If your computer runs Windows 10, it's a good idea to have a bootable Windows installation disk, in case you ever want to reinstall Windows on your computer.

1. Windows Installer Creator Tools
2. Windows Install Media Creation Tool
3. Windows Install Media Creation Tool Linux
4. Windows Install Media Creation Tool Error

.USB installer could do a great help. Most importantly, UNetbootin is the only bootable USB creator tool that can work on Windows, Linux and macOS.

• Media Creation Tool free download: Windows 10 installer software for Windows. Safe PC download for Windows 32-bit and 64-bit, latest version.
• Download Universal USB Installer for Windows free 2020 latest version. This easy application is compatible with Windows Vista, 7, 8, and Windows 10 only. You can’t install Universal USB Installer.
• The MSIX Packaging Tool Driver monitors the system to capture the changes that an installer is making on the system which allows MSIX Packaging Tool to create a package based on those changes. Windows Update is Active We will temporarily disable Windows Update for the duration of packaging so that we don't collect any extraneous data.

If you don't have a Windows 10 disk, you can create one using the methods described below.

• Method 2: Download ISO and create bootable USB.

Requirements

Before you create a bootable Windows 10 disk, make sure you have the following:

• A computer connected to the Internet, with a USB port or DVD burner.
• A USB flash drive with a capacity of at least 8 GB, which is either empty or ready to be completely erased; or a blank DVD-R disk.
• A valid Windows 10 license; either a numeric license key or a Microsoft account with a Windows 10 license that is associated with your computer.

Method 1: Use the Media Creation Tool

The Media Creation Tool is a program provided by Microsoft that downloads all required files, and write them to your DVD or USB flash drive. Follow these instructions to download and use the Media Creation Tool.

The following steps will completely overwrite the data on your USB flash drive. All existing data on the disk will be destroyed.

1. Open a web browser and go to Microsoft's Windows 10 download page. Under Create Windows 10 installation media, click Download tool now.

2. Run the installer. At the UAC prompt, click Yes. The installer gets things ready, then displays Notices and License terms. Read the terms and click Accept to proceed.

3. At the screen What do you want to do?, select Create installation media for another PC, and click Next.

4. At Select language, architecture, and edition, don't change anything if you're creating the installer for this computer. Make sure Use the recommended settings for this PC remains checked. (If you're creating a disk for another computer, uncheck this box and make changes now.) To continue, click Next.

5. At the screen Choose which media to use, you can choose USB or DVD as the destination. In this example, we'll create a USB flash drive. Select USB flash drive, and click Next.

6. You'll be asked to Select a USB flash drive. If your USB flash drive is not inserted, insert it now, wait a few moments and click Refresh drive list.

Then, select your USB flash drive, and click Next.

7. Windows 10 downloads the installer and write it to your USB flash drive. You can continue using your PC while it runs in the background.

8. When it's finished, you'll see Your USB flash drive is ready. Click Finish. Setup will clean up its temporary files and exit automatically.

You can now remove your USB flash drive from the computer. For information about how to use it, see how to boot with your installation disk, below.

Method 2: Download ISO and create bootable USB

You also have the option to download the Windows 10 ISO image file to your computer, then create your bootable disk manually with another program.

If you're using Windows, you must use the Media Creation Tool to download the ISO. If you're using another operating system, such as macOS or Linux, Microsoft offers a direct download.

Windows: Download ISO with Media Creation Tool

If you're using Windows, follow these steps to download the Windows 10 ISO with the Media Creation Tool. (Steps 1–4 are the same as in method 1.)

1. Open a web browser and go to Microsoft's Windows 10 download page. Click Download tool now.

2. Run the installer. At the UAC prompt, click Yes. Read the license terms and click Accept.

3. Select Create installation media for another PC, and click Next.

4. At Select language, architecture, and edition, don't change anything if you're creating the installer for this computer. Click Next.

5. At Choose which media to use, select ISO file, and click Next.

6. Choose a location on your computer to download the ISO file, such as your Downloads folder. Make sure you have enough space to download the file (it's big - between 3 and 5 gigabytes, depending on the version).

7. When the download is complete, Media Creation Tool offers to Burn the ISO to a DVD. It also displays the full path and file name of the ISO file on your computer.

Optional: If you'd like to verify the location of the file, click the file name to open the folder where it was downloaded.

Optional: If you'd like to burn a DVD of the ISO now, click Open DVD Burner to open the Windows Disk Image Burner. Insert a blank DVD-R disk into your DVD drive and follow the instructions.

8. Click Finish to close the Media Creation Tool.

You can now skip to the step create bootable USB with Rufus.

macOS X, Linux: Download ISO directly

If you're using a non-Windows operating system, follow these instructions to download the Windows 10 ISO.

1. Open a web browser and go to the Windows 10 ISO download site. Microsoft detects your operating system and reroute you to the direct download page.

2. Under Select edition, select Windows 10 and click Confirm.

3. Under Select the product language, select your language (English, for example), and click Confirm.

4. Under Downloads, you'll have the option to download the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows. If your computer has a 64-bit CPU, choose the 64-bit Download. If you're not sure, see: How to determine if you have a 32-bit or 64-bit CPU.

