Do You Need A Flash Drive To Install Windows ((new)) Review

For Windows 10/11, an 8 GB USB drive is the minimum; 16 GB is safer.

If your computer is already functional—meaning it turns on and loads into Windows or another operating system—you do not strictly need a flash drive. You can install Windows directly from within the system. do you need a flash drive to install windows

You are building a brand-new PC with a blank hard drive, or if your current Windows installation is so corrupted it won’t boot at all. For Windows 10/11, an 8 GB USB drive

Even though you technically don't always need one, the flash drive remains the recommended method for one major reason: You are building a brand-new PC with a

Believe it or not, this still works. If you have a blank DVD and a DVD burner on your PC, you can burn the Windows ISO file to the disc. You will need to enter the BIOS/UEFI and change the "Boot Order" so the computer tries to read the DVD drive before the hard drive. This is slower than USB but effective.