Recently, I had to create a bootable Windows pen drive for a friend. As a Linux user, I found that the typical tools we use to create bootable pen drives for Linux, like Disks and Impression, does not work on Windows ISOs. Tools like Rufus that work on Windows, doesn’t work on Linux, so I had to look into other alternatives. The only option that I found, other than creating a Windows VM, is the WOEUSB tool.

The WOEUSB tool managed to create a bootable Windows pen drive with minimal effort. It is developed specifically for this purpose, and it manages to do it really well. This quick article will guide you on creating a Windows ISO on Linux using WOEUSB.

Downloading an ISO

It is important to download a valid Windows ISO. They can be found through Microsoft’s official website. Given below are quick links to download Windows ISOs. Note that Microsoft might change these URLs.

• Windows 11

• Windows 10

Installing WOEUSB Tool

First you need to install the required libraries.

sudo apt install git p7zip-full python3-pip python3-wxgtk4.0 grub2-common grub-pc-bin parted dosfstools ntfs-3g

Next, we can install the WOEUSB tool through Python.

sudo pip3 install WoeUSB-ng --break-system-packages

Next, we will clone the WOEUSB Repo.

git clone https://github.com/WoeUSB/WoeUSB-ng.git
cd WoeUSB-ng

After this, we can run the tool from the terminal.

./WoeUSB/woeusbgui

It will ask for the admin password, which should be provided. In certain cases, WOEUSB will immediately close after first install, stating that policy is updated. In this case, you have to open it again using the same command.

Creating the ISO

Select ‘From a disk image (iso)’ and use the file picker to choose your downloaded ISO. Select the target device under ‘Target device’ and click on ‘Install’. A warning will pop up for confirmation. Make sure that you’ve selected the correct device from the Target devices. Also note that the device will be completely wiped. If you’re OK with this, click on ‘Yes’ to start the process.

This will start the installation process.

Once installation is done, you will see an ‘Installation Successful’ Message.

Remove the installation media from your computer and use it to install Windows.

Uninstalling WOEUSB

WOEUSB can be uninstalled using the following commands.

cd ..
rm -rf ./WoeUSB-ng/
sudo pip3 uninstall WoeUSB-ng --break-system-packages

Conclusion

While it is hard to create a Windows installation media on Linux, it is not impossible. With the use of WOEUSB, we can relatively easily create a Windows installation media. The steps outlined in this article will be quite helpful in this matter.