How to upgrade Windows 10 with USB, DVD or local media
Most Windows 10 devices are upgraded to newer versions of the operating system using Windows Update or Enterprise-grade update management solutions.
While that works out fine in many cases, some administrators may prefer (or need) to upgrade using other methods. Common scenarios where this may be preferred are local installations without Internet connection, upgrading multiple PCs, or running into errors when trying to upgrade using Windows Update.
Microsoft provides options to create Windows 10 installation media. You may write the data to an USB Flash Drive or DVD, or run the setup directly from the ISO image that gets created during the process.
The following guide walks you through the steps of installing or upgrading Windows 10 using these methods.
Step 1: Create the installation media or ISO image
You may use Microsoft's Media Creation Tool to create Windows 10 installation media.
- Visit the official Microsoft website and download the Media Creation Tool to your system. Click on the "Download tool now" button to start the process.
- Run the program once it is on the local system. Note that you can only run it on Windows systems.
- Accept the Software License Terms on the first screen to proceed.
- Select "create installation media" on the next screen. While you can use it to "upgrade the PC now" as well, it is better, usually, to use installation media as it gives you more control and options should something go wrong.
- Keep the detected language, edition and architecture settings, or change them if you need installation media for a different setup.
- Select which media you want: USB flash drive or ISO file.
- USB Flash Drive: needs to have at least 8 Gigabytes of space. Note that all data on the drive will be deleted in the process.
- ISO: no requirements but you need a blank DVD if you want to burn it to DVD (may need dual-layer DVD).
- The tool downloads the latest available Windows 10 installation from Microsoft.
- If you select the USB option, data is saved to the USB drive and it is prepared so that you may boot from it.
- If you select ISO, you get the option to burn it to a DVD if a DVD writer is available. Otherwise, the ISO is just saved to the local system.
Using Windows 10 installation media to upgrade
The installation process depends on the installation media.
Option 1: using USB or DVD installation media
This is probably the common option to upgrade a Windows 10 system. You need to have the installation media at hand to perform the upgrade.
- Connect the USB Flash drive to the PC you want to upgrade or insert the DVDÂ into the drive.
- Start the PC or restart it.
- Some systems pick up the installation media automatically and boot from it.
- If that is not the case, you need to change the boot order (from default hard drive) to the installation media so that it is used. This is done in the BIOS of the PC. Check instructions on the screen to find out how to enter BIOS, usually using ESC, DEL, F1 or one of those keys.
- In BIOS, change the boot priority so that the PC checks USB or DVD boot media first before using hard drives.
- Make sure you select "keep files and apps" in the setup dialog if you want to upgrade and not do a clean install.
- Follow the instructions to install the Windows 10 upgrade on the device.
Option 2: installing directly using an ISO image
If you don't want to install from USB or DVD, or cannot, you may run setup directly from the ISO image instead. Note that you need to select ISO during creation for that.
- Open File Explorer on the Windows 10 device.
- Navigate to the folder the ISO image has been saved to (e.g. the Downloads folder).
- Right-click on the ISO image and select Open With > Windows Explorer. Doing so mounts the ISO image on Windows so that you may browse it and run files directly.
- Open the mounted Windows installation ISO image from the sidebar list of all connected drives and locations if that did not happen automatically.
- Launch the setup.exe file that you find in the root folder of the mounted image; this starts the setup and thus the upgrade of the system.
- If you are asked whether you want to "get important updates", select "not right now".
- Make sure you select that "keep personal files and apps" is selected if you want to keep your programs, settings, and files.
- Follow the screens to upgrade the device using the ISO image.
What mental age of reader are you targeting with the first sentence? 10?
Why not write an article on how to *avoid* upgrading from W10 to W11. Analogous to those like me who avoided upgrading from 7 to 10 for as long as possible.
If your paymaster Microsoft permits it, of course.
5. Rufus
6. Ventoy
PS. I hate reading these “SEO optimized” articles.
