How to create bootable USB drive for Windows 11 with Rufus (2025)

UPDATED 1/27/2025: Rufus is a free tool for quickly creating a bootable USB flash drive to upgrade or clean install Windows 11. The utility works similarly to the Media Creation Tool. However, you can also provide an existing ISO file or download the files directly from Microsoft servers.

Unlike the Microsoft solution, Rufus not only allows you to create a USB installation media, but it completes the process faster. You can also use it to create a bootable USB media for older versions, such as Windows 10. If you want to create an installer for an older version of Windows 11, you will have to provide the ISO file of the version you want to install.

Also, the tool can create a bootable USB that bypasses the security and memory requirements to install the operating system on unsupported hardware.

In this guide, I’ll teach you the steps to use Rufus to download the ISO file and create a bootable media to install Windows 11 from scratch.

Create Windows 11 bootable USB using Rufus with ISO download

To use Rufus to download the Windows 11 ISO file and create a bootable media, connect a USB flash drive with 8GB of space, and then use these steps:

1. Open Rufus website.

2. Click the link to download the latest version under the “Download” section.

3. Double-click the Rufus executable file to launch the tool.

4. Click the Settings button (third button from the left) at the bottom of the page.

5. Choose the Daily option in the “Check for updates” setting and under the “Settings” section.

6. Click the Close button.

7. Click the Close button again.

8. Open Rufus again.

9. (Optional) Choose the USB flash drive under the “Device” section.

10. Select the “Disk or ISO image” option under the “Boot selection” section.

11. Click the down-arrow button (on the right side) and select the Download option.

    

12. Click the Download button.

13. Select the Windows 11 option.

14. Click the Continue button.

15. Select the latest release of the operating system.

    

16. Click the Continue button.

17. Select the Windows 11 Home/Pro/Edu option.

18. Click the Continue button.

19. Select the language for Windows 11 installation.

20. Click the Continue button.

21. Select the x64 architecture option.

22. Click the Download button.

23. Select the location to save the Windows 11 ISO file automatically.

24. Choose the “Standard Windows 11 Installation” option under the “Image option” setting.

25. (Optional) Continue with the default settings after the download.

26. (Optional) Under the “Volume label” setting, specify a name for the drive (for example, Windows 11 Setup).

27. Click the Start button.

28. Clear all the options from the “Windows User Experience” page to create an installation media without modifications.

    

29. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, you can use the bootable USB flash drive to install Windows 11 using a clean or in-place upgrade installation.

Create Windows 11 bootable USB using Rufus with existing ISO file

To create a bootable USB with Rufus using an existing ISO file, connect a USB flash drive with 8GB of space and use these steps:

1. Open Rufus website.

2. Click the link to download the latest version under the “Download” section.

3. Double-click the rufus.4.xx.exe file to launch the tool.

4. Select the USB flash drive to create the Windows 11 bootable media under the “Device” section.

5. Select the “Disk or ISO image” option under the “Boot selection” section.

6. Click the Select button.

   

7. Select the Windows 11 ISO file.

8. Click the Open button.

9. Select the “Standard Windows 11 Installation” option under the “Image option” setting.

   

10. Select the GPT option under the “Partition scheme” section.

11. Select the UEFI (non-CSM) option under the “Target system” section.

12. Specify a descriptive name for the bootable USB drive under the “Volume label” section. For example, Windows 11 Setup.

13. Use the default settings for the File system and Cluster size options.

14. Check the Quick format option.

15. Check the “Create extended label and icon files” option.

16. (Optional) Clear the “Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0” option.

    

17. (Optional) Check the “Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account” option to be able to create a local account during the out-of-box experience (OOBE).

18. (Optional) Check the “Create a local account with username” option and specify the account name if you want an installation with a local account instead of a Microsoft account (not recommended).

19. (Optional) Clear the “Set regional options to the same values as this user’s” option.

20. (Optional) Clear the “Disable data collection” option.

21. Click the Start button.

22. Click the OK button to confirm the USB’s deletion and the bootable drive’s creation.

After you complete the steps, the tool will begin creating a USB media with the Windows 11 installation media.

Create Windows 11 bootable USB for unsupported hardware using Rufus

Alternatively, Rufus has the option to create a bootable USB that bypasses the Microsoft account, TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and memory requirements to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware.

To create a Windows 11 bootable USB for unsupported hardware, use these steps:

1. Open Rufus website.

2. Click the link to download the latest version under the “Download” section.

3. Double-click the Rufus executable file to launch the tool.

4. Choose the flash drive to create the Windows 11 bootable USB media under the “Device” section.

5. Select the “Disk or ISO image” option under the “Boot selection” section.

6. Click the Select button.

   

7. Select the Windows 11 ISO file.

8. Click the Open button.

9. Select the “Standard Windows 11 Installation” option under the “Image option” section.

10. Select the GPT option under the “Partition scheme” section.

11. Choose the UEFI (non-CSM) option under the “Target system” section.

12. (Optional) Specify a descriptive name for the bootable USB flash drive under the “Volume label” section.

13. Use the default settings for the File system and Cluster size options.

14. Check the Quick format option.

15. Check the “Create extended label and icon files” option.

16. Click the Start button.

17. Check the “Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0” option to install version 24H2 on unsupported hardware.

    

18. Check the “Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account” option to set up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account using a local account.

    

19. (Optional) Check the “Create a local account with username” option and specify the account name to install the operating system with a local account.

20. (Optional) Clear the “Set regional options to the same values as this user’s” option to use the current language as the default for new installations.

21. (Optional) Clear the “Disable data collection” option to prevent Microsoft from collecting some of your data.

22. (Optional) Check the “Disable BitLocker automatic device encryption” option.

    

    Quick note: Starting on version 24H2, Microsoft will force encryption on new installations. Although it’s recommended to use encryption to improve the security of the data, if you don’t want to use this feature, you can turn off this option.

23. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, Rufus will create a bootable USB media that will bypass the security and memory requirements as well as the Microsoft account requirement to install a fresh copy of Windows 11 on virtually any supported or unsupported hardware.

Update January 27, 2025: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.