best way 2 get W10 flash drive?

I've been mostly a linux user in the recent past. Now I want to
purchase/download W10 to replace the OS on my PC. I want to put it on a
bootable flash drive. I assume the best way is to get it from a
microsoft site. Can anybody tell me the pitfalls of the various
options. TIA. Bill S.

bilsch kirjoitti 1.12.2018 klo 22.31:
I've been mostly a linux user in the recent past.Â* Now I want to
purchase/download W10 to replace the OS on my PC. I want to put it on a
bootable flash drive.Â* I assume the best way is to get it from a
microsoft site.Â* Can anybody tell me the pitfalls of the various
options.Â*Â* TIA.Â* Bill S.

As far as I know, don't even think about it. Oh, Win 10 enterprise
edition _might_ have a way (windows on the go)

You'll run into drivers, file system and things like that before you're
done..



--
-----------------------------------------------------
Thomas Wendell
Helsinki, Finland
Translation to/from FI/SWE not always accurate
-----------------------------------------------------

bilsch wrote in news
I've been mostly a linux user in the recent past. Now I want to
purchase/download W10 to replace the OS on my PC. I want to put it on a
bootable flash drive. I assume the best way is to get it from a
microsoft site. Can anybody tell me the pitfalls of the various
options. TIA. Bill S.

As stated in another post, the windows update page gives you the option to
download an ISO of the update files. Also on that page is the program that
will let you write the ISO to a flash drive.You will have to purchase a
license to be able to authenticate Windows. The minimum version I would
recommend would be Professional. You really don't want all the extra things
to keep track of that an Enterprise license would entail.

Since this will be a clean install of Windows you shouldn't have any
problems installing it. You will need a blank bootable partition to install
it into. I am guessing you will want to maintain your linux system at the
same time, which means setting up a dual boot process. That means Windows
should be installed on a different drive than where Linux is installed. The
only forseeable problems would be if you have old or non-standard hardware
or peripherals that Windows won't supply the driver for. You should also
attempt to get the latest drivers for all of your hardware before starting
the install. Before you start anything else, make sure that your CPU is
capable of handling the current version of Windows 10. Microsoft will have
a list somewhere in the update area.

bilsch wrote:
I've been mostly a linux user in the recent past. Now I want to
purchase/download W10 to replace the OS on my PC. I want to put it on a
bootable flash drive. I assume the best way is to get it from a
microsoft site. Can anybody tell me the pitfalls of the various
options. TIA. Bill S.

That's definitely the uphill direction.

1) When a Windows XP or a Linux user visits here, the
download option will offer a URL to the actual ISO.
A Windows XP or a Linux user, don't get the MediaCreationTool.

No problem, just download the ISO9660 file. I don't have
the very latest disc image here, this one is from October.
This is to give you some idea how big it is, when you
download it.

Win10_1809_English_x64.iso 3,849,388,032 bytes

2) Install VirtualBox from Oracle. Install the optional software
which offers USB2/USB3 passthru.

3) Now that VirtualBox is set up, install Windows 10. You
don't need a license key. The OS will run for at least
30 days grace period in this state. Plenty of time to
perform experiments.

4) Next, copy the ISO file using file sharing. Linux distros
now have convenient (no config edits) meaus of file sharing.
Right-click a folder you want to share in Linux, look near
the bottom of the menu, and they now have a Share item. This
will cause the package manager to install the SAMBA server stuff
and so on.

Using file sharing, copy the ISO into the running virtual machine.

5) Next, insert a USB stick. In the Virtualbox Settings menu for
the running virtual machine, you should see a USB item in the
main menu. You can select USB devices by VID:PID. In linux,
sudo lsusb should dump VID and PID for your USB stick. Use
that information to double check the selection you make
in the Virtualbox menu.

6) Test the access to the USB stick as best you can. This Windows
port of "dd" coule be used to copy a portion of the stick for
example. To prove low level access is working.

http://www.chrysocome.net/dd

http://www.chrysocome.net/downloads/dd-0.6beta3.zip

7) Now comes time to prepare a USB stick.

a) You could use MediaCreationTool within the Windows 10 virtual machine.
This wastes bytes of download time, but is the easiest way to do it.

b) Grab a copy of Rufus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_%28software%29

c) Use the Microsoft tool.

The first link is the README, the second link the download.

http://web.archive.org/web/201201022...usbdvd_dwnTool

http://web.archive.org/web/201110052...B-DVD-tool.exe

If you operate that tool from a 64-bit OS, it can make
32 bit or 64 bit USB sticks from
32 bit ISO or 64 bit ISO files.

What you're doing, is a royal pain to do for sure :-)
the last time I ran VirtualBox in Linux, I couldn't get
USB passthru working. This has happened to me before too,
in Windows. In Windows, I ended up installing VirtualBox
and the helper file, like, three times, before magically
the passthru started working. I have no idea in these
cases, why it doesn't work. But it can work, because
I've done all sorts of fun things that way.

