When it comes to creating a bootable Windows USB drive on a PC, there are plenty of options. Popular tools like Rufus, Etcher, or Ventoy make this task easy with just a few clicks. But what if you only have a Mac available? The alternatives are fewer, but they do exist. Among them, WinDiskWriter stands out for its simplicity and advanced features. Let’s discover this essential tool for any Mac user wanting to install Windows.
WinDiskWriter: Much More Than Just a Bootable USB Creator
WinDiskWriter is an open-source macOS utility that allows you to create a bootable Windows USB drive on your Mac. But it doesn’t stop there. The application also offers advanced features that make it a particularly interesting tool.
First, WinDiskWriter knows how to create a bootable drive for every type of Windows image, whether it’s Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, or even Vista, in both 64-bit or 32-bit versions. You can thus create a bootable USB installation drive for the Windows version of your choice.
But WinDiskWriter’s great strength is its ability to patch Windows 11 ISO images to bypass the hardware restrictions imposed by Microsoft, such as the need for a TPM module, Secure Boot enabled, or a minimum amount of RAM. With a single click, you can remove these limitations and install Windows 11 on an unsupported PC.
Moreover, WinDiskWriter also allows you to create bootable USB drives compatible with both UEFI boot mode and Legacy BIOS mode. This is particularly useful for installing Windows on computers with older firmware that doesn’t support EFI boot.
For Windows versions that don’t natively support EFI boot, like Vista and 7, WinDiskWriter automatically performs the additional steps needed, such as extracting a compatible EFI bootloader from the installer. Very handy.
Finally, for newer Windows ISO images containing a large install.wim file (over 4 GB), WinDiskWriter automatically splits it for you, as the FAT32 format does not support files larger than 4 GB.
How to Create a Bootable Windows USB Drive with WinDiskWriter
Now that you know the advantages of WinDiskWriter, let’s see how to use it to create your bootable Windows USB drive:
- Download and install WinDiskWriter on your Mac.
- Download the ISO image of the desired Windows version.
- Plug a USB drive of at least 8 GB into your Mac. Be careful, its contents will be erased!
- Open WinDiskWriter and click on “Choose” next to “Image File or Directory” to select your Windows ISO.
- If you want to patch the Windows 11 installer to install the system on an unsupported PC, check the “Patch Installer Requirements” box.
- If necessary, check “Install Legacy BIOS Boot Sector” to make the drive compatible with older firmware (BIOS).
- Choose the file system for your drive: FAT32 or exFAT.
- Select your USB drive in the “Target Device” menu.
- Click “Start” to begin the creation process. The operation may take several minutes.
✅ Once the process is complete, your bootable Windows USB drive is ready to use! You can use it to install Windows on your PC, your Intel Mac, or even on a virtual machine.
Conclusion
With WinDiskWriter, creating a bootable Windows USB drive from macOS becomes child’s play. Whether you need to install an old or new version of Windows, bypass the hardware restrictions of Windows 11, or support both UEFI and Legacy BIOS, this open-source tool makes it easy.
So, the next time you need to create a bootable Windows USB drive, don’t hesitate to use WinDiskWriter. This utility will quickly become an indispensable part of your digital toolbox.
