How to Boot Into an External Windows 10 ISO USB on a Lenovo Laptop
Preparing the Bootable USB Drive:
Creating a Bootable USB with Windows 10 ISO: To get started, you'll need a USB drive with at least 8GB of space. Using the Windows Media Creation Tool or Rufus, we’ll show you how to create a bootable USB drive. The Media Creation Tool is Microsoft's official software, which makes it easy to download the latest Windows 10 ISO and prepare the USB drive for installation.
If you're using Rufus, we’ll go through the process of downloading the Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft’s website, setting the correct partition scheme (GPT or MBR), and ensuring the USB drive is set up as a UEFI-compatible boot drive.
Accessing the BIOS/UEFI on Your Lenovo Laptop:
Entering BIOS Setup: Once you’ve created the bootable USB, you'll need to access the BIOS/UEFI settings on your Lenovo laptop to change the boot order. This is critical to ensure your laptop boots from the USB drive instead of the default hard drive. We’ll guide you on how to use the F1 or F2 keys (depending on your model) to enter the BIOS during startup.
If your system uses Fast Boot or Secure Boot, we’ll show you how to disable these settings to allow the USB drive to boot properly. These features can sometimes block booting from external media.Navigating BIOS Settings: We'll walk you through navigating the BIOS interface, where you will adjust the Boot Order settings. Make sure to set the USB drive as the primary boot device so that the laptop boots into the Windows 10 installation environment.
Booting from the USB Drive:
Using the Boot Menu for Quick Access: Alternatively, if you don't want to change the boot order permanently, you can use Lenovo's Boot Menu. During startup, pressing the F12 key (or Novo button on some models) will open the boot menu, where you can select the USB drive as the boot device. This allows you to boot from the external USB without altering the system’s BIOS settings permanently. In this section, we’ll explain the exact timing to press the F12 key or Novo button, ensuring you can quickly boot into the USB installation drive.
Formatting the Drive:
Accessing Drive Options During Installation: Once the system boots into the Windows 10 installer, it will ask you to select a language, region, and keyboard layout. From there, we’ll guide you through the process of selecting the appropriate hard drive or SSD where you want to install Windows.
To format the drive:
Delete Existing Partitions: If you’re performing a fresh installation, you'll need to delete any existing partitions on the target drive. We’ll show you how to do this safely from the installation interface.
Create New Partitions: After deleting old partitions, you can create new ones. We’ll explain the difference between creating a primary partition for the OS and a recovery partition for system repair tools, and we’ll help you select the correct options for your setup.
Note: If you have a solid-state drive (SSD), we’ll also go over aligning the partitions correctly to optimize performance and lifespan.
Installing Windows 10:
Starting the Installation Process: After the drive is formatted, we’ll walk you through selecting the partition for installing Windows 10. The installer will copy the necessary files to the drive and begin the installation process. You’ll need to wait as the installer finishes copying files and setting up the operating system.
Account Setup & Preferences: As the installation proceeds, you’ll be prompted to configure your user account, region settings, Wi-Fi, and Microsoft account login. We’ll cover each of these steps to ensure your system is configured to your preferences.
Driver Installation: Once Windows 10 is installed, we’ll discuss the importance of updating drivers, especially for network, graphics, and chipset drivers, which can significantly impact performance.
Important Tip: After Windows 10 installation, we’ll recommend activating Windows using a valid product key, ensuring your system remains fully functional and genuine.
