How to make a Windows 11 bootable USB: Where to get installation media & more

If you need a Windows 11 boot disk to upgrade or reset your PC, this guide tells you everything you need to know about how to make one.

Maybe your PC is still running Windows 10 but you finally feel like upgrading to Windows 11. Or maybe your PC is running slow and needs a full reset. For both of these scenarios, a Windows 11 bootable USB stick is an essential tool.

Resetting your Windows PC periodically helps remove bloat and eliminate some driver or registry issues, allowing your system to run like new, even on older hardware. This guide takes you through the process of creating a bootable Windows 11 USB stick.

Just make sure you back up all your essential data first.

How to make a Windows 11 bootable USB using Media Creation Tool

The easiest way to make a bootable Windows 11 USB is by using Microsoft’s official Media Creation Tool. This will pretty much do everything for you, including downloading Windows 11 onto the USB drive after formatting it.

You will first need a USB memory stick that has at least 8GB of space. An External SSD or Hard Drive will also work for this function.

Then you will need a copy of the Windows Media Creation tool. To get this, follow these steps:

• Go to Microsoft’s Download Windows 11 page
• Find the option that says ‘Create Windows 11 Installation Media’
• Click ‘Download Now’

After you have downloaded it, follow these steps:

• Connect your USB Drive to your PC
• Open “mediacreationtool.exe” after your download is complete
• Select the language and version of Windows you want in the dropdown list
• Select “USB Flash Drive” when choosing which media to use
• Select your USB drive under the “Removable Drive” list

• Select your USB drive and click Next
• The Media Creation Tool will now begin downloading your selected version of Windows 11 to the USB drive
• Do not unplug your USB drive until the download is complete
• The Windows 11 bootable USB will be ready once the download finishes
• Plug it into a PC in order to begin installing Windows 11

How to make a bootable Windows 11 USB with Rufus

Rufus is an open-source alternative to the proprietary Windows media creation tool. To use this tool, you will need a copy of the Rufus program, and a copy of the official Windows 11 image file. This can be found on the Microsoft website.

• Check that you have at least 5.2GB of space available for downloads
• Download the official Windows 11 .iso file from the Microsoft website
• Download Rufus from the Rufus website
• Most systems will need the Standard x64 version of Rufus

• Open the latest version of Rufus
• Press the “SELECT” button
• Navigate to your downloads and select the Windows 11 .iso file
• (Optional) Under “Volume Label”, name your bootable Windows 11 USB drive
• Press the “START” button

Then, Rufus will present you with a dropdown containing several options.

We recommend removing the requirement to have an online Microsoft account, as it will help during the setup of your system, especially if your networking drivers have not been installed yet.

You should only tinker with the rest of the options if you know what they all mean. After making your selections, click “OK”. Rufus will then warn that you will be erasing all data currently stored on the drive. Click “Ok” to erase the drive and begin the installation process.

Then, once complete, you will have a brand-new Windows 11 bootable USB, customized to your own preferences.

How to make a Windows 11 bootable USB using Command Prompt

This method is only recommended for Power Users who prefer using the Command Line. The other methods described here are generally easier and quicker.

If you are still keen on using it, download the official Windows 11 .iso file first.

Once downloaded, run the Windows Command Prompt as an administrator and plug in the USB drive you wish to use. Then, follow these instructions. Be warned, as this is not for the faint of heart.

• Type “diskpart” and press enter. This should open up the Diskpart application.
• In Diskpart, type “list disk” in order to bring up a list of drives attached to your PC.
• Identify and find the disk number of your preferred USB drive.
• Type “select disk X” and replace the X with the number of your USB drive.
• Type “clean” in order to delete everything off of the selected drive.
• Then, type “create partition primary” and press enter to make a brand-new partition on the drive.
• Type “select partition 1” in order to select the partition you just made and press enter.
• To make the drive bootable, format the partition by typing “format FS=FAT32 quick” and press enter.
• Assign a drive letter to the USB by typing “assign letter=X” and replacing X with your chosen drive letter.
• Type exit and press enter. If diskpart is open in another window, return to the command prompt.
• In command prompt, type “PowerShell Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath “(Drive path of Windows 11 .iso file”
• Then relaunch diskpart by typing “diskpart” once more.
• Type “list volume” in order to attain the drive letter for the mounted Windows 11 .iso file, remember this, as you will need it later.
• Type exit to return to the command prompt.
• Then, type the drive letter for the location of the mounted Windows 11 .iso file and press enter. (e.g “D:”)
• Then, type “cd boot”, press enter and follow up with “bootsect /nt60 (USB drive letter):”
• Type “xcopy (Your mounted Windows .iso image letter):*.* (your USB drive letter):\ /E /F /H” and press enter.

Then, the command will copy all Windows 11 installation files over to the USB drive, and you will have a bootable Windows 11 USB drive. The other methods are a lot simpler to use, so try those first.