People regularly inquire from me to assist them to rescue Windows computers that became locked or damaged. Sometimes, We can use a Linux USB boot drive to mount Windows partitions then transfer and copy files from the damaged systems.

How To Create Bootable USB drive on Linux to rescue Windows users

Other times, clients lose their passwords or otherwise lock their login account credentials. a method to unlock an account is to make a Windows boot disk to repair the pc. Microsoft allows you to download copies of Windows from its website and offers tools to make a USB boot device. But to use them, you would like a Windows computer, which suggests, as a Linux user, i want differently to make a boot DVD or USB drive. I even have found it difficult to make Windows USBs on Linux. My reliable tools, like Etcher.io, Popsicle (for Pop!_OS), and UNetbootin, or using dd from the instruction to make bootable media, haven’t been very successful.

That is until I discovered WoeUSB-ng, a GPL 3.0 Linux tool that makes a bootable USB drive for Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 10. The open-source software has two programs: a command-line utility and a graphical interface (GUI) version.

Install WoeUSB-ng

The GitHub repository contains instructions for installing WoeUSB-ng on Arch, Ubuntu, Fedora, or with pip3. If you’re on a supported Linux OS, you’ll install WoeUSB-ng using your package manager. Alternatively, you’ll use Python’s package manager, pip, to put in the appliance. this is often universal across any Linux distribution. there is no functional difference between these methods, so use whichever’s familiar to you.

I’m running Pop!_OS, which is an Ubuntu derivative, but being comfortable with Python, I choose the pip3 install:

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sudo pip3 install WoeUSB-ng

Create a boot disk

You can use WoeUSB-ng from the instruction or the GUI version.

To create a boot disk from the instruction, the syntax requires the command, a path to your Windows ISO file (/dev/sdX during this example; use the lsblk command to work out your drive), and a device:

sudo woeusb –device Windows.iso /dev/sdX

You can also launch the program for an easy-to-use interface. within the WoeUSB-ng application window, find the Windows.iso file and choose it. Choose your USB target device—the drive you would like to form into a Windows boot drive. this may ERASE all information on this drive, so choose carefully—and then double-check (and triple-check) your choice!

Once you’re sure you’ve got the proper destination drive selected, click the Install button.