Bootable USB flash drives, Windows 10

[opti1]

I’m curious. I have a couple of new Windows 10 installations coming up, one to configure and one to install.

What type of USB flash drives do you all buy and use to create bootable USB drives for creating Windows 10 installation drives, Macrium Reflect rescue drives, etc.?

Any old 8GB or higher drive?

USB 3.0, 3.1? USB-A, USB-C?

Regular stick of gum size or the small thumb nail size drives?

For example, are the cheap Micro Center drives OK? Or do you stick with SanDisk, Samsung, PNY, Kingston, etc.?

Does the creation of the installation or rescue drive automatically format each USB drive appropriately for its use or do I always have to make sure the drive is properly formatted ahead of time?

Thanks!

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[geekdom]

I’ve found regardless of flash drive brand, these flash drives have a limited shelf life. One day they work; the next day they don’t work. That said, I usually stick with Samsung or Kingston for any flash drive operations. Flash drives are computer confetti; no one expects them to last. I keep used and unused ones in a desk drawer for handy access.

Regarding size for bootable flash drives, I use 16GB as 8GB is required. Go small.

Formatting is done by the “create recovery drive” function prior to placing the operating system on the disk. Anything on that drive is overwritten.

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• This reply was modified 5 days, 15 hours ago by geekdom.
• This reply was modified 5 days, 15 hours ago by geekdom.

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