Create a Windows USB Boot Disk on Linux with WoeUSB‑ng

Many users need to recover or reinstall Windows computers but only have access to a Linux machine. Using a Linux live USB to mount the Windows partition can help, yet creating a Windows bootable USB on Linux is often difficult with common tools like Etcher, Popsicle, or dd.

WoeUSB‑ng is a GPL‑3.0‑licensed utility that supports Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 10. It provides both a command‑line program and a graphical user interface (GUI).

Installing WoeUSB‑ng

The GitHub repository offers installation instructions for Arch, Ubuntu, Fedora, or via pip3. On any supported Linux distribution you can install it with your package manager, or universally with Python’s package manager:

$ sudo pip3 install WoeUSB-ng

Creating a bootable USB from the command line

Identify the target device (e.g., /dev/sdX) with lsblk. Then run: $ sudo woeusb --device Windows.iso /dev/sdX This command requires the path to the Windows ISO file and the destination block device. The process typically takes 5–10 minutes depending on CPU, memory, and USB speed.

Creating a bootable USB with the GUI

Launch the WoeUSB‑ng application, select the Windows.iso file, choose the target USB drive (warning: all data on the drive will be erased), and click the Install button. The interface guides you through the same steps as the CLI.

After the operation finishes and verification succeeds, you will have a functional Windows USB boot disk ready to repair or reinstall Windows machines.

Why it matters

Open‑source tools like WoeUSB‑ng enable Linux users to assist Windows users without needing a separate Windows PC, embodying the spirit of community‑driven system rescue.