Ways to Create a Windows 11 Bootable USB Drive
If you are planning to install Windows 11 on your device, one of the best ways to do so is through a bootable USB drive. This type of drive is very useful since it allows you to install the operating system on a new device or reinstall it on a problematic device without the need for an internet connection. In this article, we will discuss the ways you can create a Windows 11 bootable USB drive.
Method 1: Using the Media Creation Tool
Microsoft provides an official tool called the ‘Media Creation Tool’ that allows you to download and create a Windows 11 installation media. Here are the steps you need to follow:
Step 1: Download the Media Creation Tool from the official Microsoft website.
Step 2: Once downloaded, execute the tool and select ‘Create installation media.’
Step 3: Choose the language, edition, and architecture of Windows 11 you want to download.
Step 4: Select USB flash drive as the preferred installation media.
Step 5: Connect a USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of space to your computer.
Step 6: Select the drive from the drop-down menu and click the ‘Next’ button.
Step 7: The tool will download the ISO file and create a Windows 11 bootable USB drive.
Method 2: Using Rufus
Rufus is a popular utility tool that allows you to create bootable USB drives. It is very easy to use and can create a bootable USB drive from an ISO file. Follow these simple steps to create a Windows 11 bootable USB drive:
Step 1: Download Rufus from the official website and install it on your computer.
Step 2: Connect a USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of space to your computer.
Step 3: Open Rufus and select the USB flash drive from the Device drop-down menu.
Step 4: Choose the Windows 11 ISO file from the ‘Create a bootable disk using’ option.
Step 5: Set the file system as NTFS, and the partition scheme as GPT.
Step 6: Click the ‘Start’ button to begin creating the bootable USB drive.
Method 3: Using the Command Prompt
If you are comfortable using the command prompt, you can use this method to create a Windows 11 bootable USB drive. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Connect a USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of space to your computer.
Step 2: Open the command prompt as an administrator.
Step 3: Type ‘diskpart’ and press Enter.
Step 4: Type ‘list disk’ and press Enter. This will show you a list of all the connected drives.
Step 5: Select the drive that you want to use as the bootable USB drive by typing ‘select disk X’ (where X is the number of the USB drive) and press Enter.
Step 6: Type ‘clean’ and press Enter to erase any previous data from the drive.
Step 7: Type ‘create partition primary’ and press Enter.
Step 8: Type ‘select partition 1’ and press Enter.
Step 9: Type ‘format fs=ntfs quick’ and press Enter.
Step 10: Type ‘active’ and press Enter to make the partition active.
Step 11: Type ‘exit’ and press Enter to exit the disk part.
Step 12: Mount the Windows 11 ISO file to your computer.
Step 13: Type ‘xcopy F: \*.* /s/e/f G:’ (replace F with the Windows 11 ISO file location and G with the USB drive location) and press Enter. This will copy all the ISO files to the USB drive.