Installing W10 from Bootable USB drive. When is it ok to remove the USB?

[kiotimak]

Hi.
Installing W10 x64 20H2 from USB. When can the USB be removed? After the first reboot when computer opens to splash screen and has words saying " Getting devices ready X%... after which it opens to Choose keyboard, Region, Enter User name, Password etc and then Privacy. Or leave the USB connected until Windows Is open to Desktop?

[Bryan]

Don't be hasty. It won't cause any problems just sitting there until you are sure the system is up and fully running.

[wainuitech]

As Bryan stated, what's the Hurry. I personally leave any media in until it goes to the first desktop after installing, It could come out earlier but no point really. There's been sometimes When installing Via DVD I have forgotten to take it out at all, and get calls from people saying I left my DVD in their Drive - its usually not worth the time or trouble going to collect it so tell them to keep it.

[kiotimak]

Bryan
Hi, yep I agree. I always leave install media in until Win Desktop shows.
Cheers

[kiotimak]

wainuitech
Hi. yep I usually leave install media in til desktop shows. Have forgotten to take it out a couple times and get it loading again at start because I hadn't set 1st boot to HDD/SSD drive.
Cheers

[CYaBro]

It can be removed after the first restart during the install.

[kiotimak]

CYaBro
Hi. Thanks.
I figured that the install media can be removed after the first restart but haven't done so yet.
I was curious and have a memory from about 2008 of leaving a W7 Pro x64 DVD in the optic drive and when I shutdown computer one night and restarted it the next day, went to make a cuppa (it was a slow boot to desktop computer I had at that time) when I returned it had booted into the Install disc and had started to load the OS Setup into memory. I cancelled the install and rebooted but I could never get into the W7 I had installed days earlier. At POST I had two options into which I could choose to boot; W7 and W7 Setup ( only one HDD) and the only option that would work was the Setup W7. It was as if I had started creating a dual boot on the HDD. RAM is volatile so there couldn't have been any install files/data saved in there so it must have been on the HDD and/or in the BIOS... or something like that.
I had to wipe/format the HDD and reinstall W7 Pro, AV and the few other programs / Apps / Games I had installed, which were all on a 1TB External HDD so I hadn't accessed-used the optic drive.
Believe it or not, I have done that more than once. The first or third time was when I put the install dvd into optic drive and simply just wanted to see what was contained in all the folders etc ( an enquiring mind ) I would get distracted and have to go somewhere, come back hours later, close the opened window of the W7 OS install contents and carry on opening a Game to play or FB, or just browsing. My computer ran almost 24/7 and when I did shutdown and restarted at a later time, the Install W7 had started and I had the 2 options W7 or W7 Setup. I didn't have to press any key to boot from the CD/DVD. It just did it itself.
cheers
Incidentally, I have made a batch of A4 prints, each A4 page has 4 images on it of the steps to install W10 x64 Pro v 20H2. there are 32 steps so I have printed 8 x A4 pages. I am sending them to a friend in West Java, along with a bootable USB drive containing the W10 Install files. My friend only has slow WiFi and she would never have DL'd the almost 5GB W10.ISO in a month of Sundays IF her internet connection hadn't had a loss of signal causing the DL to fail ( yep, she doesn't have IDM) and even if she did have IDM it would have taken a very long time for her to get the ISO using MediaCreationTool. She's considering getting ADSL or Fibre.... there is a game called Valorant her son wants to play and I said to her that its a online competitive game for the privileged youngsters who have laptops that have More and faster DDR4 RAM than I do and the latest Intel CPU in 'em
ahhhh, and he also wants to use the Paint 3D that comes with W10.
She's running W7 Pro x64 so her computer is good to go with W10. It has the required Specs.
That's it
Cheers,

[dugimodo]

Some systems I have installed windows on seem to restart the setup process when restarted if the drive is left in either because of how the boot order is setup or just because of some other BIOS quirk.
Even then though you just don't continue with the setup a second time, shut the PC down, remove the drive, and reboot to continue the first install.

I'm fairly sure you can remove the drive the first time windows says it's going to restart. Certainly after reaching any of the screens you posted there's no need for the drive any more but there's also no harm leaving it in at that point.

[kiotimak]

dugimodo
Hi. yeah it was when I was using W7 10 year ago that it happened. I was installing from W7 Pro x 64 DVD and when it was completed I left it in the optical drive for a week or longer. My comp never turned off but when I did shut it down and rebooted next day it would auto boot into the DVD and start loading Setup files. I didn't continue with the Setup, I chose to boot to the W7 that was already installed but it wouldn't do so. Only option was to continue the Install.
I may very well have a HDD that has it on it. I will do a check later and if I do then I will take a pic of the Monitor's black screen showing the W7 and W7 Setup options. I will post it here if I still have it.
Cheers.