Re: Windows tool to make bootable USB sticks

Good morning Steve,

I have used Rufus for over 10 years and it's my go-to tool. Here are 
some other suggestions if you are in the market for a utility;

- UNetbootin - This tool is widely used for creating bootable USB drives 
from various Linux distributions. It offers a simple interface and 
supports a variety of Linux distributions and system utilities. This was 
the first utility I used back in the 2000s to create bootable USB sticks 
and predates Rufus. It's free open-source software but seems the 
development has stalled on the project with the last release being 
pushed out in 2021. Looks like the devs are pushing a new product. 
(https://unetbootin.github.io/).

- Win32 Disk Imager - primarily used on Windows systems, this utility 
allows you to write ISO images to USB drives, creating bootable media 
for various purposes. I've found it useful for Debian, LibreElec and 
many others. Very basic UI, very simply to use. It's free open-source 
software. (https://win32diskimager.org/)

- Balena Etcher - a cross-platform tool that supports creating bootable 
USB drives from ISO files. It's user-friendly and suitable for both 
beginners and experienced users. The design here makes it standout. Free 
open-source software with regular updates. (https://etcher.balena.io/).

- dd (Command-line tool) - available on Unix-like operating systems, the 
dd command can be used to create bootable USB drives from ISO files. 
It's powerful and therefore intended for advanced users and requires 
careful usage, as it directly writes data and can be destructive if used 
incorrectly. (refer to your terminal).

- Ventoy - this utility allows you to create a bootable USB stick that 
can launch ISO files off of. Very handy if you have a collection of ISOs 
that you wish to boot from. Ventoy is free open-source software that is 
a relative newcomer to the scene but actively updated. 
(https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html).

- YUMI - is an early utility that allows you to create bootable USB 
sticks. YUMI is free open-source software with the last release being 
put out in January 2022. 
(https://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multiboot-usb-creator/).

- Easy2Boot - this is a Ventoy-like utility but actually predates Ventoy 
but has the same functionality except may trump Ventoy in terms of 
features. I would say using this is for advanced users only. It's 
Windows focused but can be used on Linux. It is not open-source but it 
is free to download and use. (https://easy2boot.xyz/).

- RMPrepUSB - an advanced utility with a built in emulator! Windows 
only, not open-source. (https://rmprepusb.com/).

- Universal USB Installer (UUI) - an old utility but still updated. 
Targetted at Windows. 
(https://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/).

One great resource that has been online since 2006, a time when booting 
OSes from USB was still somewhat a new concept, is the venerable 
https://www.pendrivelinux.com/

I hope this helps,

Martin.

On 10/08/2023 06:43, Luna Jernberg wrote:
> Hey!
>
> Have used Rufus several times myself, during the past year (months) at
> dayjob to flash Debian isos from Windows 10 and 11 and has worked
> great :)
>
> Den ons 9 aug. 2023 kl 17:21 skrev Steve K. <[email protected]>:
>> Hi Debian,
>>
>> On your website[1] there is mentioned a list of tools to create bootable USB drives in Windows. Some of the listed tools are closed source software, or even adware, and the Microsoft URL leads to an HTTP 404. Because the list ends with asking for other programs, I'd like to bring to your attention a tool called Rufus[2], free and open source (GPLv3), that I've used for about a decade to create bootable USB drives on Windows... to install Debian, of course!
>>
>> Hope this helps, and keep up the good work,
>>
>> Steve
>>
>> [1]: https://www.debian.org/CD/faq/#record-windows
>> [2]: https://rufus.ie/en/ or on GitHub https://github.com/pbatard/rufus