A Linux program to create a Windows USB stick installer from a real Windows DVD or image with advanced filesystem support and Windows-To-Go capability.
NEW: WowUSB-DS9 now supports large ISO files (>4GB) through NTFS, exFAT, F2FS and BTRFS filesystem support, plus Windows-To-Go functionality!
This package contains two programs:
- wowusb: A command-line utility that enables you to create your own bootable Windows installation USB storage device or a powerful multiboot USB.
- woeusbgui: Graphic version of wowusb.
- Support for Windows Vista, Windows 7, Window 8.x, Windows 10, and Windows 11 for standard USB creation.
- Multiboot Capabilities:
- Create a GRUB2-based multiboot USB drive.
- Include a Windows-To-Go installation on a dedicated NTFS partition.
- Add multiple Linux ISOs for direct booting from the GRUB menu.
- Optionally perform a full Linux installation (Debian, Ubuntu, Arch) to an F2FS partition, also bootable from GRUB.
- Customizable GPT partition layout: ESP (FAT32), BIOS_GRUB, Windows (NTFS), Payload/Data (F2FS default).
- Advanced Filesystem Support:
- Automatic selection based on ISO content for standard mode: FAT32, NTFS, exFAT, F2FS, BTRFS.
- F2FS is prioritized for payload partitions in multiboot mode, with fallback to exFAT, NTFS, BTRFS.
- Windows-To-Go support (both in standard mode and as part of multiboot).
- Boots in both Legacy/MBR-style (via
i386-pcGRUB) and UEFI mode (viax86_64-efiGRUB). - Automatic detection of large files (>4GB) for appropriate filesystem selection in standard mode.
This project is a significant enhancement of the original WoeUSB and WoeUSB-ng projects.
# Install dependencies (example for Debian/Ubuntu)
# Core:
sudo apt install git p7zip-full python3-pip python3-wxgtk4.0 parted wipefs
# Filesystems:
sudo apt install dosfstools ntfs-3g exfat-utils f2fs-tools btrfs-progs
# GRUB & Multiboot:
sudo apt install grub-common grub-pc-bin grub-efi-amd64-bin gdisk # gdisk for sgdisk
# Optional for Full Linux Install:
# sudo apt install debootstrap # For Debian/Ubuntu
# For Arch, ensure 'arch-install-scripts' (provides pacstrap) is installed from Arch repos.
# Install WowUSB-DS9
sudo pip3 install WowUSB-DS9# Download the latest .deb package from the releases page
wget https://github.com/rebots-online/WowUSB/releases/latest/download/wowusb-ds9_X.Y.Z-1_all.deb # Replace X.Y.Z
# Install the package (this should pull in most dependencies if correctly packaged)
sudo apt install ./wowusb-ds9_X.Y.Z-1_all.debWowUSB-DS9 might be available in the AUR. Check for wowusb-ds9 or a similar name.
yay -S wowusb-ds9 # Or your preferred AUR helperEnsure system dependencies like grub, gdisk, arch-install-scripts (for full Arch install) are met.
Refer to the installation script within the tarball and ensure all dependencies from the "Dependency Requirements" table are met.
Clone the repository and run sudo pip3 install .. Ensure all dependencies from the "Dependency Requirements" table are met.
# Example for Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt install git p7zip-full python3-pip python3-wxgtk4.0 parted wipefs dosfstools ntfs-3g exfat-utils f2fs-tools btrfs-progs grub-common grub-pc-bin grub-efi-amd64-bin gdisk debootstrap
git clone https://github.com/rebots-online/WowUSB.git
cd WowUSB
sudo pip3 install .This table lists key system packages. Python dependencies (termcolor, wxPython) are handled by pip.
| Feature Area | Debian/Ubuntu Packages | Fedora Packages | Arch Linux Packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core & GUI | python3-pip python3-wxgtk4.0 p7zip-full parted wipefs |
python3-pip python3-wxpython4 p7zip p7zip-plugins parted wipefs |
python-pip python-wxpython p7zip parted wipefs |
| Filesystems | dosfstools ntfs-3g exfat-utils f2fs-tools btrfs-progs |
dosfstools ntfs-3g exfatprogs f2fs-tools btrfs-progs |
dosfstools ntfs-3g exfatprogs f2fs-tools btrfs-progs |
| GRUB & Multiboot Core | grub-common grub-pc-bin grub-efi-amd64-bin gdisk |
grub2-common grub2-tools grub2-efi-x64-cdboot gdisk (ensure grub2-tools provides grub-install etc.) |
grub gdisk (ensure efibootmgr is also installed for GRUB EFI) |
| Full Linux Install (Opt.) | debootstrap |
debootstrap (if installing Debian/Ubuntu) |
arch-install-scripts (if installing Arch) |
Note: Package names can vary slightly between distributions and versions. exfat-utils might be exfatprogs on newer systems.
gdisk provides sgdisk. wipefs is usually part of util-linux.
