You can use Windows 11 installation media to boot your computer if it no longer starts due to a virus, a major OS crash, a failed hard drive, or partition problems. Also, a bootable USB drive is used to upgrade an existing OS or perform a clean install of Windows 11 23H2. There are several ways to create a Bootable USB drive, using the official media creation tool, or other tools like Rufus if you have already downloaded a Windows 11 ISO image. Here is how to create a bootable flash drive to install Windows 11.
The bootable USB also helps you troubleshoot your PC and clean install Windows on multiple PCs while you’re offline.
Post Contents :-
How to Create a Bootable USB drive
Creating a bootable USB drive involves preparing a USB stick to start up a computer independently, without relying on the installed operating system. This is useful for tasks like installing a new operating system or troubleshooting a computer that won’t start.
- A USB drive with sufficient storage capacity (at least 8GB for most operating systems) is required. Ensure that it doesn’t have any important data as the process will erase its contents.
- You’ll need the ISO image file of the operating system you want to install. (ISO file not required if you use media creation tool to create Windows 11 installation media).
- Some tools, like the official Windows Media Creation Tool, may require an internet connection to download necessary files during the creation process.
- The process of creating a bootable USB drive can take some time, especially if you’re downloading files or if your computer’s performance is not optimal.
Download Windows 11 ISO
First, download the Windows 11 ISO image following the steps below.
- Open your web browser and go to the official Windows 11 download page.
- look for a section labeled “Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) Download”. click the drop-down menu and select Windows 11 multi-edition ISO for 64-bit.
- If you prefer to download the ISO image in a language other than English, select your desired language from the drop-down menu and click confirm.
- You’ll see a button labeled “Download” Click on it. Depending on your internet speed, the download may take some time. Ensure you have a stable internet connection and allow the download to finish.
- Depending on your internet speed, the download may take some time. Ensure you have a stable internet connection and allow the download to finish.
When you are ready with Windows 11 ISO image, Connect your USB flash drive (8GB and more) to your PC. Ensure the USB drive is empty or backup important data from there as it formats the drive before make it bootable.
Create a Windows 11 Bootable USB With Rufus
Rufus is an open-source tool specialized in creating bootable USB flash drives, primarily for Windows. It offers a straightforward and efficient way to prepare USB drives for tasks like OS installations and system repairs.
Also, you can tweak the Rufus tool to bypass TPM 2.0 and SecureBoot verification for Windows 11 installation.
- First, connect a flash drive of at least 8GB of space,
- Visit the Rufus download page. In the “Download” section, select the “Rufus-4.x.exe (standard)” option and save the file on your computer.
- Double-click the downloaded Rufus-x.x.exe file to launch the tool.
- under the “Device” section, choose the USB flash drive you want to use.
- Under “Boot selection,” click the “Select” button on the right side. Navigate to the folder where you have the Windows 11 ISO file stored. Select it and click “Open”.
- In the “Image option” setting, choose “Standard Windows Installation”.
- Select “GPT” as the partition scheme, and Leave the “File system” and “Cluster size” options at their default settings.
- Click the “Start” button. You can optionally check the box that says “Remove requirement for 4GB+RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0” if you’re creating the USB for unsupported devices.
- Click “OK” to confirm and proceed. Once the process completes, click “Close”.
After complete these steps, Rufus will make a bootable USB flash drive ready for installing Windows 11 on a compatible computer, unless you specifically choose to bypass the system requirements.
However, Rufus is not the only media creation tool, there are many others, most popular options are Win32 Disk Imager, UltraISO, UNetBootting, WinToFlash, Universal USB Installer, and others.
Use Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool
Microsoft’s official Media Creation Tool is a very useful tool for upgrade Windows 11 latest version. This tool is also used to create Windows 11 installation media or download official Windows 11 ISO images from Microsoft server.
- First Plug in a USB flash drive with at least 8GB of storage capacity. Ensure you’ve backed up any important files from the USB drive.
- Go to the official Microsoft download page for Windows 11. Under the “Create Windows 11 Installation Media” section, click the “Download Now” button. Save the file to your PC.
- Locate and run the MediacreationtoolW11.exe file. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click “Yes”. Wait for the Setup wizard to launch. Click the “Accept” button to agree to the terms.
- The tool will automatically select the Edition and Language based on your system.
To change the language, uncheck “Use the recommended options for this PC”. Choose your options and click “Next”.
- In the “Choose which media to use” window, select “USB flash drive”. Click “Next”.
- Choose your USB drive from the list. If you don’t see it, click “Refresh drive list”. Click “Next” to continue, then click “Finish”.
- The Media Creation Tool will now download the necessary Windows 11 files and create an installation media.
- This process may take some time depending on your internet speed and hardware configuration.
- When the “Your USB flash drive is ready” message appears, click “Finish” to close the setup wizard.
Now you can use this USB drive to boot your computer for troubleshooting or a clean installation of Windows 11.
Also read:
- HAL INITIALIZATION FAILED (STOP CODE 0x0000005C) Windows 11
- NTFS File System Error in Windows 11 (6 Solutions to fix it)
- How to Update Network Drivers in Windows 11/10 (3 Official ways)
- Difference between Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 Processors: Which one to Buy
- Antimalware service executable High memory on Windows 11
