Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteIf a bootable USB drive won’t start, first check whether it appears in your computer’s one-time boot menu. If it does not, investigate the USB port and firmware boot settings; if it does, choose the entry that matches how the media was created, then check the media and Secure Boot compatibility. Don’t recreate the drive or reinstall the computer’s operating system until you understand what will be erased.
1. Check whether the boot menu detects the USB drive
Insert the USB drive before turning on the computer, then open its one-time boot menu. The key depends on the manufacturer; common examples include Esc, Delete, F1, F2, F10, F11, and F12. Check the computer maker’s instructions if those keys do not work. On some Windows devices, you can instead choose Shift+Restart, then go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware settings. Microsoft’s startup guidance describes this route for supported devices.
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If the USB drive is missing
- Try a different USB port, preferably one directly on the computer rather than through a hub.
- Look in firmware setup for USB boot or alternate boot-sequence settings. Microsoft documents labels such as “Enable Boot from USB devices” and “Enable alternate boot sequence” for Surface devices; other computers may use different names or have no equivalent setting. Surface recovery-media instructions
- If possible, test another USB drive. A device or port problem is different from a bootloader problem, so rebuilding the media is unlikely to help if firmware cannot see any drive.
2. Choose the boot-menu entry that matches the media
Some computers list the same USB drive twice: once as a UEFI device and once as a BIOS or legacy device. Choose the mode for which the media was created and that the target operating system requires. For Windows installation media, Microsoft warns that starting the installer in the wrong firmware mode can cause installation to fail. Microsoft: boot to UEFI mode or legacy BIOS mode
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Do not switch modes at random. If you are unsure which mode the USB uses, check the instructions for the operating system and media-creation tool, as well as the computer manufacturer’s guidance. Some older devices may require choosing Boot from file and opening EFIBOOTBOOTX64.EFI on Windows PE or Windows Setup media; this is not a universal step.
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3. Recreate the USB if firmware sees it but it will not load
If the drive appears in the boot menu but returns to the internal operating system, hangs, or reports a boot error, the media may not have been created correctly or may not suit that machine. Use the official creation procedure for the operating system you want to boot, and confirm the download and creation process completes without errors. Copying an ISO file onto a USB drive does not, by itself, guarantee that the drive is bootable.
For Windows PE media
Microsoft’s Windows PE instructions use MakeWinPEMedia /UFD to create a USB boot drive. The command formats the target drive as FAT32, so anything on that target partition will be erased. Microsoft also documents a multipartition option for cases where files larger than 4 GB must be stored. Its requirements for bootable media can depend on the target device’s UEFI 2011 CA revocation state and on 2023 CA-signed media made with specified ADK versions. Follow the current instructions for your exact deployment rather than applying these WinPE details to every Windows, Linux, or macOS installer. Microsoft: create a bootable WinPE USB drive
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- High-speed USB 3.0 performance of up to 150MB/s(1) [(1) Write to drive up to 15x faster than standard USB 2.0 drives (4MB/s); varies by drive capacity. Up to 150MB/s read speed. USB 3.0 port required. Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending on host device, usage conditions, and other factors; 1MB=1,000,000 bytes]
- Transfer a full-length movie in less than 30 seconds(2) [(2) Based on 1.2GB MPEG-4 video transfer with USB 3.0 host device. Results may vary based on host device, file attributes and other factors]
- Transfer to drive up to 15 times faster than standard USB 2.0 drives(1)
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- Easy-to-use password protection for your private files(3) [(3)Password protection uses 128-bit AES encryption and is supported by Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Mac OS X v10.9 plus; Software download required for Mac, visit the SanDisk SecureAccess support page]
Back up the USB before rebuilding it
Creation tools commonly format the drive. Copy any files you need elsewhere first, and use a spare USB device if you can. For the specific Surface recovery-media procedure, Microsoft calls for a drive of at least 16 GB and says 8 GB works for Surface RT or Surface 2; those capacities are not universal requirements for other media. Surface recovery-media instructions
4. Check Secure Boot without treating it as the default culprit
Secure Boot controls whether firmware accepts a boot image. An unsigned, untrusted, or otherwise incompatible bootloader may be rejected, but Secure Boot is only one possible cause of a USB boot failure. Whether a particular drive is accepted depends on the firmware and the media’s trusted signing support. The UEFI specification notes that the boot manager’s behavior is affected when Secure Boot is enabled. UEFI Specification 2.11
Rank #3
- High-speed USB 3.0 performance of up to 150MB/s(1) [(1) Write to drive up to 15x faster than standard USB 2.0 drives (4MB/s); varies by drive capacity. Up to 150MB/s read speed. USB 3.0 port required. Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending on host device, usage conditions, and other factors; 1MB=1,000,000 bytes]
- Transfer a full-length movie in less than 30 seconds(2) [(2) Based on 1.2GB MPEG-4 video transfer with USB 3.0 host device. Results may vary based on host device, file attributes and other factors]
- Transfer to drive up to 15 times faster than standard USB 2.0 drives(1)
- Sleek, durable metal casing
- Easy-to-use password protection for your private files(3) [(3)Password protection uses 128-bit AES encryption and is supported by Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Mac OS X v10.9+; Software download required for Mac, visit the SanDisk SecureAccess support page]
Check the computer manufacturer’s instructions and the operating system’s media requirements before changing the setting. Microsoft says Secure Boot may sometimes need to be disabled temporarily for troubleshooting, and recommends re-enabling it once the issue is resolved. Do not leave it off as a routine fix. Microsoft: Secure Boot overview
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.5. Avoid reinstalling the internal operating system as a first fix
A USB that will not boot does not, by itself, mean the computer needs an operating-system reinstall. If you later choose Windows recovery or reinstallation, check the consequences of the specific option first: Microsoft states that reinstalling Windows from installation media removes everything on the device. OEM recovery media may include hardware-specific drivers and factory applications, and BitLocker users may need their recovery key to access most Windows Recovery Environment options. Microsoft: recovery options in Windows
Quick Recap
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Quick diagnosis by symptom
| What happens | Most useful next check |
|---|---|
| USB is absent from the boot menu | Try another port and inspect firmware USB-boot settings; if available, test another drive. |
| USB appears as both UEFI and BIOS/legacy | Select the entry matching the media’s creation mode and the target OS requirements. |
| USB is listed, but the computer starts its internal OS | Try the correct firmware-mode entry; if that fails, recreate media with the OS’s official tool. |
| Firmware rejects the boot image or reports a security violation | Check whether the bootloader is supported by Secure Boot and consult the device maker before temporarily changing security settings. |
| Rebuilding or recovery is being considered | Back up USB contents first; verify the internal-disk consequences and BitLocker requirements before Windows recovery. |
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