Every Windows PC usually starts from the built-in hard drive, as the term “Windows PC” implies. This is because the Microsoft operating system is not anchored in or with the hardware, but is installed ...

Ethan enjoys programming, math, and problem solving. He started off as a self taught programmer, and is proficient in multiple programming languages. He has a wide variety of programming projects in ...

In the previous three installments, I explained the mechanism of Secure Boot and the reasons why older recovery media may ...

Keeping a bootable USB of the current operating system is just a basic tier of protection. It brings a false sense of confidence that one day, when your computer cannot load the OS, you can use the ...

Rufus is a free, portable utility that creates bootable USB flash drives from ISO files. As of 2026, the latest version is Rufus 4.13 — and it’s faster and more capable than ever, with built-in ...

I tested Rufus, Ventoy, and balenaEtcher with Linux Mint to see which one deserves a permanent spot on my emergency USB drive.

We all need to start from scratch sometimes and if you're building a new PC, chances are you'll need to learn how to make a bootable USB drive. This will enable you to boot your PC directly from a USB ...

Richard is the PC Hardware Lead at XDA and has been covering the technology industry for almost two decades. He's been building PCs since young, and when not creating content, you can often find him ...