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How to Create a Master Installation Flash Drive with Multiple Versions of
Windows

Youve got your collection of Windows ISOs and maybe youve burned installation DVDs or ash drivesfor them. But why
not make yourself a master installation drive that you can use to install any version of Windows?
Where to Download
Windows 10, 8.1, and 7
ISOs Legally

You can reinstall Windows

from scratch using the
product key that came with your PC, but youll
have to nd... [Read Article]

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Setting up a bootable USB Drive that includes multiple ISOs is actually pretty easy, Were going to do it using a clever little
free tool named WinSetupFromUSB, so go ahead and download the latest version of that. You can even include some nonwindows ISOs on the disk, like Linux distributions and antivirus rescue disks. For a complete list of what you can include on
your USB drive, check out their supported sources page. There is one important note from that page worth calling out. The
tool works with single Windows ISOs from Microsoft. If you have a dual ISO that includes both the 32-bit and 64-bit
versions of Windows, you wont be able to use it. But you can always download single ISOs (one for 32-bit and one for 64bit) and stick them both on the USB if you need to.
Next, make sure you have blank USB drive big enough to hold all the ISOs you want to install, along with a little extra space.
A 16 GB drive should give you enough space for two or three versions of Windows. If you have a 32 GB drive, you should be
able to t all the versions of Windows you could want. If you want to include other ISOs as well, you might need a bigger
drive.
WinSetupFromUSBis a portable tool, so theres no installation. Once you have it downloaded, double-click the archiveto
extract the les a new folder. If youre running a 64-bit version of Windows, run the executable with x64 in the name. If
youre running a 32-bit version of Windows, run the le without the x64 in the name.

If you already had your USB drive inserted when you launched the tool, it should be listed in the box at the top of the
window. If you didnt have it inserted already, go ahead and plug it in now and then click Refresh.

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Next, click the Advanced Options check box.

Instead of working like a regular check box, clicking it opens an Advanced Options dialog box. In the Advanced Options
dialog, select the Custom menu names for Vista/7/8/10/Server Source check box. This setting allows you to provide your
own names for the folders in which the Windows ISOs are stored and the boot menu names you see when you starta
computer using the USB drive. You can close the Advanced options dialog when youre done.

setup:,,

Now comes the somewhat tricky part. Youll be adding Windows versions one at a time. The rst time you add something
to the USB drive (and only the rst time), youll want to make sure that the Auto format it with FBinst check box is
selected. This lets WinSetupFromUSB format the drive appropriately for booting. If you know youll bebooting a computer
in UEFI mode (or if youre unsure), then select the FAT32 option. Otherwise, you can use the NTFS option.

Next, select your rst Windows ISO. Select the check box next to the Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 10 /Server 2008/2012 based
ISO section and then click the browse button () to its right. Locate and open the ISO you want to add.

If its a large ISO and youre using the FAT32 le system, you may get a notication that the le is too large and will be split
in two. Thats ne, so go ahead and click OK.

Double-check that you have the correct USB drive selected at the top of the window and that the right ISO is shown in the
box. Then, click GO.

If youre using a large USB drive, you may get a warning asking if youre sure thats the drive you want to use. Go ahead and
click Yes.

If the auto format option is enabled (and it should be for the rst ISO you add to a disk), youll also get a warning letting you
know that the drive will be formatted and anything on it will be erased. Click Yes to continue.

WinSetupFromUSB will now format the drive and then pop up a window where you canenter a customfolder name for the
ISO thats between 1 and 7 characters. If you dont type anything for 30 seconds, the default will be used automatically.

A similar window will now open that lets you type a custom name that should appear in the boot menu. This time, the
name can be between 5 and 35 characters, so you have a bit more room to be specic. And again, you have 30 seconds to
type a new name before the default is used automatically.

At this point, WinSetupFromUSB will begin creating folders, adding the ISO to your USB drive, and adding the options to the
boot menu. This can take several minutes and you can gauge the progress in the windows status bar.

When WinSetupFromUSB is done, youll get a simple Job done conrmation window. Click OK.

WinSetupFromUSB now returns you to the main window. You can exit the program or you can continue adding additional
ISOs to your boot disk. Youll add additional ISOs using the same process, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind
as you do it:
When you add additional ISOs to an existing boot disk, make sure the Auto format it with FBinst check box is not
selected. It wont be by default when you return to the window (or when you start the program again), but it doesnt
hurt to make sure. You only want to format the disk with the very rst ISO you add.
Youll need to click Advanced Options andenable theCustom menu names for Vista/7/8/10/Server Source check
box each time you add a new ISO. Make sure you dont forget this step before clicking Go or you wont be able to add a
custom name for the ISO to your menu.
But thats it. Otherwise, just follow the same steps each time you want to add a new ISO to the boot disk. You dont have to
add them all in one session either. You can come back any time and add something new. When youre done, you can boot
up a computer using your USB drive (which you may be able to do even if your BIOS wont let you)and be rewarded with a
nice boot menu like this:

While it doesnt sport the most intuitive interface, WinSetupFromUSB is lightweight and works well. And once you get the
hang of adding ISOs to the package, its a breeze to set yourself up with a powerful boot disk that will let you install
whatever version of Windows you want, as well as a number of other bootable tools.

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Walter Glenn is a long time computer geek and tech writer. Though he's mostly
a Windows and gadget guy, he has a fondness for anything tech. You can follow
him on Facebook and Twitter.

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Published 07/21/16