Using a bootable USB is the best way to clean install/reinstall the Windows 11 operating system. When it comes to creating a bootable USB, there is nothing quite like Rufus.
What is Rufus for Windows PC?
Rufus is arguably the best bootable USB preparation tool out there for the Windows operating system. It’s free! We, here at IntoWindows, often recommend this tool over the official Media Creation Tool that helps you download Windows 11 ISO and prepare bootable USB.
So, in this guide, we will show you how to use the Rufus software to create Windows 11 bootable USB.
Creating a bootable Windows 11 USB is easy. You need a USB drive with at least 8 GB capacity and a Windows 11 ISO.
Prepare Windows 11 bootable USB flash drive using Rufus
NOTE: You can use this guide to prepare Windows 11 bootable USB on Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, or Windows 7.
Step 1: The first step is downloading Windows 11 ISO if you have not done it already. If you have the ISO file ready, skip to the next step.
To download the Windows 11 ISO, visit this page of Microsoft, select Windows 11 (multi edition ISO) from the drop down, click Download, select your language and other details to begin downloading the ISO. Refer to our how-to download Windows 11 ISO without the Media Creation Tool guide for step-by-step directions.
Step 2: Once the Windows 11 ISO is ready, it’s time to download the Rufus software. Visit this official Rufus page and download the latest version. In addition to the regular installer version, Rufus is also available in the portable version, which does not require an installation. We suggest you download the portable version.
Step 3: Next, connect your 8GB+ USB drive to your computer and move all files from the USB to a different drive as Rufus will erase the USB drive.
Step 4: Fire up the Rufus software. If you get the UAC prompt, click the Yes button to allow the Rufus software to run with admin rights.
Step 5: Rufus automatically selects the connected USB drive. However, if more than one USB drive is connected to your PC, make sure that the USB drive you wish to make bootable is selected in the Device drop-down.
IMPORTANT: The selected USB drive will be erased to make it bootable. So, ensure that you have no essential data in the USB drive.
Step 6: Click the drop-down from Boot selection, select Disk or ISO image. Next, click the Select button, browse to the ISO image file, select the Windows 11 ISO file, and click the Open button.
Step 7: In the Image option drop-down, select Standard Windows 11 Installation (TPM 2.0 + Secure Boot) if your computer supports Windows 11. If not, select Extended Windows 11 Installation (no TPM / no Secure Boot).
Tip: If you plan to install Windows 11 on a PC that does not meet the minimum system requirements, select the Extended Windows 11 Installation (no TPM/no Secure Boot) option. When a bootalbe USB is created with that option, Rufus will make necessary changes to installation files to bypass Windows 11 system requirements. Refer to our how to create Windows 11 bootable USB drive for unsupported PC hardware for more details.
If you want to know if your computer has TPM 2.0, refer to our how-to check if your PC has TPM 2.0 guide. Additionally, you can use the official PC Health Check app to check if your computer is compatible with Windows 11.
Step 8: Do not change the Partition scheme and Target system default options. No need to alter the File system as well (refer to the picture above).
Step 8: Finally, click the Start button. When you get the following confirmation prompt about erasing data from the USB drive, click on the OK button to continue.
Rufus will take a few minutes to prepare your Windows 11 bootable USB.
Step 10: Once the bootable USB is ready, you will see the READY message. You can directly plug it into your target PC, make changes to BIOS/UEFI to boot from the USB drive and then install/reinstall Windows 11.
Creating Windows 11 bootable USB with Media Creation Tool
Rufus is our go-to software when it comes to preparing Windows bootable USB. That said, tens of software out there can do the same job. Did you know that the official Media Creation Tool you use to download Windows ISO images can also prepare the bootable USB?
Here is how to use the Media Creation Tool to prepare Windows 11 bootable media.
NOTE: The Media Creation Tool cannot prepare bootable media using a Windows 11 ISO image file already present on your PC. Instead, it will download a fresh copy of the ISO file from Microsoft servers and prepare the bootable media.
Step 1: Visit this page of Microsoft. In the “Create Windows 11 Installation Media” section, click on the Download Now button to download the latest version of the Media Creation Tool.
Step 2: Start the Media Creation Tool. When you get the license terms page, click the Accept button to continue.
Step 3: Next, you will get the Select language and edition on your screen. Click on the Next button unless you want to change the default selected language by the Media Creation Tool. Note that it does not allow you to download a specific edition of Windows 11 ISO. Instead, the Windows 11 edition that it downloads will include all editions.
Step 4: On the Choose which media to use screen, select the USB flash drive option. Now, before clicking the Next button, connect an 8 GB+ USB drive and move critical data from the USB drive as the drive will be erased during the preparation of bootable media.
Step 5: On the Select a USB flash drive screen, make sure that the selected USB drive is your desired USB drive before clicking on the Next button. If it has selected a wrong drive, please select the correct one.
Step 6: The Media Creation Tool will begin downloading Windows 11 ISO files to your PC and then start preparing the bootable USB. This might take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the internet connection speed.
Step 7: Once the Windows 11 bootable USB is ready, you will see a “Your USB flash drive is ready” message. You may now close the Media Creation Tool. Note that upon closing the Media Creation Tool, you might see the “Setup is cleaning up before it closes” message (the tool deletes temporary files and installation files downloaded) for a few seconds before the Media Creation Tool window vanishes from the screen.
