How to Make a Laptop Bootable USB Thumb Drive with No OS (Windows 10 HP Stream 14 as an Example)
If you have a laptop, such as the HP Stream 14, that comes with a small hard drive and runs a useless version of Windows 10, you might want to consider making a bootable USB thumb drive with a different operating system (OS) on it. This way, you can free up space on your laptop's hard drive and have a more functional OS to use. In this article, we will go over the steps to make a laptop bootable USB thumb drive with no OS, using Windows 10 HP Stream 14 as an example.
What You Will Need
To make a laptop bootable USB thumb drive with no OS, you will need the following:
- A USB thumb drive with at least 8GB of storage
- A computer with a working OS (e.g. Windows, Linux, or macOS) and a USB port
- The OS installation media (e.g. an ISO file or a DVD) that you want to put on the USB thumb drive
Step 1: Download and Install Rufus
Rufus is a free and open-source utility that can be used to create bootable USB drives. To download Rufus, go to the Rufus website and click on the "Download" button. Once the download is complete, run the installer and follow the prompts to install Rufus on your computer.
Step 2: Prepare the USB Thumb Drive
Insert the USB thumb drive into your computer's USB port. Open Rufus and make sure that the USB thumb drive is selected in the "Device" dropdown menu. Under "Boot selection," click on the "Select" button and browse to the OS installation media (e.g. the ISO file). Make sure that the "Create a bootable disk using" option is set to "ISO Image" and that the "Partition scheme" is set to "MBR" (if you are using a BIOS-based computer) or "GPT" (if you are using a UEFI-based computer).
// Example Rufus settings for creating a bootable USB drive with Windows 10
Device: USB Drive (E:)
Boot selection: Select
Target system: BIOS or UEFI
Create a bootable disk using: ISO Image
ISO Image: C:\path\to\windows.iso
Partition scheme: MBR
File system: NTFS
Cluster size: Default
Quick format: Checked
Create extended label and icon files: Unchecked
Step 3: Create the Bootable USB Thumb Drive
Once you have set the options in Rufus, click on the "Start" button to begin creating the bootable USB thumb drive. Rufus will format the USB thumb drive and copy the OS installation media to it. This process may take a few minutes to complete. When it is finished, you should see a message saying "Done."
Step 4: Boot the Laptop from the USB Thumb Drive
Insert the bootable USB thumb drive into the laptop's USB port. Restart the laptop and press the key to enter the boot menu (this key is usually displayed during the boot process and may be F12, F10, or ESC). In the boot menu, select the USB thumb drive as the boot device and press Enter. The laptop should now boot from the USB thumb drive and begin the OS installation process.
Step 5: Install the OS
Follow the prompts to install the OS. You will be asked to select the language, time and currency format, and keyboard layout. You will also be asked to enter the product key (if you have one) and choose the installation type (e.g. upgrade or custom). Make sure to select the correct hard drive or SSD as the destination for the OS installation. When the installation is complete, the laptop should restart and boot into the new OS.
In this article, we have covered the steps to make a laptop bootable USB thumb drive with no OS, using Windows 10 HP Stream 14 as an example. By following these steps, you can create a bootable USB thumb drive with the OS of your choice and use it to install the OS on your laptop, freeing up space on the laptop's hard drive and giving you a more functional OS to use. The tools and steps outlined in this article can be used with any laptop and any OS, making it a useful guide for anyone looking to make a bootable USB thumb drive with no OS.