How To Make A Windows Server 2012 R2 Bootable USB

Need to create a bootable USB to install Windows Server 2012 R2? Here’s how to create a Windows Server 2012 R2 bootable USB stick, with which to install Windows Server 2012 R2 from USB.

1. Download and install the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool (the link isn’t to a Microsoft site, but as you’ll see from Googling the tool, it is a Microsoft tool and the Microsoft website will just send you here anyway). This tool works on Windows XP through to Windows 10.

   It looks like the website (which actually was owned by Microsoft, based on the reference from an MSDN blog announcing its closure) is closing down in December 2017.

   So I’ve grabbed a copy of the Windows USB/DVD download Tool and am hosting it myself.

   * I hope the authors of the tool don’t mind, but I need this tool for my job so that I can make bootable USB sticks with the Windows 2012 R2 OS on them; without which, I cannot install Windows on servers without a CD drive 🙁

2. Follow the simple steps in the Download Tool to create the bootable USB (you’ll need a USB stick that’s equal to or bigger than 8 GB [formatted as FAT32] and a Windows Server 2012 R2 ISO image).

That’s it! You now have a Windows Server 2012 R2 bootable USB that you can use in another computer to install Windows Server 2012 R2.