Create a Windows 10 bootable USB in Linux

With older version of Windows 10 ISO (April 2018 or before) the step is simple: format the USB in FAT32, mount the ISO and copy all files to USB in File Explorer.

However in newer version, install.wim file is larger than 4GB and you have to use NTFS / exFAT filesystem. Unfortunately, many BIOS do not support booting into NTFS / exFAT neither in UEFI or legacy mode. Fortunately clever folks already solved this with WoeUSB! This tool leveraged Rufus’s (bootable USB creation tool in Windows) UEFI NTFS boot loader, so that BIOS that do not support NTFS can still boot into the USB successfully.

Download the latest version:

Releases · WoeUSB/WoeUSB

The file is only one script file, make sure it is executable:

chmod +x ./woeusb-5.0.4.bash

Get the device path with Disks application, here you can see /dev/sdb

Partitions formatted with WoeUSB tool

Finally format the USB and make it bootable!

sudo ./woeusb-5.0.4.bash --tgt-fs NTFS -d Win10_20H2_v2.iso /dev/sdb

After the command finishes, you should be able to get something similar to the screenshot above. Before booting into USB, make sure Secure Boot is disabled on your motherboard otherwise it won’t boot. That’s it!

One more thing, if Windows 10 installation managed to screw up Linux boot loader (which is usually the case), and you happen to be using Ubuntu, check this out to get your dual boot setup back in shape with one click: https://linuxconfig.org/ubuntu-boot-repair