To perform a clean installation of Windows 10, you’ll need a USB bootable media, which you can easily create using a number of tools, including the Microsoft Media Creation tool or third-party tools, such as Rufus.
Creating USB installer using Media Creation Tool
To create a Windows 10 setup bootable media using the Media Creation Tool, connect a USB flash drive of at least 8GB of space, and then use these steps:
- Open Windows 10 download page.
- Under the “Create Windows 10 installation media” section, click the Download tool now button to save the file on your computer.

3. Double-click the MediaCreationToolxxxx.exe file to launch the tool.
4. Click the Accept button to agree to the Microsoft terms.
5. Select the Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC option.

6. Click the Next button.
7. Clear the Use the recommended options for this PC option (if applicable).
8. Select the correct language, architecture, and edition of Windows 10.

Quick tip: If you plan to install Windows 10 on multiple computers running the 32-bit or 64-bit architecture, then use the “Architecture” drop-down menu and select the Both option.
9. Click the Next button.
10. Select the USB flash drive option.

11. Click the Next button
12. Select the flash drive from the list.

13. Click the Next button.
14. Click the Finish button.
Once you complete the steps, the Media Creation Tool will download the required files and create an installer that you can use to start your device and set up a fresh copy of Windows 10.
Creating USB installer using Rufus
If you’re having problems using the Media Creation Tool, you can use the Rufus tool to create the installer even if you don’t have a Windows 10 ISO file.
Quick note: Rufus is a popular tool with many options to help you create a bootable media of Windows 10 faster. However, it’s still a third-party tool, which is not supported by Microsoft. You should use it at your own risk.
To begin, connect a USB flash drive of at least 8GB of space, and then use these steps:
- Open Rufus download page.
- Under the “Download” section, click the latest release of the tool to save the file on your device.

3. Double-click the Rufus-x.x.exe file to launch the tool.
4. Under the “Device” section, select the USB flash drive with at least 8GB of space.
5. Under the “Boot selection” section, click the down arrow button next to the “Select” option on the right and click the Download button.

Quick tip: If you already have an ISO file, then click the Select button, select the Windows 10 ISO file, and continue with step No. 19.
6. Click the Download button.
7. Use the “Version” drop-down menu and select Windows 10.
8. Click the Continue button.
9. Select the 19H2 (Build 18363.xxx) option to download the Windows 10 November 2019 Update.
10. Click the Continue button.
11. Use the “Edition” drop-down menu and select the Windows 10 Home/Pro option.
12. Click the Continue button.
13. Use the “Language” drop-down menu and select your installation language.
14. Click the Continue button.
15. Use the “Architecture” drop-down menu and select the 32-bit or 64-bit (recommended).
16. Click the Download button.

17. Select a folder location to download the ISO file.
18. Click the Save button.

19. Use the “Image option” drop-down menu to select the Standard Windows installation option.
20. Use the “Partition scheme” drop-down menu to select the GPT option.
21. Use the “Target system” drop-down menu to select the UEFI (non CSM) option.

22. Under the “Show Advanced drive properties” section, leave the default settings.
23. Under the “Volume label” field, enter a descriptive name for the drive — for example, “win10_usb.”
24. Under the “File system” and “Cluster size” section, leave the default settings.
25. Click the Show advanced format options button.
26. elect the “Quick format” and “Create extended label and icon files” options.
27. Click the Start button.
28. Click the OK button to confirm.
29. Click the Close button.
After you complete the steps, Rufus will run the script to download the ISO file, and it’ll create the bootable media to perform a clean install of Windows 10 on any supported device.