When doing a fresh install of an Operating System on a device that lacked an optical drive, I am never worried, as one piece of equipment that I have access to is a USB3.0 Blu-Ray drive that I could connect to any available USB port on the computing device to boot and install the OS for the CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray disc given.
The trouble came recently when I had a 4.8GB .ISO file of Windows Server 2016 that I needed to burn to a disc. It was naturally too big for a 700MB CD or the 4.7GB DVD that I had. Also, when I went to burn the ISO image to a Blu-Ray disc with Roxio Creator DE 10.3, the software (possibly my version) could not see my Blu-Ray discs.
I researched and saw that could use some dual-layer DVD discs, but I did not have any with me because dual-layer DVD discs were something that I never needed before. Besides, I had Blu-Ray discs that store up to 25GB each for larger storage and assumed this would work. As I continued to do hunting online, my research pointed me to the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool. With the tool, I could burn that large .ISO file to a small 8GB USB Flash drive. Instead of creating discs that will be obsolete when Drives removes the option for optical drives, I am using the .ISO files with the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool.
Note: If your drives are incompatible, use DISKPART from the Command Prompt.
Benefits of The Windows USB/DVD Download Tool
* Alternative to the DISKPART command.
* Boot without access to optical drives.
* Graphical User Interface and mouse interaction.
* No special commands to remember.
* Saves on optical drive repairs/replacement/upgrades.
Drawbacks of The Windows USB/DVD Download Tool
* Additional storage for the installation.
* Compatibility with bargain USB Flash Drives.
* Internet Access to download the software.
* Not built-in to the Operating System.
Stephan Pringle
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