How to create Bootable USB of Windows 11? Steps using Tools

In this article, we explain how to create a bootable USB of Windows 11.

Windows 11 will soon debut for the public. If you are planning to upgrade, might be a good idea to create a bootable Windows 11 USB drive if you intend to install the new operating system on multiple computers. This kind of drive can start Windows 11 from any computer anywhere, anytime.

Alternatively, it fulfills people’s need for bringing their own device. Since almost all computers have a USB slot, bootable USB drives offer high compatibility and portability. Let’s check out various methods to create a bootable Windows 11 USB drive:

Method-1: Using AOMEI Partition Assistant (Standard Edition) software:

AOMEI Partition Assistant (Standard Edition) is efficient disk partition management software compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, XP, and Vista. This software also supports resizing of your wipe hard drive, partition, etc.

To use this software, you will need:

• A 13 GB or bigger USB drive (it is recommended to use a USB 3.0 drive due to its fast read and writer speeds.)
  
• Download Windows 11 ISO file if you want to make a brand-new system.

Note: All data on the USB which you will use will be erased. So, take a backup in advance.

Steps to create Windows 11 bootable USB drive with this software:

• Step-1: Connect the USB drive into a USB 3.0 port on your PC. Confirm that your PC is detecting it.
• Step-2: Now install and open the AOMEI Partition Assistant (Standard Edition) software from the below link:

https://www.diskpart.com/download-home.html

• Step-3: Click ‘Windows To Go Creator’ from the left side.
• Step-4: Select the option ‘Create Windows To Go with system disc/ISO’.
• Step-5: Now click on the folder icon to select ISO manually. Click ‘Next’ to continue.
• Step-6: Choose the location of the Windows 11 ISO file and then click ‘Next’.
• Step-7: Choose the target USB drive here and click on ‘Proceed’.
• Step-8: Read the prompt and click ‘YES’.

Method-2: Using Windows 11 Media Creation Tool:

• Step 1: Firstly, download the latest Windows 11 Media Creation Tool from the below link:

https://www.uubyte.com/windows-11-media-creation-tool.html

• Step-2: Open the Windows 11 download page:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows11

(Here, the Media Creation Tool is available for free download, so click the link there. After downloaded, double click on it (no installation required))

• Step-3: Now run the tool and choose ‘Create installation media for another PC’.
• Step-4: Click on ‘Next’.
• Step-5: From the selected field, choose the desired Windows 11 version and language.
• Step-6: Choose either 32-bit or 64-bit variants of Windows. Click on ‘Next’.
• Step-7: Plug in the appropriate USB flash drive into a USB port of the computer. (Confirm that the drive is correctly formatted and has a minimum of 4 GB of storage space. It is recommended to use an empty USB drive to ascertain that there is no risk of data loss.)
• Step-8: In this step, you need to make sure that a USB flash drive is selected. Click on ‘Next’.
• (If the device is not shown in the list, then click the ‘Refresh drive list’ option.)
• Step-9: Now point the tool at the appropriate USB drive when prompted.
• Step-10: This tool will now download the relevant files and make a bootable USB version of Windows 10.
• Step-11: Click the ‘Finish’ button when the process completes.

Method-3: Using Rufus:

Rufus is a free non-Microsoft tool that lets you create an installation media for installing Windows 11 compatible hardware and software configuration. This utility offers two methods to set up the installation media. One of these methods uses an existing ISO file, whereas another way directly downloads the file from the Microsoft servers.

To create a USB media through an existing Windows 11 ISO file, you need to connect a flash drive with a minimum of 8 GB of space. Now follow these steps:

• Step-1: Open the Rufus download page from here: https://rufus.ie/
• Step-2: From the ‘Download’ section, you need to click the link to save the latest release on your device.
• Step-3: Double-click the’ Rufus-x.xx.exe’ file to run this tool.
• Step-4: In the ‘Device’ section, you have to choose the USB flash drive.
• Step-5: In the ‘Boot selection’ section, you need to click the ‘Select’ button available on the right side.
• Step-6: From the folder location, choose the ‘Windows 11 ISO’ file.
• Step-7: Click the ‘Open’ button.
• Step-8: From the ‘Image option’ drop-down menu, you need to select the ‘Standard Windows installation option.
• Step-9: Now, from the ‘Partition scheme’ drop-down menu, you have to select the ‘GPT’ option.
• Step-10: From the ‘Target system’ drop-down menu, you have to select the ‘UEFI (non-CSM)’ option.
• Step-11: In the ‘Show Advanced drive properties’ section, keep the default settings as it is.
• Step-12: In the ‘Volume label’ field, verify a name for the bootable media.
• Step-13: Keep the default settings as it is in the ‘File system’ and ‘Cluster size’ options.
• Step-14: Click on the ‘Show advanced format options’ button.
• Step-15: Check the ‘Quick format’ option
• Step-16: In this step, check the ‘Create extended label and icon files’ option.
• Step-17: Click the ‘Start’ button and then click the ‘OK’ button to confirm.
• Step-18: Finally, click the ‘Close’ button.

After these steps, Rufus will set up a USB flash drive ready for installing Windows 11 on your computer.