Cannot Boot from USB - I tried it all!

[comms.orec]

Hi everyone,

I am trying to do a clean install of w10 on an Asus X541U with SSD. I tried all of the following and still cannot get the damn thing to booth. This laptop only has two USB 3.0 ports and I am using a USB 2.0 stick that is 3.0 compatible.

• 
  SSD and USB are formatted to "GPT partition scheme for EUFI"
  Used rufus to mount w10 iso file
  Disabled secure boot
  Disabled fast boot
  Enabled CSM (and tried with it disabled)
  Added a new boot option but it never shows up in the boot menu (esc)

I am at my wit's end! Do I need a USB 3.0 stick to make this work?? I have used this exact stick on three other machines without an issue.

Thanks!

 

[Colif]

did you start laptop with the USB drive in slot already? it will only show it if there is a drive to choose.
Just watched a video on your laptop and turning off Secure boot and CSM enabled should have been all you needed.
USB 2 should be fine.

 

[comms.orec]

did you start laptop with the USB drive in slot already? it will only show it if there is a drive to choose.
Just watched a video on your laptop and turning off Secure boot and CSM enabled should have been all you needed.
USB 2 should be fine.

I did have the USB in the slot already. Thanks for confirming the USB 2.0 question.

 

[burdenbound]

I would recommend using windows tool that they provide to create the bootable USB drive.

 

[Colif]

Is win 10 on the PC now? If so, try this
go to settings/update & security/recovery
under Advanced Startup, click Restart now
this loads a Blue menu on startup
choose Use a device
Put USB stick in if not already
choose USB, PC will restart and boot from it

 

[comms.orec]

Is win 10 on the PC now? If so, try this
go to settings/update & security/recovery
under Advanced Startup, click Restart now
this loads a Blue menu on startup
choose Use a device
Put USB stick in if not already
choose USB, PC will restart and boot from it

That specific solution didn't work BUT I did restart into the UEFI firmware settings (where I've been many times before) and for the first time the UEFI USB appeared! I then booted from it, clicked Yes instead of No by accident then it brought me back to the current OS. Damn thing, I looked to boot from the USB now that it was recognized and it disappeared, never to be seen again.

You did lead me on a path though - in the recovery options was a system refresh link. The computer is now doing a clean w10 install from that option. It should do the trick! Thanks.