Installation USB for Windows 10 UEFI setup
Installation USB for Windows 10 UEFI setup
I'm having trouble setting up a bootable drive for Windows 10 UEFI installation. I've used Rufus with different settings and tools, but the ISO I downloaded from MediaCreationTool always shows up as a USB HDD entry instead of the expected UEFI path. The Secure Boot option is off, and the USB appears in the boot order as ADATA, not the correct UEFI location. I'm currently installing Windows 10 via Windows Update on a Lenovo E550 ThinkPad. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
You're correct, the display should appear as UEFI:ADATA, especially with other devices showing their UEFI tags first. I've tried the following steps:
- Choose the ISO FIRST, which is crucial.
- Confirm the GPT partition scheme is set for UEFI.
- Turn off CSM completely.
- Switch to Secure Boot settings and select Windows UEFI mode.
If that doesn't resolve it, I've disabled USB legacy options or compatibility settings in the UEFI.
The issue likely stems from running in compatibility mode.
so no matter what options i choose i will always end up with a stick that is capable of installing windows in uefi mode? what exactly is a gpt disk? just a stick that uses gpt? i know there are a few ways to convert your installation but i would actually prefer to do a fresh install. there is actually no device that shows up as UEFI:[..] since my current installation is not a uefi installation either. i made sure that it uses gpt and i have also tried disabling csm. i will try the other two suggestions later. thanks a lot mate. does that have any impact on what i am doing?
In Rufus, verify the required settings: A. Partition type GPT for UEFI computer B. File system FAT32 C. Cluster size using default D. Quick Format enabled. E. Create a bootable disk via ISO image, then select DVD icon to access Windows 10 ISO. F. When prompted about your action, choose Standard Windows Installation. G. Enable creation of extended label and icon files. Once complete, click start which should generate a UEFI bootable drive. Step into BIOS and revert to defaults, then save and exit. 4. Begin installation from your USB drive during setup. * Based on your system, it will indicate the key to press for boot selection. If no key appears, enter BIOS and check if a boot override option exists for alternative devices.
I tried it too. I always turned off secure boot, otherwise I couldn't boot from other media, right? But it doesn’t prevent that. From what I understand, enabling secure boot wouldn’t work with it active. I also read that for UEFI the installation medium needs to be GPT, isn’t it? That’s exactly what I did. Thanks!
Consider using a different USB port. USB 3 can be finicky, but I also have an ADATA flash drive. Using Rufus to generate a Windows 10 installation is possible—it offers both UEFI and non-UEFI options. It’s worth checking if the Windows 10 download includes a USB version, or you might want to get the USB drive separately and let the tool build it. If issues persist, the problem could lie with the flash drive itself.
I've tested various USB ports. Now I'll look into the ISO file and the port itself. Unfortunately, I can't use the media creation tool because it doesn't support UEFI-capable drives. Thanks a lot!