This one catches a lot of people! What’s happening is actually pretty simple, see…

  1. Linux ISOs are usually so-called “hybrid” images, meaning the ISO is also a valid disk image. That’s why you can dd them straight onto a USB stick and they just work.

  2. Windows ISOs are another story, they are not hybrid the way we want them, as they got old-school DVD layouts. Yes, they have both ISO9660 and UDF file system structures also called “hybrid”, but that’s just another type of the hybrid FS adding even more confusion. At the end of the day, if you simply dd them, the resulting USB stick will usually boot, but the installer won’t find any drives because the boot media is missing the proper partition table, boot code, and filesystem layout Windows expects from the “real” bootable disk image.

There’s another caveat, and it’s the fact that install.wim file inside newer Windows ISOs is often larger than 4GB in size. FAT32 can’t handle that, so you end up needing NTFS or a split WIM file. Tools like Rufus and WoeUSB handle this automatically, but a straight dd obviously does not…

How to do it right? Good question!

Linux

WoeUSB

https://github.com/WoeUSB/WoeUSB-ng

sudo woeusb --target-filesystem NTFS --device Win10.iso /dev/sdX

Ventoy

https://www.ventoy.net

You install Ventoy on the USB stick once, then just copy/paste ISOs to it, and no more re-flashing every time you want a different version. I’d personally go with Ventoy, but it’s just lazy me.

Windows

Rufus is kinda “de facto” standard here. You pick your ISO, you select that USB stick, click “Start”, and it does all the voodoo behind the screen. Rufus handles all the quirks automatically, no questions asked.

Bottom line is, dd works great for Linux ISOs, but not for Windows ones. Use WoeUSB, Ventoy, or Rufus, depending on what OS you run, and you’ll have an installer that boots cleanly and sees your disks, which is exactly what you want!

Answer from BaronSamedi1958 on serverfault.com
🌐
Linux Mint Forums
forums.linuxmint.com › board index › main edition support › other topics
[SOLVED] how to create a bootable windows11 usb from iso in linux mint? - Linux Mint Forums
March 13, 2023 - When you boot ventoy it lists all the isos on the stick and asks which one you want to boot. https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html In the past I remember Ventoy did not support secure boot, so I decided not to use it. Since Windows 11 requires secure boot, Ventoy must support it now. Thanks, that is good to know. 🐧Linux Mint 20.3 XFCE (UEFI - Secure Boot Enabled) dual boot with Windows 11 Give a friend a fish, and you feed them for a day.
Discussions

[RESOLVED] How to make a bootable Windows 11 USB flash drive from linux - Linux - Framework Community
Hello, I just bought the 13th intel version of the 13" model. I installed Ubuntu without breaking a sweat, but installing Windows becomes very painful. I tried to install Windows and some Medias are missing and it asks to search for them. I could send the picture if you want but I don’t think ... More on community.frame.work
🌐 community.frame.work
0
April 11, 2024
How to create a bootable Windows 11 USB in Linux (Ubuntu) - NovaCustom Community
NovaCustom forum for discussions about NovaCustom laptops and related software. More on novacustom.com
🌐 novacustom.com
I'm trying to switch from Windows 11 to Linux Mint. I have a bootable USB drive with Linux Mint on it. I configured the boot device order with "USB Storage" at the top, after about 10 attempting to restart my computer to boot into Linux, it didn't work
I have a Surface Go 1 with perhaps the same exact issue. What ended up working for me after much annoyance: Boot into Windows Plug in the USB drive Restart Windows After 2nd boot up, restart again but hold the shift key as you click "Restart." This should take you to a diagnostics menu of sorts Click "Use device." Your USB device should be listed there. If it is, click it and it should boot up (secure boot may need to be disabled.) If it's not listed, go back to the main menu, click "Continue" to reboot Windows and repeat steps 4 and 5. Hope this works for you More on reddit.com
🌐 r/SurfaceLinux
9
3
October 29, 2022
Best way to make a Win10/11 USB from Linux?

Maybe use Ventoy? It allows you to drop ISOs into the drive and will boot from ISO when you boot into the USB.

More on reddit.com
🌐 r/windows
9
7
December 9, 2020
🌐
Medium
masoncb.medium.com › using-ventoy-to-install-windows-11-from-a-linux-device-ead91ce729d3
Using Ventoy to Install Windows 11 from a Linux Device
December 2, 2024 - Step-by-step guide to install Windows 11 from Linux using Ventoy and Windows ISO Image. No install media, Windows PC, or TPM / Secure Boot needed.
🌐
Framework Community
community.frame.work › framework laptop 13 › linux
[RESOLVED] How to make a bootable Windows 11 USB flash drive from linux - Linux - Framework Community
April 11, 2024 - Hello, I just bought the 13th intel version of the 13" model. I installed Ubuntu without breaking a sweat, but installing Windows becomes very painful. I tried to install Windows and some Medias are missing and it asks to search for them. I could send the picture if you want but I don’t think ...
🌐
Dell
dell.com › dell community › software › windows general wiki
Creating a Windows Bootable USB on Ubuntu | DELL Technologies
November 30, 2023 - This tutorial will look at preparing a Windows 11 Bootable USB on Ubuntu with the Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver also known historically as F6 Preinstallation Drivers.
Top answer
1 of 2
5

This one catches a lot of people! What’s happening is actually pretty simple, see…

  1. Linux ISOs are usually so-called “hybrid” images, meaning the ISO is also a valid disk image. That’s why you can dd them straight onto a USB stick and they just work.