This is the end of the free lunch section.

If you like the copy of the (eventually) installed
Windows on the target system, you can buy a matching
Win10 License key to go with it.

*******

With regard to buying a package with a USB key in it,
at least one item I saw for sale was a "digital download",
which would cause you do the above procedure anyway.

If you decide to spend $200 buying boxed software (Win10 Pro)
check, check, and recheck, that it's legit!

The layout of the ISO, to me, doesn't look conducive to
just "dd" copying the sectors to a USB key. The disc
does use overlaid file systems, but it doesn't look like
it supports USB boot directly.

*******

You could go to your public library and book an hour
of time on a library computer. Download MediaCreationTool
and do the 4GB download. Then have it make a USB key
on the library computer. On a decent broadband connection
at the library, the download should go pretty fast.

This is the kind of thing you'd be doing at the Public Library.

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/windo...-media-upgrade

And this is why you're doing it this way, for the USB thumb drive option.

https://thewindowsclub-thewindowsclu...ation-Tool.png

Paul

Paul wrote in news
bilsch wrote:
I've been mostly a linux user in the recent past. Now I want to
purchase/download W10 to replace the OS on my PC. I want to put it on
a bootable flash drive. I assume the best way is to get it from a
microsoft site. Can anybody tell me the pitfalls of the various
options. TIA. Bill S.

That's definitely the uphill direction.

1) When a Windows XP or a Linux user visits here, the
download option will offer a URL to the actual ISO.
A Windows XP or a Linux user, don't get the MediaCreationTool.

No problem, just download the ISO9660 file. I don't have
the very latest disc image here, this one is from October.
This is to give you some idea how big it is, when you
download it.

Win10_1809_English_x64.iso 3,849,388,032 bytes

2) Install VirtualBox from Oracle. Install the optional software
which offers USB2/USB3 passthru.

3) Now that VirtualBox is set up, install Windows 10. You
don't need a license key. The OS will run for at least
30 days grace period in this state. Plenty of time to
perform experiments.

4) Next, copy the ISO file using file sharing. Linux distros
now have convenient (no config edits) meaus of file sharing.
Right-click a folder you want to share in Linux, look near
the bottom of the menu, and they now have a Share item. This
will cause the package manager to install the SAMBA server stuff
and so on.

Using file sharing, copy the ISO into the running virtual machine.

5) Next, insert a USB stick. In the Virtualbox Settings menu for
the running virtual machine, you should see a USB item in the
main menu. You can select USB devices by VID:PID. In linux,
sudo lsusb should dump VID and PID for your USB stick. Use
that information to double check the selection you make
in the Virtualbox menu.

6) Test the access to the USB stick as best you can. This Windows
port of "dd" coule be used to copy a portion of the stick for
example. To prove low level access is working.

http://www.chrysocome.net/dd

http://www.chrysocome.net/downloads/dd-0.6beta3.zip

7) Now comes time to prepare a USB stick.

a) You could use MediaCreationTool within the Windows 10 virtual
machine.
This wastes bytes of download time, but is the easiest way to
do it.

b) Grab a copy of Rufus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_%28software%29

c) Use the Microsoft tool.

The first link is the README, the second link the download.

http://web.archive.org/web/201201022...ww.microsoftst
ore.com/store/msstore/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool

http://web.archive.org/web/201110052...mages2.store.m
icrosoft.com/prod/clustera/framework/w7udt/1.0/en-us/Windows7-US
B-DVD-tool.exe

If you operate that tool from a 64-bit OS, it can make
32 bit or 64 bit USB sticks from
32 bit ISO or 64 bit ISO files.

What you're doing, is a royal pain to do for sure :-)
the last time I ran VirtualBox in Linux, I couldn't get
USB passthru working. This has happened to me before too,
in Windows. In Windows, I ended up installing VirtualBox
and the helper file, like, three times, before magically
the passthru started working. I have no idea in these
cases, why it doesn't work. But it can work, because
I've done all sorts of fun things that way.

This is the end of the free lunch section.

If you like the copy of the (eventually) installed
Windows on the target system, you can buy a matching
Win10 License key to go with it.

*******

With regard to buying a package with a USB key in it,
at least one item I saw for sale was a "digital download",
which would cause you do the above procedure anyway.

If you decide to spend $200 buying boxed software (Win10 Pro)
check, check, and recheck, that it's legit!

The layout of the ISO, to me, doesn't look conducive to
just "dd" copying the sectors to a USB key. The disc
does use overlaid file systems, but it doesn't look like
it supports USB boot directly.