5. The download begins in your browser. Make sure you have enough disk space to download the file (it's big - between 3 and 5 gigabytes, depending on the version).

Create bootable USB with Rufus

Now that you've downloaded the ISO file, you need special software to create a bootable USB flash drive with it. Only copying the file to the USB will not work.

There are various programs which you can use to create a bootable USB flash drive in Windows, such as UNetbootin. In these instructions, we'll use a free Windows program called Rufus.

The following steps will completely overwrite the data on your USB flash drive. All existing data the USB flash drive will be destroyed.

1. Open a web browser and go to the Rufus website. Scroll down to Download, and choose either Rufus or Rufus portable (either one works).

2. When the download is complete, run the Rufus executable. You don't need to install it because the program runs without being installed.

3. If your USB flash drive is not inserted, insert it now. It will be immediately recognized by Rufus.

4. Click the disk icon. It looks like an optical drive and disk. Navigate to the Windows ISO you downloaded, select the ISO file, and click Open.

5. The Rufus status line will say 'READY.' To write the ISO to your USB flash drive, click Start.

6. Rufus warns you that all data on the USB will be destroyed. If you have any important files on the USB flash drive, this is your last chance to cancel, and back up your files. To proceed, click OK.

7. The ISO is written to the USB flash drive. It should only take a few minutes.

You'll know it's complete when the progress bar is fully green, and the status line says 'READY' again.

Click Close to exit Rufus.

How to boot with your installation disk

To use your Windows 10 installation disk, follow these steps.

1. Verify the computer's BIOS is configured to boot from a removable disk. To access your BIOS, you need to reboot the computer and press a specific key before boot sequence begins. For detailed instructions, see: How to enter the BIOS or CMOS setup.
2. Then, if necessary, change your boot sequence so the DVD/USB drive is listed before your HDD or SSD in your boot order. (If you don't see your USB drive in the list, insert your installation USB flash drive before powering on the computer and try again.)
3. If your BIOS is properly configured, power down the computer.
4. Insert your installation disk.
5. Power on the computer.

Instead of loading the operating system from your HDD/SSD, your computer boots from your removable disk, and the Windows installation begins.

Summary :

This article published by MiniTool corporation teaches you three methods to convert Windows existing installation into portable ISO. It also introduces you to how to make use of the created ISO file and the benefits of using an ISO file.

About Create Windows 10 ISO Image from Existing Installation

ISO image here is a file that contains all operating system-related items. It includes everything that needed to boot up a computer or install the OS. To create a Win10 ISO image from the existing installation means to make a system image file based on the current Windows 10 OS.

Then, how to create Windows 10 ISO from existing installation? There are several methods.

Way 1. Make a Windows 10 ISO Image from Existing Installation by MiniTool ShadowMaker

Usually, you have to rely on a professional and powerful tool to create a system ISO. Such tools can pick up everything needed to build an image file from your computer and make sure the created ISO image is bootable. Below will take MiniTool ShadowMaker for example to show you how to make a bootable iso of existing windows installation.

Step 1. Download, install, and launch MiniTool ShadowMaker on your computer. If it pops up asking you for purchase, click Keep Trial in the top right corner to keep using it freely.

Step 2. When entering the main interface of the program, select the Tools option in the top tab menu.

Step 3. In the Tools tab, choose Media Builder.

Step 4. In the pop-up new window named MiniTool Media Builder, click on WinPE-based media with MiniTool plug-in to select it.

Step 5. There is an Options button in the lower-left for you to specify which drivers to be included in the Windows 10 ISO image.

Add Drivers – To manually add drivers on your computer into the upcoming ISO file.

Detect Drivers – To automatically detect drivers that are compatible with WinPE from the running Windows.

Step 6. Next, select ISO File and choose a local location to save the ISO. It will start to create the Windows ISO immediately after you pick up a storage address.

Windows Installer Creator Tools

Besides creating ISO files, MiniTool ShadowMaker also allows you to create bootable USB flash drives, CDs, or DVDs.

Step 7. Wait until the process finishes. It won’t take too long (usually within 10 minutes). Or, you can do your other business during the task is processing.

Finally, you can see the crated Windows 10 ISO image in the location you choose.

Besides creating a Windows ISO image from the existing installation, MiniTool ShadowMaker also enables you to back up files/folders, partitions/volumes, system, and hard disk drives. Actually, MiniTool ShadowMaker is more a data backup app than a bootable media creator.

Way 2. Create Windows 10 ISO Image from Existing Installation with Windows Media Creation Tool

The Windows Media Creation Tool is specially designed for building installation media or upgrading the system to Windows 10. As for the installation media, you can use it to install Windows 10 on a different PC, a new copy, a clean installation, or just reinstallation.

Before starting, you are required to have a license to install Windows 10 with the Windows media you are going to create. Then, you can firstly download Windows Media Creation Tool on your computer.

Step 1. Click on the downloaded MediaCreationTool20H2.exe file to run it.

