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Rufus

Version documented: 4.4 Installer type: Standalone .exe (no installer) / Portable Hives written: HKCU


📁 Registry Paths

Path Hive Purpose
SOFTWARE\Akeo\Rufus HKCU User preferences and last-used settings

🔑 Keys

HKCU\SOFTWARE\Akeo\Rufus

Value Name Type Example Data Description
version REG_DWORD 0x00040004 Last-run version (hex encoded)
last_drive REG_SZ \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1 Last target drive path
last_partition_type REG_DWORD 0 0=MBR, 1=GPT
last_target_system REG_DWORD 0 0=BIOS/MBR, 1=UEFI, 2=UEFI (no CSM)
last_filesystem REG_DWORD 0 0=FAT32, 1=NTFS, 2=UDF, 3=exFAT
last_image REG_SZ C:\ISOs\ubuntu-22.04.iso Last opened ISO path
check_updates REG_DWORD 1 Check for updates at startup
verbose_mode REG_DWORD 0 Verbose log output

📝 Notes

  • Rufus writes no registry keys on first launch until you change settings or run a flash operation.
  • The app does not create an uninstall entry — it is a single portable executable that you delete to remove.
  • Rufus requires elevation (UAC) to access physical drives; it does not register a service.
  • The last_image value remembers your last ISO across sessions — useful for auditing what was imaged.
# Check what ISO was last used with Rufus
(Get-ItemProperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Akeo\Rufus" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).last_image

# Check last partition scheme used
$scheme = (Get-ItemProperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Akeo\Rufus" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).last_partition_type
@('MBR', 'GPT')[$scheme]

# Disable update checks (for offline environments)
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Akeo\Rufus" -Name "check_updates" -Value 0 -Type DWord

🗑️ Cleanup

# Remove all Rufus registry preferences
Remove-Item -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Akeo\Rufus" -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Akeo" -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

📦 Package Managers

Manager ID / Command
winget winget install Rufus.Rufus
Chocolatey choco install rufus
Scoop scoop install extras/rufus