*******

You could go to your public library and book an hour
of time on a library computer. Download MediaCreationTool
and do the 4GB download. Then have it make a USB key
on the library computer. On a decent broadband connection
at the library, the download should go pretty fast.

This is the kind of thing you'd be doing at the Public Library.

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/windo...tool-create-in
stallation-media-upgrade

And this is why you're doing it this way, for the USB thumb drive
option.

https://thewindowsclub-thewindowsclu...-content/uploa
ds/2015/08/3-Media-Creation-Tool.png

Paul




Paul, you are right as usual. I was thinking of how I did it, but I did
it from an already existing Windows 10 system.'

I can use Linux, but for me I would be spending the time at the library
or at a friend's house with a fast Internet connection, and do it from
Windows. One of these days I'll get around to installing my copy of Mint
and start refreshing my experience. And, please, no arguments about which
version of Linux I am going to use. I hate religious wars.

Paul wrote:
bilsch wrote:
I've been mostly a linux user in the recent past. Now I want to
purchase/download W10 to replace the OS on my PC. I want to put it on
a bootable flash drive. I assume the best way is to get it from a
microsoft site. Can anybody tell me the pitfalls of the various
options. TIA. Bill S.

That's definitely the uphill direction.

1) When a Windows XP or a Linux user visits here, the
download option will offer a URL to the actual ISO.
A Windows XP or a Linux user, don't get the MediaCreationTool.

No problem, just download the ISO9660 file. I don't have
the very latest disc image here, this one is from October.
This is to give you some idea how big it is, when you
download it.

Win10_1809_English_x64.iso 3,849,388,032 bytes

I missed the link for that (1) entry.

This page sniffs the OS of the person contacting the site,
to decide what to do. For a linux or a WinXP user, the
MediaCreationTool won't run, so instead Microsoft just
gives the ISO9660 file.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...load/windows10

Paul

On 01/12/2018 20:31, bilsch wrote:
Can anybody tell me the pitfalls of the various options. TIA. Bill S.

Since you are a Linux Junk user, you'll struggle to get hang of Windows
10 as it requires intelligence and Linux Junk users never needed this
because the standard excuse for them was "It can't be done on Linux"
when asked to do something useful on that crap.

I suggest forget about it as you would embarrass yourself not knowing
how to get started. To create a flash drive was the simplest thing but
you've just high-lighted that for Linux-Junk users this is not possible.



--
With over 950 million devices now running Windows 10, customer
satisfaction is higher than any previous version of windows.

bilsch wrote:
I've been mostly a linux user in the recent past. Now I want to
purchase/download W10 to replace the OS on my PC. I want to put it on a
bootable flash drive. I assume the best way is to get it from a
microsoft site. Can anybody tell me the pitfalls of the various
options. TIA. Bill S.

Not sure why everyone else is coming up with complicated methods. It's
actually very simple. I did this in Ubuntu, but other Linux distros should
similar.

1) Download the windows ISO you want from Microsoft (paul gave the link in
his post)

2) create a bootable image with "startup disk creator" program's NB make
sure to choose the correct destination drive. It should select the right by
default.

3) reboot the pc and make sure it is set up to boot from the stick.

4) you'll be given a grub prompt IIRC and select the windows image to boot
from. At this point nothing is irreversible.

5) windows will start and take you through the installation process. This
is the point of no return.

Job done!

I did this earlier this year when I built my first windows pc in years and
only had an Ubuntu desktop for creating a startup drive.

Chris wrote:
bilsch wrote:
I've been mostly a linux user in the recent past. Now I want to
purchase/download W10 to replace the OS on my PC. I want to put it on a
bootable flash drive. I assume the best way is to get it from a
microsoft site. Can anybody tell me the pitfalls of the various
options. TIA. Bill S.

Not sure why everyone else is coming up with complicated methods. It's
actually very simple. I did this in Ubuntu, but other Linux distros should
similar.

1) Download the windows ISO you want from Microsoft (paul gave the link in
his post)

2) create a bootable image with "startup disk creator" program's NB make
sure to choose the correct destination drive. It should select the right by
default.

3) reboot the pc and make sure it is set up to boot from the stick.

4) you'll be given a grub prompt IIRC and select the windows image to boot
from. At this point nothing is irreversible.

5) windows will start and take you through the installation process. This
is the point of no return.

Job done!

I did this earlier this year when I built my first windows pc in years and
only had an Ubuntu desktop for creating a startup drive.

https://www.howtogeek.com/127377/the...nux-usb-drive/

"Ubuntu Startup Disk Creator

The Ubuntu Startup Disk Creator allows you to convert a
USB flash drive or SD card into a drive from which you
can run your Ubuntu system. You don't have to dedicate
the whole drive to the Ubuntu system. You can store
other files in the remaining space.