Step 2. Select Accept to agree to the applicable notices and license terms to continue.

Step 3. Choose to Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC in the What do you want to do screen.

Step 4.Select language, architecture, and edition for the Windows media. It will detect your current settings and select them as default for you. If you would like to change those options, just uncheck the Use the recommended options for this PC and specify new settings for the Windows media.

Step5. Choose ISO file in the Choose which media to use screen. Then, click Next to select a location on your local machine to save the Windows 10 ISO image.

You will need to burn the ISO file to a DVD later before making use of it to install the system.

Step 6. Wait until the system image creation completes. It will take a certain period of time depending on the different versions of Windows 10. For me, it costs me about 35 minutes to finish the task. Yet, you can work on your other business during the task with only a slower computer performance.

Windows Install Media Creation Tool

When it finishes, you can continue to use this tool to burn the created ISO file to a DVD. The detailed guide will be described below.

Way 3. Create Windows 10 ISO Image from Existing Installation via MiniTool Partition Wizard

Besides the MiniTool ShadowMaker mentioned above, the MiniTool Media Builder is also embedded in MiniTool Partition Wizard. Therefore, you can also rely on MiniTool Partition Wizard to build Windows 10 ISO images from an existing installation.

The way to make system ISO on MiniTool Partition Wizard is similar to that of with MiniTool ShadowMaker. First of all, download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard on your computer. Next, open the program and click the Bootable Media icon on the upper right. Then, the MiniTool Media Builder window will pop up and just follow the guide in Way 1.

Use the Windows 10 ISO Image Created from Existing Installation

In general, there are two ways you can make use of the Win10 ISO image file.

Case 1. Burn ISO file into CD/DVD/USB

No matter in which way you create the Win10 ISO, you can burn it into a CD, DVD, or USB and then rely on the DVD, CD, or USB to install Windows 10 or something like that.

Windows Install Media Creation Tool Linux

You will need a professional ISO burner. The Windows Media Creation Tool itself is also an ISO burner. So, you can continue to use it to burn the created Windows 10 ISO to a DVD or USB.

Windows Install Media Creation Tool Error

For the first place, insert a USB or DVD into your machine. The target disc will be overwritten and the data on it will be deleted. So, make sure you have moved out all important files before using it to store the ISO image. A blank disc is recommended here.

Actually, when the media creation task completes, Windows Media Creation Tool will provide you two options, one for opening the location where the created ISO is stored and one for launching the DVD burner. Just click the Open DVD burner option, select the target disc in the new Windows Disc Image Burner window, and click Burn to start the task.

• You can check the integrity of the burned disc by ticking the Verify disc after burning.
• If you are informed that the disc image file is too large while burning a DVD from an ISO file, you will need to use Dual Layer (DL) DVD Media.

You can also access the Windows Disc Image Burner by right-clicking on the created Windows ISO file in its saved location and select Burn disc image. If you cannot see the option, you should first go to the ISO file Properties, and change the Open with app of the ISO file to Windows Explorer in the General tab. You need to click Apply to save the changes.

You can also use other applications to burn the created Windows ISO to CD/DVD such as UltraISO. Also, you are able to burn the ISO image into a USB disk with third-party tools like Rufus.

After burning the bootable disc, you need to change computer boot order settings to switch from the current boot disk to the new burned media, restart your computer to boot it from the bootable media, and enter the Windows installation. In the Install Windows screen, personalize your language, time, and keyboard preferences, select Next, and click Install Windows.

Case 2. Mount Windows 10 ISO Image

Besides, you can directly make use of the created system ISO. Easily, right-click on the ISO file and choose Mount. Within the mounted DVD drive, double-click the setup.exe to trigger the Windows 10 Setup. Then, follow the on-screen guidance to finish upgrading to Windows 10.

Actually, you can directly create a bootable CD/DVD/USB with the software above. Doing that, you do not need to further burn the ISO image into a physical disc or USB.

Why Need to Create Windows 10 ISO Image from Existing Installation?

Just as mentioned in the above content, the Windows ISO image file can be used to install a system or boot up dead computers. Compared with the bootable USBs, CDs, or DVDs, which has the same function as the ISO files, ISO images have the following advantages.

• No need for extra devices like CD, DVD, or USB.
• You can view its contents by mounting it as a virtual drive.
• You can run the ISO file on a virtual machine.

To install Windows 10, you can also make a system backup image and restore it to its original location (reinstallation) or another computer (clean installation) with MiniTool ShadowMaker. Yet, an ISO file is better than a backup image file for:

• Easier to be deployed on any computer.
• You can view its contents by mounting it as a virtual drive.

OK, that is all I want to share about creating ISO images from Windows build. If you have other methods that can achieve the same purpose, please share them with our readers. Or, if you have anything want to say about this topic, feel free to leave a message in the below comment zone. And, if you encounter any problem while using MiniTool products, just contact our support team at [email protected].

PS: Most of the contents of this article apply to Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. Surely, you can create Windows 7 ISO image from existing installation by MiniTool ShadowMaker or MiniTool Partition Wizard.