So I tried it with total success to a Fat32 stick, rather than mounting and copying. I added the latest 7Zip from the official site to my Windows box:
https://www.7-zip.org/
So yeah, instead of burning or mounting, I did it this way. Just highlighted the latest Porteus(X) iso, and in Win 11, had to go to (show other options) and opened it with 7Zip. Using the very first 7zip option of Open, I then pointed it to my usb drive to dearchive it to. Blam - done. EJECTED drive nicely before rebooting (to make sure all data is written). 7Zip will go all the way back to some crusty old versions of windows too.
For Uefi, that's all I had to do. For older boxes, or for "max portable compatability", then just run the windows exe bootloader installer. Eject nicely.
The big advantage is that there is no way a user can mess up - like mistakenly running the installer (if needed) from the mounted-iso method, rather than the target disk. With 7Zip, there is only the target disk you can run the installer from. So no mess up there. No missed folders when mounting and copying.
The fact that I find that the commandline version of 7Zip on Porteus 5 Alpha and also PorteuX, (possibly in Nemesis, haven't checked) makes this a no-brainer for those who want to do it this way, or for assurance like helping someone over the phone who only has a moldy version of windows that has no iso mount option, and you need to reduce the possibility for user error. You know, for like young-people (what are those?) who have never mounted cd or dvd iso's of their vacation in 1987 in their life.
So just pointing this out as yet another EASY way to get Porteus(X) on a usable, writable usb stick.
In my Windows' 11 system I click on the ISO in Windows' File Manager, it opens, and then I drag the files/folders to the USB drive. No 7-Zip needed.
