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The Reliable USB Formatting Utility

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Ventoy

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A new bootable USB solution.

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unetbootin

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UNetbootin installs Linux/BSD distributions to a partition or USB drive

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Quick Overview

Rufus is a utility for creating bootable USB drives. It's particularly useful for creating USB installation media for various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and UEFI bootable ISOs. Rufus is known for its speed and reliability in formatting and creating bootable USB drives.

Pros

  • Fast and efficient in creating bootable USB drives
  • Supports a wide range of ISO images and operating systems
  • Small file size and portable (no installation required)
  • Regularly updated with new features and improvements

Cons

  • Windows-only application (not available for macOS or Linux)
  • User interface may be intimidating for less tech-savvy users
  • Limited customization options compared to some alternatives
  • Potential for data loss if used incorrectly (as with any disk formatting tool)

Getting Started

To use Rufus:

  1. Download the latest version from the official website: https://rufus.ie/
  2. Run the executable (no installation required)
  3. Insert your USB drive
  4. Select the USB drive in Rufus
  5. Choose the ISO image or select FreeDOS for a clean format
  6. Click "Start" and wait for the process to complete

Note: Always backup important data before using Rufus, as it will erase all data on the selected drive.

Competitor Comparisons

balena-io logo

etcher

29,286

Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives, safely and easily.

Pros of Etcher

  • Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
  • User-friendly graphical interface
  • Validates written images for integrity

Cons of Etcher

  • Larger file size and resource usage
  • Slower write speeds compared to Rufus
  • Limited customization options

Code Comparison

Etcher (JavaScript):

const flasher = {
  write: async (image, drive) => {
    await validateImage(image);
    await writeToDrive(image, drive);
    await verifyWrite(drive);
  }
};

Rufus (C):

BOOL WriteImage(HANDLE hPhysicalDrive, LPCWSTR image_path)
{
    if (!ValidateImage(image_path))
        return FALSE;
    if (!WriteToDrive(hPhysicalDrive, image_path))
        return FALSE;
    return VerifyWrite(hPhysicalDrive);
}

Both Rufus and Etcher are popular tools for creating bootable USB drives. Rufus is lightweight, fast, and offers more advanced options, making it preferred by power users. Etcher, on the other hand, provides a more straightforward experience with its intuitive interface and cross-platform compatibility. While Rufus is more efficient in terms of speed and resource usage, Etcher's built-in validation feature ensures a higher level of reliability. The code comparison shows that both tools follow similar processes for writing images, but Etcher's JavaScript implementation may be more accessible for web developers.

ventoy logo

Ventoy

61,611

A new bootable USB solution.

Pros of Ventoy

  • Supports multiple ISO files on a single USB drive
  • No need to reformat the drive for each new ISO
  • Allows for persistent storage alongside bootable images

Cons of Ventoy

  • Slightly more complex initial setup process
  • May not work with some older BIOS systems
  • Limited customization options compared to Rufus

Code Comparison

Rufus (C):

BOOL SetAutoClose(BOOL auto_close)
{
    dialog_showing = FALSE;
    return WriteSettingBool(SETTING_AUTO_CLOSE, auto_close);
}

Ventoy (C):

int ventoy_fill_os_param(PART_INFO *pInfo, ventoy_os_param *param)
{
    memset(param, 0, sizeof(ventoy_os_param));
    param->vtoy_disk_size = pInfo->disk_size;
    param->vtoy_disk_part_id = pInfo->part_id;
    return 0;
}

Both projects use C for core functionality, but Ventoy's codebase focuses more on partition management and multi-boot support, while Rufus emphasizes user interface and individual ISO writing.

unetbootin logo

unetbootin

2,295

UNetbootin installs Linux/BSD distributions to a partition or USB drive

Pros of UNetbootin

  • Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
  • Ability to download and install various Linux distributions directly
  • User-friendly graphical interface for beginners

Cons of UNetbootin

  • Less frequently updated compared to Rufus
  • Limited support for creating Windows bootable USBs
  • Fewer advanced options and customization features

Code Comparison

UNetbootin (C++):

void unetbootin::runinstusb() {
    if (installType == tr("USB Drive")) {
        usbdrive = driveselect->currentText();
        targetDev = usbdrive;
        installDir = "/";
    }
}

Rufus (C):