The program also allows you to create a drive for Debian, ===
or any other Debian-based OS for which you have a
CD or .iso image.
"

I didn't see any claim that handled Windows media.
Does it ?

That article is what I read, before crafting an answer.

At one time, usb-creator-gtk was an "intelligent" tool,
which dealt with an ISO at the component level. Then,
later, when hybrid ISOs started being delivered, the
usb-creator-gtk turned into essentially this

dd if=some.iso of=/dev/some_usb_stick

and that was the extent of the intelligence. It now
does absolutely nothing to "fix" up an image to make
it boot. The image must already have the goods in it,
or it's not going to work.

Consequently, if you want to convert an old (non-hybrid) distro,
you use an older version of Ubuntu LiveDVD to do it (usb-creator-gtk).
If you're dealing with the hybrid ISOs delivered today,
even a copy of dd is sufficient, and you don't
need the modern USB-Creator-Gtk at all.

If the media you have in your hand supports such dd transfers
(as Ubuntu and Mint DVDs do), then great. But does
Windows 10 work that way ? A check with "disktype" doesn't
show the Windows 10 ISO as having nearly the same complexity
of structure. I don't know if I'd waste the time "dd"
transferring a copy to find out. It has overlay file systems,
but no tiny fake CD partition either. The Linux ISOs have
a more complicated structure. Disktype will show you the
details of the two different ISO formulations.

I've generally had poor luck with these "boot conversion"
ideas. Even Unetbootin didn't work for me, when the
claims were it worked with certain distros. All I can suggest
to people with questions like this is "expect a rough ride".
Don't really expect *anything* to work on the first try.
If you're not suffering hair loss, you're not doing
it right.

Based on my experience, I'm no longer willing to offer
glib answers for this kind of question, because
of all the details that end up mattering. Hardly anything
ever works.

The "Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool" does work. I've used
that extensively (Vista/W7/W8/W10). But, it's a Windows tool,
and if you run it in WINE, WINE doesn't have access to /dev.
VirtualBox offers a way around that (via USB passthru). It's
still a long shot (getting USB passthru to work...). W7UDDT
has one quirk regarding bootsect.exe, which it *extracts*
from the ISO you're using as source (Aargh!). And because
it does something that stupid, you know the author of
the tool is not a Microsoft employee, and didn't take
a chance bundling Microsoft property in the tool installer.
The tool smells of FOSS roots (it installs in a weird place),
but I can't tell you any more about the thing than that.
No source available. If the source was available, someone
could improve it (by removing the bootsect dependency
and writing bootsect replacement code, for starters).

*******

Obviously, having a Windows box is an element to making
this preparation easier. Having a portable USB optical drive
(for that tablet you bought) would pay off dividends. I keep
one portable optical solution here, just so I won't have to
keep pulling drives out of one box and popping them into
another.

Once you have a Windows platform, you can use MediaCreationTool.
Something you might find at your public library. Bring a USB stick.

Paul

Paul wrote:
Chris wrote:
bilsch wrote:
I've been mostly a linux user in the recent past. Now I want to
purchase/download W10 to replace the OS on my PC. I want to put it on a
bootable flash drive. I assume the best way is to get it from a
microsoft site. Can anybody tell me the pitfalls of the various
options. TIA. Bill S.

Not sure why everyone else is coming up with complicated methods. It's
actually very simple. I did this in Ubuntu, but other Linux distros should
similar.

1) Download the windows ISO you want from Microsoft (paul gave the link in
his post)

2) create a bootable image with "startup disk creator" program's NB make
sure to choose the correct destination drive. It should select the right by
default.

3) reboot the pc and make sure it is set up to boot from the stick.

4) you'll be given a grub prompt IIRC and select the windows image to boot
from. At this point nothing is irreversible.

5) windows will start and take you through the installation process. This
is the point of no return.

Job done!

I did this earlier this year when I built my first windows pc in years and
only had an Ubuntu desktop for creating a startup drive.

https://www.howtogeek.com/127377/the...nux-usb-drive/

"Ubuntu Startup Disk Creator

The Ubuntu Startup Disk Creator allows you to convert a
USB flash drive or SD card into a drive from which you
can run your Ubuntu system. You don't have to dedicate
the whole drive to the Ubuntu system. You can store
other files in the remaining space.

The program also allows you to create a drive for Debian, ===
or any other Debian-based OS for which you have a
CD or .iso image.
"

I didn't see any claim that handled Windows media.
Does it ?

That article is what I read, before crafting an answer.

No it doesn't, but I definitely remember it being pretty simple. I did try
burning a DVD with it, which worked fine, but it was soooo sloooow that I
gave up and a USB stick instead.

It may have been this method. I'll have to check, but I'm going away for
few days so won't be able to confirm it until the weekend.
https://itsfoss.com/bootable-windows-usb-linux/