  2. Windows ISOs are another story, they are not hybrid the way we want them, as they got old-school DVD layouts. Yes, they have both ISO9660 and UDF file system structures also called “hybrid”, but that’s just another type of the hybrid FS adding even more confusion. At the end of the day, if you simply dd them, the resulting USB stick will usually boot, but the installer won’t find any drives because the boot media is missing the proper partition table, boot code, and filesystem layout Windows expects from the “real” bootable disk image.

There’s another caveat, and it’s the fact that install.wim file inside newer Windows ISOs is often larger than 4GB in size. FAT32 can’t handle that, so you end up needing NTFS or a split WIM file. Tools like Rufus and WoeUSB handle this automatically, but a straight dd obviously does not…

How to do it right? Good question!

Linux

WoeUSB

https://github.com/WoeUSB/WoeUSB-ng

sudo woeusb --target-filesystem NTFS --device Win10.iso /dev/sdX

Ventoy

https://www.ventoy.net

You install Ventoy on the USB stick once, then just copy/paste ISOs to it, and no more re-flashing every time you want a different version. I’d personally go with Ventoy, but it’s just lazy me.

Windows

Rufus is kinda “de facto” standard here. You pick your ISO, you select that USB stick, click “Start”, and it does all the voodoo behind the screen. Rufus handles all the quirks automatically, no questions asked.

Bottom line is, dd works great for Linux ISOs, but not for Windows ones. Use WoeUSB, Ventoy, or Rufus, depending on what OS you run, and you’ll have an installer that boots cleanly and sees your disks, which is exactly what you want!

2 of 2
-2

Here the right way to make Windows installer USB flash drive on Linux:

  1. Using GParted or any other tool make the following on USB flash drive:

1.1. Create GPT partition table.

1.1 Create the first partition ~1Gb with fat32 file system with label "BOOT".

1.2 The second with NTFS file system with label "INSTALL".

  1. Mount Windows ISO file.

  2. Copy the content except "sources" directory from Windows ISO to "BOOT" partition. The size of the content has to fit to the partition.

  3. Create "sources" directory on "BOOT" partition and copy boot.wim file to the "sources" directory.

  4. Copy all content from Windows ISO to "INSTALL" partition.

That's all.

Find elsewhere
🌐
Ubuntu
ubuntu.com › tutorials › create-a-usb-stick-on-windows
Create a bootable USB stick with Rufus on Windows | Ubuntu
This tutorial will show you how to create a bootable USB stick on Microsoft Windows using Rufus. For most users we recommend balenaEtcher instead of Rufus which is simpler to use and also available on MacOS and Ubuntu. Instructions are now included in the primary Install Ubuntu Desktop tutorial. Creating a bootable Ubuntu USB stick from Microsoft Windows is very simple and we’re going to cover the process in the next few steps.
Top answer
1 of 3
6

You might be able to use Hiren’s BootCD PE, which is basically a portable and bootable Windows environment:

Hiren’s BootCD PE (Preinstallation Environment) is a restored edition of Hiren’s BootCD based on Windows 11 PE x64. Given the absence of official updates after November 2012, the PE version is currently under development by the fans of Hiren’s BootCD. It features a curated selection of the best free tools while being tailored for new-age computers, supporting UEFI booting and requiring a minimum of 4 GB RAM.

Equipped with these invaluable tools, you can address various computer-related problems. Notably, it does not include any pirated software; instead, it exclusively contains free and legal software.

If your computer does not support a regular Windows 11 installation, it will likely boot with the Windows 11 PE version, as Windows PE versions have significantly lower hardware requirements. For instance, if your computer boots with the Windows 10 PE version, it is highly probable that it will also boot with the Windows 11 PE version.

Upon booting, the PE version attempts to install drivers for essential components such as graphics, sound, wireless and Ethernet cards for your hardware, facilitating connection to a WIFI or Ethernet network. If your WIFI or Ethernet card is not recognized by the PE version, kindly Contact Us with your hardware model. We will strive to incorporate the necessary drivers in upcoming releases.

Official releases are still available on our old versions page and additional information can be found on the about page.

You will find more bootable Windows PE bootable CDs in the article
5 Bootable Windows PE ISO To Boot, Recover And Repair Windows (geckoandfly.com).