BOOL SetAutoRun(const char* path)
{
    BOOL r = FALSE;
    const char* autorun_inf = "autorun.inf";
    char filename[MAX_PATH];
    FILE* fd;
    safe_strcpy(filename, MAX_PATH, path);
    safe_strcat(filename, MAX_PATH, autorun_inf);
    fd = fopen(filename, "w");
    if (fd != NULL) {
        fprintf(fd, "[autorun]\nicon=bootmgr.exe,0\n");
        fclose(fd);
        r = TRUE;
    }
    return r;
}

Both Rufus and UNetbootin are popular tools for creating bootable USB drives, but they have different strengths. Rufus is more focused on Windows and offers more advanced features, while UNetbootin provides cross-platform support and easier Linux distribution installation. The code snippets show different approaches: UNetbootin uses C++ with a focus on GUI elements, while Rufus uses C and demonstrates lower-level system operations.

slacka logo

WoeUSB

3,374

WoeUSB is a simple tool that enable you to create your own usb stick windows installer from an iso image or a real DVD. It is a fork of Congelli501's WinUSB.

Pros of WoeUSB

  • Cross-platform compatibility (Linux, macOS)
  • Open-source with active community contributions
  • Supports both GUI and command-line interfaces

Cons of WoeUSB

  • Less frequent updates compared to Rufus
  • Limited file system support (primarily NTFS)
  • May require additional dependencies on some systems

Code Comparison

WoeUSB (Python):

def install_mbr(source, target, filesystem):
    if filesystem == "NTFS":
        mbr_file = "/usr/share/woeusb/woeusb-mbr.bin"
    else:
        mbr_file = "/usr/share/woeusb/woeusb-mbr-fat32.bin"
    subprocess.check_call(["dd", "bs=440", "count=1", "if=" + mbr_file, "of=" + target])

Rufus (C):

static BOOL WriteMBR(HANDLE hPhysicalDrive)
{
    DWORD size;
    BYTE mbr[512] = {0};
    if (!ReadFile(hPhysicalDrive, mbr, sizeof(mbr), &size, NULL) || (size != sizeof(mbr)))
        return FALSE;
    memcpy(mbr, mbr_syslinux_v5, SYSLINUX_MBR_SIZE);
    return WriteFileWithRetry(hPhysicalDrive, mbr, sizeof(mbr), &size, NULL);
}

Both projects aim to create bootable USB drives for Windows installation, but Rufus offers a more polished, Windows-specific experience with broader file system support and frequent updates. WoeUSB provides a cross-platform alternative with both GUI and CLI options, making it suitable for Linux and macOS users.

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README

Rufus: The Reliable USB Formatting Utility

VS2022 Build Status MinGW Build Status Coverity Scan Status
Latest Release Licence Download Stats Contributors

Rufus logo

Rufus is a utility that helps format and create bootable USB flash drives.

Features

  • Format USB, flash card and virtual drives to FAT/FAT32/NTFS/UDF/exFAT/ReFS/ext2/ext3
  • Create DOS bootable USB drives using FreeDOS or MS-DOS
  • Create BIOS or UEFI bootable drives, including UEFI bootable NTFS
  • Create bootable drives from bootable ISOs (Windows, Linux, etc.)
  • Create bootable drives from bootable disk images, including compressed ones
  • Create Windows 11 installation drives for PCs that don't have TPM or Secure Boot
  • Create Windows To Go drives
  • Create VHD/DD, VHDX and FFU images of an existing drive
  • Create persistent Linux partitions
  • Compute MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256 and SHA-512 checksums of the selected image
  • Perform runtime validation of UEFI bootable media
  • Improve Windows installation experience by automatically setting up OOBE parameters (local account, privacy options, etc.)
  • Perform bad blocks checks, including detection of "fake" flash drives
  • Download official Microsoft Windows 8, Windows 10 or Windows 11 retail ISOs
  • Download UEFI Shell ISOs
  • Modern and familiar UI, with 38 languages natively supported
  • Small footprint. No installation required.
  • Portable. Secure Boot compatible.
  • 100% Free Software (GPL v3)

Compilation

Use either Visual Studio 2022 or MinGW and then invoke the .sln or configure/make respectively.

Visual Studio

Rufus is an OSI compliant Open Source project. You are entitled to download and use the freely available Visual Studio Community Edition to build, run or develop for Rufus. As per the Visual Studio Community Edition license, this applies regardless of whether you are an individual or a corporate user.

Additional information

Rufus provides extensive information about what it is doing, either through its easily accessible log, or through the Windows debug facility.

Enhancements/Bugs

Please use the GitHub issue tracker for reporting problems or suggesting new features.