Having a bootable USB drive for Windows 11 is a valuable asset, particularly for those unexpected moments when you need it most. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of creating one.
With a Windows 11 bootable USB drive at your disposal, you gain the ability to perform a clean OS installation or carry out upgrades with ease. Furthermore, this versatile tool can assist you in troubleshooting issues on your PC and allow you to clean install Windows 11 on multiple computers, even when you’re offline.
Microsoft provides a user-friendly option for crafting installation media through its Media Creation Tool. Alternatively, you can opt to use Rufus or the Command Prompt for this task. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll outline three distinct methods for creating a USB flash drive installer for Windows 11.
Note: Before We Begin Download the Windows 11 ISO Image
Before diving into the USB creation process, ensure you have downloaded the Windows 11 ISO file. Once you have it ready, follow one of the methods below to transform it into a bootable USB drive.
Creating a Windows 11 Bootable USB Drive with Rufus
Rufus is an open-source utility designed for formatting and crafting bootable USB flash drives for the Windows operating system. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating a Windows 11 USB drive using Rufus. Once completed, Rufus will confirm your success, allowing you to use the bootable drive for OS installation on compatible systems.
- Visit the Rufus website and navigate to the Download section.
- Click on the provided Rufus link to download the latest version.
- Run the executable file and grant permission (click Yes) if prompted by UAC.
- Connect your USB flash drive to your PC and wait for Rufus to detect and display it in the Device section.
- Click the drop-down menu for Boot selection and choose Disk or ISO image.
- Next, click the SELECT button.
- Locate the Windows ISO file and click Open.
- Under the Image option drop-down menu, select either “Standard Windows 11 Installation (TPM 2.0 + Secure Boot)” for supported systems or “Extended Windows 11 Installation (no TPM / no Secure Boot)” for unsupported systems, bypassing system requirements during installation.
- Leave the Partition scheme as “GPT” and Target system as “UEFI,” both as default settings.
- Enter a name for your USB flash drive under Volume label.
- Leave the File system, Cluster size, and other options at their default values.
- Ensure the options for “Quick format” and “Create extended label and icon files” are checked.
- Click the Start button to initiate the bootable drive creation process.
- Once complete, you’ll see the “Msg Ready” confirmation in green,
- Enjoy your newly created Windows 11 bootable USB drive!
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