Rufus: a Program for Creating Bootable USB Drives

As a general rule, when we turn on our PC, it starts up and automatically loads the operating system. In most cases it is usually Windows, but it may be the case that we need to start the PC in another way. For that, the program that we will talk about next, Rufus, can help us precisely.

This may be because, for whatever reason, the computer does not start in the conventional way because it has some kind of problem . But at the same time it may be the case that we want to try other alternative operating systems on the PC without having to step on the current hard drive . For this second assumption we have several alternatives, for example using an application that acts as a virtual machine , such as VirtualBox , for example.

Rufus

But another of the possible alternatives here and that can be very useful to us, is to use and test those systems from an external device. For example, in this case, a self-bootable USB memory that contains the corresponding operating system can be extremely useful. But of course, to achieve all this, in addition to the system as such, we will need the USB to be prepared to boot directly from here.

Utility that Rufus offers us on the PC

Well, if this is the case, more common than at first we could imagine, we can always use a program like the one we are going to show you here. Specifically, we refer to the application called Rufus , a program that will certainly sound familiar to some due to the time it has been with us. To give you an idea, this is an interesting software that will be very helpful when formatting and creating bootable USB memories. And not only will it work with these popular external devices , but you can also do this with a memory card, or similar USB devices.

Interfaz principal rufus

Furthermore, it is striking how little the program itself occupies and how few system resources it consumes. To all this we can add that, although at first it may seem the opposite, this is a very simple program to use as well as intuitive. Everything we need in the beginning is found in a single user interface. Therefore, the program will be very useful to us to create USB installation devices from a self-bootable ISO , work on a computer without an operating system, test alternative systems, etc.

How to take advantage of the Rufus interface

As we mentioned, this is a program that presents us with a very simple and understandable user interface . In fact, in the beginning, all we find are a series of drop-down lists that help us to prepare the process. Therefore from here we can specify to Rufus the external drive that we are going to use, the system we want to add, the partition scheme, or the file system.

Arranque rufus

Therefore, once we have defined the few parameters that the program requests in its main interface, we will only have to click on the Start button. To all this we must add the high performance that Rufus offers us once it is put into operation. Of course, if we want to boot a certain ISO from the selected device, we still have to specify to Rufus the location where it is.

Additional features Rufus offers us

Therefore, as we can see, the general operation of Rufus is quite simple, as we discussed before. In addition, to all this we can add the fact that the application’s customization functions are rather scarce. At the bottom of its interface we find a shortcut that leads to the configuration parameters . But when we click on it, we will see a small window in which we configure the application’s update system, without further ado.

opciones rufus

On the other hand, next to the aforementioned configuration button, we find another in the form of a notebook. This will give way to something that more advanced users will surely appreciate. We say this because at that moment a new window will open that shows us a detailed record of the events that the program has saved internally. This, for example, will be very useful in the event that Rufus encounters problems when creating the self-bootable device.

Evento rufus

Therefore, as we can see, this is a program that in addition to being useful, is also valid even for users who have no experience in these matters. It also has support for multiple languages and is very stable in its operation.

Other alternatives to Rufus

Yumi: this is another proposal similar to the one we have described previously that we can easily download from this link . It is a totally free proposal that we configure through an assistant that proposes us. It will help us, as in the case of Rufus, to configure a self-bootable USB memory that will be very useful in many cases. We will be able to use a good number of compatible operating systems and that we can test with this process.

How to download and install Rufus on PC

Well, in case you want to try this program in question, you can do it for free, which is always appreciated. Without many third-party web pages that allow us to download this specific program, but as usual, it is advisable to do it from your official one. This way we ensure that we have the most recent version of the application, and without unwanted additions.

To all this we can add the fact that we have an installable version , as well as a portable version that does not require any installation. Therefore, for all this, we only have to access this link from our favorite web browser.