Create a USB Installation Drive with Fedora Media Writer: 4.x and 5.x

This archived walkthrough creates a USB installation drive with Fedora Media Writer on Windows. It preserves the source’s separate 4.x and 5.x interfaces, using CentOS-7-x86_64-DVD-2009.iso as a historical custom-image example. Verify the intended distribution image, supported server and firmware boot method before use; this example is not a recommendation to deploy that old operating-system release.

Back up everything needed from the selected USB drive before writing. Fedora Media Writer writes directly to the device and replaces its partition layout, as the project’s English documentation explains. Confirm the actual physical USB target rather than copying an example device name or drive letter. English download-page figures are reused; the remaining figures are translated illustrations of the original interface.

1. Obtain Fedora Media Writer

Use the Fedora Media Writer project repository and its release downloads, or the Fedora Workstation download page. Select the appropriate installer for the computer that will write the USB drive. The archived GitHub screenshot highlights FedoraMediaWriter-win32-5.0.6.exe, and the Fedora page shows Workstation 38; neither screenshot identifies today’s latest release.

Original English GitHub project page with the archived 5.0.6 release highlighted

Original English release assets with the historical Windows installer highlighted

Original English Fedora Workstation 38 page highlighting Media Writer for Windows

The source prefers Fedora Media Writer to UltraISO for this USB-image workflow. That preference does not mean Media Writer burns optical discs or supports every arbitrary Windows/Linux installer image. Follow the image publisher’s media-creation instructions for the actual image.

2. Install and launch the Windows application

Run the installer obtained from the trusted project source. Read the displayed license; choose I Agree if you accept it. The example shows GNU GPL version 2 in an NSIS installer:

English illustration of the installer license-agreement page

Choose the installation folder and Install. The pictured location is C:\Program Files (x86)\Fedora Media Writer. Its 113.7 MB required space and 28.6 GB available space belong to that installer and host, not universal requirements:

English illustration of the source installation folder and disk-space values

Wait for application installation to finish, then choose Next. On the final wizard page, the source leaves Run Fedora Media Writer checked and chooses Finish:

English illustration of completed application installation and Next

English illustration of Finish with Run Fedora Media Writer checked

These installation-complete screens concern the Windows application only. They do not indicate that any USB image has been written.

3. Write a custom image with the archived 4.x interface

The source notes that the interface changed in version 5.0.0. In the older 4.x interface, choose Custom image → Select a file. The home screen’s Fedora Workstation 30 and Server 30 entries are historical catalog entries; the example uses a local custom ISO instead:

English illustration of the older Custom image entry

Choose the intended ISO and Open. The example selects the DVD image CentOS-7-x86_64-DVD-2009, with its .iso extension hidden in the file-dialog listing. Do not accidentally select Everything, Minimal or another OS image from the neighboring rows:

English illustration selecting the CentOS 7 DVD custom image — Existing redacted path segments remain redacted and the Chinese folder name is omitted with an ellipsis. Filenames are not translated into new paths.

In Write Custom Image, confirm Selected: CentOS-7-x86_64-DVD-2009.iso and the intended USB device. This 4.x example uses Kingston DataTraveler 2.0 (15.5 GB). Its warning explicitly states that all data on that target will be lost. After completing the backup and verifying the target, choose Write to Disk:

English illustration of the selected Kingston drive and destructive-write warning

Wait while Writing is displayed. The capacity notice explains that the image layout can make the drive appear smaller. Restoring its normal capacity later is a separate operation that erases the installation media; do not restore it while you still need to boot from it:

English illustration of the older write in progress — The short moving indicator is not a measured percentage or a completed write.

The next source figure displays Finished! and highlights Close. Choose Close after checking the actual result. The separate Delete downloaded image control is not the Close button and is not required by this procedure:

English illustration of the 4.x Finished status and Close button — The optional capacity-restoration warning is retained. This figure does not show a subsequent boot or installation test.

4. Write a custom image with the archived 5.x interface

Back up the target USB data first. On Select image source, select Select .iso file rather than Download automatically, then Next:

English illustration of Select .iso file and Next in the newer interface

On Write Options, use Select to choose the local image. Initially Selected file is None, so Write is disabled. This separate 5.x example shows TOSHIBA TransMemory (62.0 GB), not the Kingston drive used above:

English illustration of the newer file selection with Write disabled

Select the intended ISO and Open. The source again chooses the CentOS 7 DVD image:

English illustration of the CentOS ISO selection for the 5.x workflow — The final Chinese-named folder component is abbreviated; existing Latin path components and the selected basename are retained.

Check the selected filename and USB drive again. After protecting required data and confirming that TOSHIBA TransMemory (62.0 GB) is the intended physical target in this example, choose Write:

English illustration of the TOSHIBA USB target selection and Write button

Wait for writing and any verification performed by the actual release to finish without disconnecting the device. The final 5.x source figure still says Writing; it does not show a Finished result:

English illustration of the 5.x write in progress — No final percentage, completion state or successful boot is inferred from this intermediate figure.

5. Verify the actual result and retain the installer layout

Check the application’s final status and any reported errors. After completion, safely remove the USB device and use the target server’s supported boot menu to test that the intended installer starts. Choose the firmware mode required by that OS image and server. Creating installation media does not itself install the OS or verify compatibility with every storage/network controller.

If you later want ordinary USB storage again, Fedora Media Writer’s Restore function can reformat it to a normal single-partition layout. That removes the installation media; preserve any needed files before restoring. The two capacities and device names in this article are source examples, not minimum media sizes or interchangeable target selections.

References

Lenovo’s English guide independently describes the Custom image → choose USB target → Write to Disk workflow. Its platform/OS installation instructions are separate; no platform-specific Secure Boot change from that guide is made a general requirement here. No exact English replacements for the OEM’s Chinese 4.x/5.x screenshots were located.