This includes : MediCat USB, Sergei Strelec’s WinPE, All in One – System Rescue Toolkit, Gandalf’s Windows 10PE (donation required).

2 of 3
1

I had the same exact need and I was able to install Windows to an external USB drive from Linux by running the Widows installation in VirtualBox: Is it possible to flash firmware through a VM?

At that answer I also linked to a tool that can be used to install Windows from Linux without running the Windows installation (deploy-win10-from-linux)

🌐
Microsoft Community Hub
techcommunity.microsoft.com › microsoft community hub › communities › products › windows › windows insider program
How do I create an Ubuntu bootable USB drive on Windows 11? | Microsoft Community Hub
Since I am more accustomed to using the command line, I decided to use the command line to make a bootable disk, but the result was a bit stuck, so I came to ask for help. I downloaded the ISO file of Ubuntu, which is about 2-3GB, and then prepared an 8GB USB drive. Through the command line tool, I used the diskpart command to format the USB drive, and then used the dd command to write the ISO file to the USB drive.
🌐
Linuxiac
linuxiac.com › home › tips & tricks › how to create a windows 10/11 bootable usb on linux
How to Create a Windows 10/11 Bootable USB on Linux
July 19, 2025 - WoeUSB is a free, open-source software tool for creating a bootable USB drive from a Windows ISO file. It’s designed for use on Linux systems and is particularly useful for users who need to create a Windows installation USB drive but are ...
🌐
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Create Windows 11 Bootable USB Drive in Linux Using WoeUSB - YouTube
how to install woeusb in linux ubuntu 22.04 and using woeusb to create windows 11 bootable usb drive.--------Install WoeUSB In Ubuntu 22.04:sudo add-apt-repo...
Published   April 12, 2023
🌐
FOSS Linux
fosslinux.com › home › beginner's guide › creating a bootable windows 10/11 usb on linux
How to Use Linux to Create a Bootable Windows 10/11 USB
August 1, 2023 - Dnf: Choosing the right package manager for Linux · Navigate to the ‘Activities’ section, look for ‘WoeUSB’ and launch it. If that method fails, launch your terminal and move to section 4 below and follow the subsequent steps to create a bootable Windows 10/11 USB drive using WoeUSB: Open the WoeUSB graphical user interface (GUI) by running the following command in the terminal: ... Click on the “From a Disk image (iso)” option in the GUI.
🌐
Medium
medium.com › @bonguides25 › how-to-create-a-bootable-windows-11-usb-in-ubuntu-linux-e512d0ecbe6a
How to Create a Bootable Windows 11 USB in Ubuntu Linux | by bonguides.com | Medium
June 13, 2024 - Insert your bootable Windows USB key you created in the previous section. Start the computer and at boot time, press F2 or F10 or F12 repeatedly to go to the boot settings. In here, select to boot from your USB.
🌐
GitHub
gist.github.com › vgmoose › 4e74aca92787e79661defc16960a10f3
Yet another How to Create a Windows 11 Install USB from Ubuntu Linux or Mac · GitHub
If you aren't able to back up this folder, you should be able to re-create the entries needed for Linux like this: ... UEFI booting is supposed to be simpler: just manage an entry on the EFI partition. The UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_ERROR makes it seem more complicated, but I would mentally file this under "Microsoft just requiring some special sauce" category of issues. Copying and moving around the /boot/efi/ubuntu folder back and forth to the EFI partition, whether Windows create it or not, on my machine allowed me to consistently boot back into Linux.
🌐
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Creating a Windows 11 24H2 UEFI Bootable USB on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS - YouTube
This video will instruct in creating a Windows 11 Bootable USB on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and then go through performing a clean install on a Dell XPS 8960 equipped...
Published   October 8, 2024
🌐
XDA Developers
xda-developers.com › home › ubuntu › how to boot linux from usb on a windows pc
How to boot Linux from USB on a Windows PC
April 30, 2024 - Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options: UEFI Firmware Settings. Navigate to the Authentication, Boot, or Security tab in your BIOS. Look for a Secure Boot option and set it to Disabled.
🌐
SLIMBOOK
slimbook.com › en › blog › guides-2 › post › how-to-create-a-windows-or-any-bootable-usb-from-linux-with-ventoy-384
How to create a Windows (or any) bootable USB from Linux with Ventoy | SLIMBOOK
February 19, 2024 - Note: If the USB drive does not appear, you need to disconnect and reconnect it. And that's it, we would have our Ventoy bootable USB that we can reuse as many times as we want to install ISOs of Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint, Windows 10, 11, etc...
🌐
YouTube
youtube.com › mayunix
How to Create a Bootable Windows 11 USB on Ubuntu 24.10 using Ventoy - YouTube
In this video, I will show you how to create a Windows 11 Bootable USB on Ubuntu 24.10 using Ventoy.Ventoy is a free and open-source tool designed to create ...
Published   February 13, 2025
Views   229