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I have several laptops/PCs with Windows 10 that I want to upgrade to the latest Windows 10 version (Creators' Upgrade). To speed things up and avoid re-downloading the same stuff over and over, I've used the Media Creation Tool to build a USB stick with the installation media. Now I'm running setup.exe from the stick, and everything is going well.

At what point can I remove the USB stick to start the upgrade on the next PC? Do I need to wait until the entire upgrade is finished, or does Windows have all the necessary files on the upgrading PC at one point, and if so, how can I tell when to unplug the stick?

Stevoisiak
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Tim Pietzcker
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3 Answers3

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Early on in the process Windows will copy all the files it needs from the USB drive to your hard drive. Typically when the first reboot starts, you can remove it. In the unlikely event that the installation process needs it again, it will ask for it.

Run5k
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Wasn't paying attention when it got to that process and it started all over again right before my eyes. So when it gets to the end of the second process "#2" on the screen, you can yank the USB out and it should be good.

Shabaka Malawi
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I had to install Windows 10 on ~20 slow (4GB RAM, 2C) machines, so the currently chosen answer wasn't fast enough for me.

After experimenting, I've successfully removed the installation media immediately after the "Copying Windows Files" stage, IE, as soon as "getting file ready for installation" starts. I've done this on all the computers and suffered no ill effects.

Mattwmaster58
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