Stepwise Guide to Windows Bootable Image Creator and Its Alternative

What is Windows Bootable Image Creator

Windows Bootable Image Creator (WBI Creator), which is also formally known as Windows Bootable ISO Creator, is a lightweight software application whose purpose is to help you create and burn bootable ISO images from Windows setup files. It is able to work with the following operating systems: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8/8.1, 10, both 32-bit and 64-bit. It is very concise, provides some options on how to make a disk image, and has no additional utilities.

Overview of ISO image

ISO image (or ISO file, optical disc image) is a disk image that contains everything that would be written to an optical disc, disk sector by disc sector, including the optical disc file system. Simply put, it is an exact copy of an entire optical disk such as a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray archived into a single file. It is often used for backing up optical discs, or for distributing large file sets that are intended to burned to an optical disc.

The ISO image itself is bootable. If your computer has some disasters happen and cannot boot or has boot issues, as long as you have previously backed up your computer in ISO image format, you can easily use this backup to restore your device.

How to Create Windows ISO with WBI Creator

Windows Bootable Image Creator is one of the most commonly used free bootable ISO creators. The main reason is its concise operation. Next, I will take how to use WBI Creator for Windows 10 to create a Windows 10 ISO image as an example to show you how to use this app.

1. First of all, put all your Windows 10 setup files into one folder. It is recommended to put them in a new empty folder.

2. Download Windows Bootable Image Creator and launch it. Then click Next.
3. Select version of Windows for which you are going to create bootable ISO image.

4. Give this task a name.

5. Then browse and select the location of Windows 10 setup files. Select the folder you created in advance and click OK.

6. Select the output path. Here I create the Windows 10 ISO to desktop, you can select other locations, such as USB drives.

7. Finally, confirm all your settings and click on “Go”.

8.  Wait for the operation to complete and close the program.

The above is use WBI Creator for Windows 10 to create an ISO image. Likewise, you can create ISO file for Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1. Though this free bootable ISO creator is easy to use, it has some limitations.

✪ Limited OS options
✪ Setup files required
✪ Few features

Best Free Bootable ISO Creator—AOMEI Backupper

If Windows Bootable Image Creator cannot meet your needs, there is a free bootable ISO creator recommended to you. AOMEI Backupper Standard can help you make a bootable media on your own computer ahead of accidents or on another computer after accidents. When your Windows 10 has a black screen and it fails to boot, it can also be a quick solution to Windows 10 Startup problems. With this freeware, you can:

♨ Create a Bootable USB/CD/DVD for computer disaster recovery.
♨ Create system backup, disk backup, partition or volume backup, and file backup.
♨ Create and manage multiple automatic backup tasks with different schedules.
♨ Perform data recovery from/on different locations, such as restoring files from hard disks, SSDs, NAS, USB flash drives, etc.
♨ Support all Windows PCs and all NAS, no brand restrictions.

How to create a bootable ISO image via AOMEI Backupper? Steps are as follows.

◆ Create Bootable Media

If your computer is experiencing some startup problems, bootable media is the best choice to solve the problem. You should first create a bootable media from a healthy computer and use it to boot your computer. Here I choose to create a bootable USB.

Note ✍: It will erase all the data on the drive. If there are important files on it, please back up USB flash drive in advance to avoid data loss.

Step 1. Download AOMEI Backupper, install and launch it.

Step 2. Click Tools on the left panel and then select Create Bootable Media.

Step 3. In the pop-up window, select "Windows PE-create bootable disc based on Windows PE" option and click Next to continue.

Tips✍:
● Windows PE-based bootable media: A more flexible, customizable (add custom drivers) rescue media. You can start the backup/restore/clone process within it.
● Linux kernel-based bootable media: A functionally restricted rescue media. You can use it to perform restore and clone operations only.

Step 4. Choose the USB drive to create this bootable recovery media and then click Next. Wait for the bootable media creation process to complete.

◆ Create System Backup to Bootable Media

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Backupper, select System Backup under Backup Tab.

Step 2. The program will automatically include the partitions required for a complete system restore. Just specify a target location to store the backup image. Here select the bootable USB created before as the destination.

Step 3. (Optional) you can click Schedule to set up backup frequency. You can select USB plug in option (available after upgrade). It enables you to backup computer to flash drive automatically when plugged in.

Step 4. Confirm all your settings and click Start Backup to run the pending operation.

Tips✍:
● Options: You can write comments for your current operations and set up email notifications so that you can receive notifications about task results in time.
● Scheme: You can click this button to configure the backup rotation scheme and settings, which can help you save storage space (available in Professional edition).

◆ Restore from the Bootable Media

With the created bootable media and system image, you can easily restore Windows to an earlier normal state.

▶ Firstly, insert the bootable USB to the computer, turn the computer on and press the required key for your system to enter the BIOS.

▶ Secondly, choose the USB device and press “Enter” key to boot form the bootable USB drive.

▶ Finally, launch AOMEI Backupper. Select Restore > Select Task/Select Image File to perform system recovery.

Summary

The above is the full guide of Windows Bootable Image Creator and its alternative—AOMEI Backupper. Comparing the two, although the operation of the former is also very simple, it has few functions.

AOMEI Backupper  is a tool that integrates Backup, Restore, Clone, Sync and other powerful functions. It can also make up for the deficiencies of many data protection tools. Such as Acronis True Image hangs when cloning, OneDrive is stuck on “Sync Pending”, etc. With its help, you will not encounter any problems on the road to data protection. Why not try it right now?