How to Create a Windows 11 Bootable USB (2 Free Methods)

Applies to: Windows 11 Home and Pro, 64-bit. You can create the drive on a PC running Windows 10 or Windows 11.

What you need

• A USB flash drive of at least 8 GB. Microsoft’s wording is blunt: any content on the flash drive will be deleted. Copy anything you want to keep off it first.
• A working PC with an internet connection. The download is several gigabytes, so allow for that on a metered connection.
• Administrator rights on that PC.
• A 64-bit target PC. Windows 11 runs only on 64-bit processors. Microsoft’s tool does not create media for Arm-based PCs.

You do not need a product key to create the drive. One download contains every edition, and the key you enter during or after installation decides which one is unlocked.

Which method to use

Method 1: Windows 11 bootable USB with the Media Creation Tool

1. Open Microsoft’s Download Windows 11 page.
2. Under Create Windows 11 Installation Media, select Download Now.
3. Plug in the USB drive.
4. Run the downloaded tool. You must be an administrator.
5. Select Accept on the license terms.
6. Choose the language and edition. To make a drive for a different PC, clear Use the recommended options for this PC and pick the language that PC uses. Select Next.
7. Choose USB flash drive, then Next.
8. Select your drive from the list. Check the drive letter and name carefully before you continue, because the tool erases whatever you pick.
9. Select Next and wait. The tool downloads Windows 11, verifies it, and writes it to the drive.
10. When it says the drive is ready, select Finish and eject the drive.

How long this takes depends almost entirely on your connection and the speed of the USB drive. An old USB 2.0 stick can take an hour; a USB 3.0 drive is much quicker.

Method 2: Windows 11 bootable USB from an ISO with Rufus

First, get the ISO from Microsoft.

1. On the same Download Windows 11 page, go to Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices.
2. Choose Windows 11, select Download Now, pick your language, and confirm.
3. Select 64-bit Download and save the file.

To confirm the download is intact, Microsoft publishes a SHA256 hash for each language on that page. Run this in PowerShell and compare the result with the published value:

Get-FileHash C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\Win11_English_x64.iso

Then write it with Rufus.

1. Download Rufus from its official site, rufus.ie, and run it. It needs no installation.
2. Under Device, select your USB drive.
3. Next to Boot selection, choose SELECT and open the ISO file.
4. Leave Partition scheme on GPT and Target system on UEFI (non CSM). Every PC that supports Windows 11 uses these.
5. Select START.
6. A dialog offers extra options. For a standard installation, leave them all unticked and select OK.
7. Confirm the warning that the drive will be erased.
8. When the status bar shows READY, select CLOSE and eject the drive.

The options in step 6 include removing the TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot requirement and removing the Microsoft account requirement. Both produce an installation Microsoft does not support in the usual way. Read installing Windows 11 without TPM 2.0 and installing Windows 11 without a Microsoft account before you tick either.

Start a PC from the USB drive

A clean installation erases the drive you install to. Back up the target PC’s files before you start.

1. Shut the target PC down completely and plug in the USB drive.
2. Turn it on and immediately press the boot menu key. Microsoft lists F2, F12, Delete and Esc as the usual ones; the right key is often shown briefly on the first screen.
3. Choose the USB drive from the menu.
4. On the Install Windows page, confirm the language, time and keyboard settings and continue.

If you changed the boot order in the firmware settings instead of using the boot menu, change it back afterward, or the PC will start setup again on the next restart.

After installation, activate Windows: see how to activate Windows 11 Pro with an OEM product key. If the PC previously ran an activated copy of the same edition, select I don’t have a product key during setup and it will activate by itself once online.

If it does not work

Keep the drive once it works. Windows 11 gets a new version each year, so recreate it when a new release arrives and you will have current media ready for a repair or reinstall.