I used Rufus to create an installer for a 6th gen intel i5 that had MBR. It upgraded using Setup. No issues except for Win 11 always prompting me to replace my local account. Still using Win 10 Pro on all my other PCs to avoid the bullying.
bit pointless to upgrade for the sake of upgrading as you never know when you’ll get locked out because ms might suddenly not provide updates to unsupported systems.
ps…. time travelling?
written. Jan 15, 2023
Updated • Jan 13, 2023
This happens when you schedule a post in WordPress and update it before setting the publication date.
Anyone willing to downgrade to this awful OS must like inflicting themselves with harm.
I have become convinced now that anybody who has no qualms with using Windows 11/10 must fit into one of the following brackets:
1) Too young to remember a time before W10 and W11 (doesn’t know better)
2) Wants to play the latest games on their PC above anything else (or deeply needs some software which already dropped W7 support)
3) Doesn’t know too much about how computers work, worried that they’d be absolutely lost and in trouble without the “”latest security””
4) Microsoft apologist that tries to justify that the latest “features” and “changes” are actually a good thing, that improve Windows
5) Uses their computer to do a bare minimum of like 3 different things, browse web, check emails, etc, so really doesn’t fuss
Obviously that doesn’t cover everyone, there’s also the category that:
6) Actually liked W7 more than 10, and held out as long as possible before switching, begrudgingly uses 10 now
Have I missed any group off this list?
You have missed in this group just about any professional user that uses business software like CAD programs or ERP Programs which are 99% of all professional users from this list.
Linux doesn’t help anyone who is not a linux kid and apple is just a fancy facebook machine.
Microsoft has removed KB5029351 update
only from windows update though
KB5029351 is still available from the ms update catalog site
1. This update is labaled as PREVIEW if it causes issues to unintelligent people, then they shouldn’t have allowed Preview updates ot install.
2. I have installed it in a 11 years old computer, and no problems at all.
3. Making a big drama over a bluescreen for an updated labeled as preview is ridiculous.
This is probably another BS internet drama where people ran programs and scripts that modified the registry until they broke Windows, just for removing stuff that they weren’t even using just for the sake of it.
Maybe people should stop playing geeks and actually either use Windows 10 or Windows 11, but don’t try to modify things just for the sake of it.
Sometimes removing or stopping things (like defender is a perfect example) only need intelligence, not scripts or 3rd party programs that might mess with windows.
Windows 11 was a pointless release, it was just created because some of the Windows team wanted to boost sales with some sort of new and improved Windows 10. Instead, Microsoft cannot support one version well let alone two.
Windows 11 is the worst ugly shame by Microsoft ever. They should release with every new W11 version a complete free version of Starallback inside just to make this sh** OS functionally again.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released a statement regarding the “unsupported processor” blue screen error for their boards using Intel 600/700 series chipsets & to avoid the KB5029351 Win11 update:
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/MSI-On–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–Error-Message-of-Windows-11-Update-KB5029351-Preview-142215
check out the following recent articles:
Neowin – Microsoft puts little blame on its Windows update after UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR BSOD bug:
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-puts-little-blame-on-its-windows-update-after-unsupported-processor-bsod-bug/
BleepingComputer – Microsoft blames ‘unsupported processor’ blue screens on OEM vendors:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blames-unsupported-processor-blue-screens-on-oem-vendors/
While there may be changes or updates to the Windows 10 Store for Business and Education in the future, it is premature to conclude that it will be discontinued based solely on rumors.
My advice, I left win 15 years ago. Now I’m a happy linux user (linuxmint) but there is Centos, Fedora, Ubuntu depending on your needs.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released new BIOS/firmware updates for their Intel 600 & 700 series motherboards to fix the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” problem (Sept. 6):
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/Updated-BIOS-fixes-Error-Message–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–caused-BSOD-on-MSI-s-Intel-700-and-600-Series-Motherboards-142277
I try to disable the Diagnostics Tracking Service (Connected Devices Platform User Services) but it wont let me disable it, any help will be greatly appreciated.
Tank you for your help