Creating a Windows 11 or 10 USB on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS using WoeUSB-NG

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WoeUSB-NG or WoeUSB New Generation is a Linux utility which creates a Windows 11 Bootable USB configured for a UEFI Boot with Secure Boot or in the case of a Windows 10 Bootable USB simultaneously configured for both a UEFI Boot and Legacy Boot.

WoeUSB-NG is rewrite of WoeUSB which takes advantage of the updated NTFS driver in the Linux Kernel and the Python programming language. WoeUSB-NG is itself written in Python and requires a number of Python libraries as dependencies. WoeUSB was a fork of WinUSB that used bash and both are essentially discontinued and superseded by WoeUSB-NG.

There are two installation commands; one to install the dependencies and the other to install WoeUSB itself. These commands are available on the projects GitHub page:
https://github.com/WoeUSB/WoeUSB-ng
Leave a star on their GitHub page if you found their utility useful.
I have put together a more detailed written tutorial here:
https://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/creating-a-windows11-bootable-usb-on-linux/

I tested this utility on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and Mint 21. Note the WoeUSB-NG is ran as a root user. Therefore when it opens the file explorer, it opens in the root users "home" folder and not the current users "home" folder, so you need to select other locations, home and then your user name then downloads and then you can find your installation ISO.

Regarding installation:

I tested an install of Windows 11 on a XPS 13 9305 with a UEFI Boot and Secure Boot (11th Generation Intel Processor). On this modern system a NTFS partition can be listed as a Boot Device and both Partitions on the USB are listed. Installation works if either partition is selected from the Boot Menu.

I also tested an install of Windows 10 on an OptiPlex 7050 with a UEFI Boot and Secure Boot (7th Generation Intel Processor). On this earlier UEFI system a FAT32 Partition is required on the Boot Device for the Device to show as a Boot Device. In this case only the FAT32 Partition displayed and installation worked as expected.

I also tested an install of Windows 10 on an OptiPlex 7050 with a Legacy BIOS with Legacy ROMs and Secure Boot Disabled (7th Generation Intel Processor). Installation worked using the "Bootable USB" listed under Legacy Boot.

You can get your mainstream Windows ISO from the perspective software download pages:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/
This application should also work with Windows Insider Preview ISOs:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-insider/isos

In order to install Windows 11 or Windows 10 using the recommended RAID SATA operation you may need Intel or AMD F6 Drivers. They are available here and depend on your processor installed.

Intel 12th and 11th Gen (Win 10 and 11):
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/720755/intel-rapid-storage-technology-driver-installation-software-with-intel-optane-memory-11th-and-12th-gen-platforms.html

Intel 10th Gen (Win 10 and 11):
https://www.intel.co.uk/content/www/uk/en/download/19512/intel-rapid-storage-technology-driver-installation-software-with-intel-optane-memory-10th-and-11th-gen-platforms.html

Intel 9th and 8th Gen (Win 10 and 11):
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/19755/intel-rapid-storage-technology-driver-installation-software-with-intel-optane-memory-8th-and-9th-gen-platforms.html

Intel 7th Gen and 6th Gen (Win 10):
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/15667/intel-rapid-storage-technology-intel-rst-user-interface-and-driver.html

Intel have removed the F6 drivers for 5th Gen hardware, stating it is at end of life but the drivers can be obtained from your OEM or from the Latitude 7350. Unfortunately OEM provided drivers are typically packaged as .exes which won't extract the drivers on Linux). Alternatively use the AHCI SATA Operation. There won't be much of a performance hit using AHCI as not too many optimisations were made for this older hardware.

The "AMD Raid Driver" can be downloaded from AMD by selecting Chipset and then your socket and then Chipset...
https://www.amd.com/en/support/
Despite the need to select a Socket and Chipset on the AMD Download Page which can be hard to identify for a standard Dell/Lenovo/HP system. They all seem to lead to the same AMD RAID Driver which supports most modern models:
https://www.amd.com/en/support/chipsets/amd-socket-am4/b350

If you run into difficulties with this utility you can always create a Windows 11 or Windows 10 UEFI Bootable USB using the manual way as outlined here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y388W8MaPME&ab_channel=PhilipYip

#windows #woeusb #ubuntu