Standard (Single Windows Install) Mode:
wowusb --device <Windows_ISO_or_DVD_Device> <Target_USB_Device>
# Example: wowusb --device windows10.iso /dev/sdbStandard mode advanced options:
# Specify filesystem for the Windows partition
wowusb --device windows10.iso /dev/sdb --target-filesystem NTFS
# Create a standard Windows-To-Go USB (not multiboot)
wowusb --device windows10.iso /dev/sdb --wintogo
# Install to an existing partition (less common for Windows)
wowusb --partition windows10.iso /dev/sdb1Multiboot Mode:
wowusb --multiboot --target <Target_USB_Device> \
--win-iso <Path_to_Windows_ISO> \
--win-size-gb <Size_for_Windows_Partition> \
--linux-iso <Path_to_Linux_ISO_1> \
--linux-iso <Path_to_Linux_ISO_2> \
--payload-fs <F2FS|EXFAT|NTFS|BTRFS> \
--full-linux-install <ubuntu|arch|debian> \
--full-linux-release <Distro_Release_Codename> \
--http-proxy <Proxy_URL_for_Linux_Install>Example for Multiboot:
# Create a multiboot USB with Windows 10 To-Go, an Ubuntu ISO, and a full Arch Linux install
sudo wowusb --multiboot --target /dev/sdc \
--win-iso /path/to/windows10.iso --win-size-gb 64 \
--linux-iso /path/to/ubuntu-desktop.iso \
--full-linux-install arch --payload-fs F2FS \
--verbose- Use
wowusb --helpto see all available options.
woeusbguisudo pip3 uninstall WowUSB-DS9
sudo rm /usr/share/icons/WowUSB-DS9/icon.ico \
/usr/share/applications/WowUSB-DS9.desktop \
/usr/local/bin/woeusbgui
sudo rmdir /usr/share/icons/WowUSB-DS9/sudo apt remove wowusb-ds9sudo ./uninstall.shWowUSB-DS9 automatically detects if your Windows ISO contains files larger than 4GB and selects the appropriate filesystem for the main Windows partition in standard mode:
| Filesystem | Used When | Requirements | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAT32 | Default if no large files & FAT32 available | dosfstools |
Most compatible, 4GB file size limit |
| F2FS | Preferred if available (large or small files) | f2fs-tools |
Flash-friendly, good performance, large file support |
| exFAT | Preferred fallback if F2FS not available | exfat-utils or exfatprogs |
Optimized for flash, large files, good cross-platform compatibility |
| NTFS | Fallback if F2FS/exFAT not available | ntfs-3g |
Windows-native, large files, slower on flash without UEFI:NTFS driver |
| BTRFS | Fallback if others not available | btrfs-progs |
Advanced features, large files |
The selection order for standard mode (if large files are present or AUTO is chosen) is generally: F2FS -> exFAT -> NTFS -> BTRFS. If no large files, FAT32 is also considered early.
In --multiboot mode, WowUSB-DS9 creates a specific GPT partition layout:
- EFI System Partition (ESP): 512MB, FAT32. Contains GRUB EFI bootloader and common GRUB files (config, themes, Linux ISOs).
- BIOS Boot Partition: 1MB. For GRUB's BIOS bootloader code (
core.img). - Windows-To-Go Partition: NTFS, user-defined size (default 64GB). For the Windows installation.
- Payload/Data Partition: Default F2FS, uses remaining space. Can be changed with
--payload-fs. This partition is used for the full Linux installation if selected, or as a general data partition.
When using --full-linux-install with --multiboot, a basic version of the selected distribution (Ubuntu, Debian, or Arch) is installed onto the F2FS (or chosen payload filesystem) partition. This installation is made bootable via the GRUB menu.
For detailed information on implementation, see the TECHNICAL_DESIGN.md file.
- User Guide - Detailed usage instructions
- Troubleshooting Guide - Solutions to common issues
- Technical Design - Implementation details
- Changelog - Version history and changes
- Release Notes - Detailed information about the latest release
WowUSB-DS9 is distributed under the GPL license.