- To create a Windows 8.1 bootable USB, you can use third-party tools like Rufus and Ventoy.
- You can also manually download the official Windows 8.1 ISO and use Command Prompt to create the bootable media.
You can still create a USB bootable flash drive to install Windows 8.1. In this guide, I will outline three ways to complete this process. Windows 8.1 reached the
end of support back in January 2023
, and even though it’s recommended to use a supported version (such as
Windows 11
or 10) since the operating system no longer receives security updates or support, you may still have valid reasons to install it.
For example, in my case, due to the nature of my work, I sometimes need to access older versions of Windows to test software compatibility, access legacy features, check the evolution of the operating system across versions, etc. In your case, you may need to install Windows 8.1 for compatibility purposes, a specific hardware configuration that doesn’t support a newer version, or you may be curious.
If you need to create a bootable USB flash drive to install Windows 8.1, you have multiple options, including the Rufus, Ventoy, and Command Prompt.
In this
guide
, I will teach you how to create a USB bootable media to install Windows 8.1 on older hardware or a virtual machine. (You can
download the Windows 8.1 ISO file
with these instructions.)
-
Create Windows 8.1 bootable USB from Rufus
-
Create Windows 8.1 bootable USB from Ventoy
-
Create Windows 8.1 bootable USB from Command Prompt
Create Windows 8.1 bootable USB from Rufus
To create a bootable USB of Windows 8.1 with Rufus, connect a flash drive with enough space (4GB or more) and use these steps:
Open
Rufus
website
.
Click the link to download the latest version under the “Download” section.
Double-click the executable to launch the tool.
Click the
Settings
button (third button from the left) at the bottom of the page.
Use the “Check for updates” drop-down menu and select the
Daily
option under the “Settings” section.
Click the
Close
button.
Click the
Close
button again.
Open
Rufus
again.
Use the drop-down menu and select the USB flash drive to create the installation media under the “Device” section.
Click the
down-arrow
button (on the right side) and select the
Download
option.
Click the
Download
button.
Select the
Windows 8.1
option.
Click the
Continue
button.
Select the latest update release available under the “Release” section.
Click the
Continue
button.
Select the
“Windows 8.1 Standard”
option.
Click the
Continue
button.
Select the installation language of Windows 11.
Click the
Continue
button.
Select the
x64 (64-bit)
(or x86 (32-bit))
option for the operating system architecture.
Click the
Download
button.
Select the location to save the Windows 8.1 ISO file automatically.
Choose the
“Standard Windows Installation”
option under the “Image option” setting.
(Optional) Continue with the default settings after the download.
(Optional) Under the “Volume label” setting, specify a name for the drive, such as
Windows 8.1 Setup
.
Click the
Start
button.
Click the
OK
button.
Once you complete the steps, the tool will create a bootable media with the Windows 8.1 installation media.
Create Windows 8.1 bootable USB from Ventoy
Ventoy is a third-party tool that installs on a USB drive and makes any ISO file bootable from virtually any platform, including Windows 8.1.
To create a Windows 8.1 bootable USB with Ventoy, connect a flash drive with enough space (4GB or more) and use these steps:
Open
Ventoy
GitHub page
.
Under the “Assets” section, click the
ventoy-x.x.xx-windows.zip
file and download it to your computer.
Open
File Explorer
.
Open the Zip folder location.
Double-click the open the
ventoy-x.x.xx-windows.zip
file.
Click the
Extract all
button from the command bar.
Click the
Browse
button.
Select a location to extract the files.
Click the
Select Folder
button.
Click the
Extract
button.
Open the
ventoy-x.x.xx
folder.
Double-click the
Ventoy2Disk.exe
file to launch the installer.
Choose the USB flash drive from the “Device” setting.
Click the
Install
button.
Click the
OK
button.
Open the
Ventoy
drive with File Explorer.
Open
Microsoft Support
website
.
Choose the
Windows 8.1
option under the “Select edition” section.
Click the
Confirm
button.
Select the installation language.
Click the
Confirm
button.
Click the
64-bit (or 32-bit) Download
button.
Copy and paste the ISO file into the Ventoy USB flash drive to make it bootable.
After completing the steps, you can use the bootable USB flash drive to start a device with the Ventoy application, from which you can launch the Windows 8.1 Setup.
Create Windows 8.1 bootable USB from Command Prompt
If you don’t want to use third-party tools, you can still use commands to create a bootable flash drive and then transfer the installation files onto the USB storage.
To create a bootable USB flash drive to install Windows 8.1 with Command Prompt, use these steps:
Open
Microsoft Support
website
.
Choose the
Windows 8.1
option under the “Select edition” section.
Click the
Confirm
button.
Select the operating system installation language.
Click the
Confirm
button.
Click the
64-bit (or 32-bit) Download
button.
Open
Start
.
Search for
Command Prompt
, right-click the top result, and select the
Run as Administrator
option.
Type the following command to open Diskpart and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to determine the USB flash drive and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to select the storage and press
Enter
:
Type the following commands to delete everything from the USB flash drive and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to create a primary partition and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to select the new partition and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to make the USB flash drive bootable and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to assign a volume and a drive letter for the USB flash drive and press
Enter
:
Change
X
for any available letter you want to use in the command.
Type the following command to quit the tool and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to mount the Windows 8.1 ISO file and press
Enter
:
In the command, update the path with the location where you have stored the Windows 8.1 ISO file.
Type the following command to relaunch Diskpart and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to determine the drive letter for the mounted Windows 8.1 ISO file and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to exit Diskpart and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to access the Windows 8.1 ISO file and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to enter the boot folder and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to update the volume boot code for the USB flash drive and press
Enter
:
Type the following command to copy all the Windows 8.1 installation files to the USB flash drive and press
Enter
:
In the command, change the
E
and
X
drive letters with the correct drive letters for the Windows 8.1 ISO image and the USB flash drive, respectively.
Once you complete the steps, you can install Windows 8.1 using the bootable flash drive.
Although it’s still possible to create a bootable USB flash drive, you should understand that Windows 8.1 is no longer supported, meaning there are no more security updates. Also, using an unsupported operating system exposes your computer and files to security risks from malware, viruses, and other exploits, and you will encounter compatibility problems with newer applications.
If the hardware is supported, you should consider
installing the latest version of Windows 10
. You can also use these instructions to
upgrade from Windows 8.1 to 10
.
It’s important to note that I’ve used a computer running Windows 11 for this set of instructions, but the tools mentioned in this guide should work on Windows 10 and 8.1.
Finally, you can use bootable media as a recovery drive to start and repair the installation of your device.