and open source application for creating Windows 10 bootable USB. It is actually a fork of WinUSB tool that has been discontinued now.

Ubuntu and other Ubuntu-based Linux distributions such as Linux Mint, elementary OS etc have a PPA available. You can use the command below to install WoeUSB:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt update
sudo apt install woeusb

For other Linux distributions, you can check out the source code from the GitHub repository:

WoeUSB

Step 3: Format USB drive

Now, plug in your USB key. You’ll have to format it first. I presume you know how to format a USB key in your Linux distribution.

Ubuntu users can simply right click on the USB and click format.

The important part here is that you should format it in NTFS:

Note: If you use Fat 32 file system for formatting, you may see encounter the error below later on:

Step 4: Using WoeUSB to create bootable Windows 10

We have everything ready for us now. Start WoeUSB program.

Browse to the downloaded Windows 10 ISO file and select the USB drive on which you want to install it. Just click on Install to begin the process.

Note that it may take up to 15 minutes in creating the Windows 10 USB. Don’t get fooled by the ‘done’ on the screen.

That’s it. You should see a success message.

Step 5: Using Windows 10 bootable USB

Once the bootable USB is ready, restart your system. At boot time, press F2 or F10 or F12 repeatedly to go to the boot settings. In here, select to boot from USB.

You’ll see that Windows 10 is being booted and it gives you the option to install or repair your system. You know what to do now from here.

I hope you find this tutorial useful for creating bootable USB of Windows 10 in Linux. If you have questions or suggestions, please feel free leave a comment.

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