How to make a bootable USB drive If you're trying to install a new operating system or flash your BIOS, you're going to need a bootable USB drive - here's how to make one.

You can also use this drive to rescue data from corrupt Windows systems. Here’s how to create a live USB stick of Linux distributions from Windows, macOS and Linux.

A recovery USB drive is a separate, portable flash drive that your computer can use instead of your main hard drive to start up from.

How to make your own bootable OS X 10.9 Mavericks USB install drive Apple has changed things in 10.9, but making a recovery drive is still possible.