How to create bootable Windows 11 USB install media

To create a Windows 11 bootable USB, download and launch the “Media Creation Tool,” select the “USB flash drive” option, and follow the on-screen instructions.
Another way to create a USB drive is to use the Rufus tool, which includes the option to download the Windows 11 ISO, or the Ventoy app, which makes any ISO file bootable.
You can also download the official Windows 11 ISO manually and use Command Prompt to create the bootable media.
These instructions were revised in July 2026, and they apply to Windows 11 25H2, 24H2, 23H2, 22H2, and the original version (21H2).

If you plan to perform a clean installation of Windows 11 on a device that meets the minimum system requirements, you will need a bootable USB installation drive. In this guide, I’ll show you how to create one using several different methods.

While you can start the setup process directly from the Media Creation Tool or by mounting an ISO file, booting from a USB drive remains the most reliable and flexible approach. It’s also the preferred method when installing Windows 11 on a brand-new computer or a system with a blank or unformatted drive.

There are multiple ways to create a Windows 11 bootable USB drive, depending on your needs and level of control:

Media Creation Tool: The simplest option for most users. It’s an official Microsoft utility that automates the entire process.
Rufus: Best suited for advanced users who want to customize the installation media or bypass certain Windows 11 setup requirements.
Ventoy: Ideal for creating a multi-boot USB drive that can store and boot multiple ISO files.
Command Prompt: A fully manual method that provides complete control over the process, often used for troubleshooting or advanced deployments.

In this guide, I will teach you the methods I use to create Windows 11 installation media for performing an in-place or clean installation. You can also use these instructions from a device running Windows 10. If you have a Mac, you can use these instructions to create a bootable USB installer from macOS.

Create Windows 11 bootable USB from Media Creation Tool
Create Windows 11 bootable USB from Rufus
Create Windows 11 bootable USB from Ventoy
Create Windows 11 bootable USB from Command Prompt
Pureinfotech’s Take

Create Windows 11 bootable USB from Media Creation Tool

To create a bootable Windows 11 USB with the Media Creation Tool, follow these steps:

Open the Microsoft support website.
Click the Download Now button under the “Create Windows 11 installation media” section.
Double-click the MediaCrationTool.exe file to launch the tool.
Click the Accept button.
Click the Next button.

Quick note: If you want to create a Windows 11 USB for another device, you can also clear the “Use the recommended options for this PC” option to select the correct language, architecture, and edition.
Select the USB flash drive option.
Click the Next button.
Select the USB flash drive from the list, but ensure it does not contain important files, as this process will erase everything on it.
Click the Next button.
Click the Finish button.

Once you complete the steps, you can start the UEFI-compatible device with the USB drive to install Windows 11.

Create Windows 11 bootable USB from Rufus

To create a USB installer of Windows 11 with Rufus, follow these steps:

Open the Rufus website.
Click the link in the “Download” section to download the latest version.
Double-click the Rufus executable file to launch the tool.
Click the Settings button (third button from the left) at the bottom of the page.
Choose the Daily option in the “Check for updates” setting and under the “Settings” section.

Quick note: This particular step is only required if you don’t have the down-arrow button to select the “Download” option.
Click the Close button.
Click the Close button again.
Open Rufus again.
Choose the USB flash drive under the “Device” section.
Click the down-arrow button (on the right side) and select the Download option.
Click the Download button.
Select the Windows 11 option.
Click the Continue button.
Select the “25H2” option to choose the Windows 11 2025 Update.
Click the Continue button.
Select the Windows 11 Home/Pro/Edu option.
Click the Continue button.
Select the language for Windows 11 installation.
Click the Continue button.
Select the x64 architecture option.
Click the Download button.
Select the location to save the Windows 11 25H2 ISO file automatically.
Continue with the default Rufus settings after the download.
(Optional) Confirm a name for the drive (for example, Windows 11 25H2 Setup) under the “Volume label” setting.
Click the Start button.
Clear all the options from the “Windows User Experience” page to create installation media without modifications.
Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, the tool will begin creating a bootable media containing the Windows 11 installation.

Create Windows 11 bootable USB from Ventoy

Ventoy is a third-party application similar to Rufus, but it’s installed on a USB drive and makes any ISO file bootable on virtually any platform, including Windows 11.

To create a Windows 11 bootable USB with Ventoy, connect a flash drive with enough space (8GB or more) and follow these steps:

Open the Ventoy GitHub page.
Under the “Assets” section, click the ventoy-x.x.xx-windows.zip file and download it to your computer.

Quick note: You may need to force and keep the file, as the browser may detect it as malicious.
Open File Explorer.
Open the Zip folder location.
Double-click to open the ventoy-x.x.xx-windows.zip file.
Click the Extract all button from the command bar.
Click the Browse button.
Select a location to extract the files.
Click the Select Folder button.
Click the Extract button.
Open the ventoy-x.x.xx folder.
Double-click the Ventoy2Disk.exe file to launch the installer.
Choose the USB flash drive from the “Device” setting.

Quick tip: If you have any important files on the flash drive, it’s recommended to create a backup, as this process will erase everything on the external drive.
Click the Install button.
Click the OK button.
Click on This PC from the left pane of File Explorer.
Open the Ventoy drive.
Open the Microsoft Support website.
Select the Windows 11 option under the “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices” section.
Click the Confirm button.
Select the installation language.
Click the Confirm button.
Click the “64-bit Download” button to download the Windows 11 ISO on the device.
Copy and paste the ISO file into the Ventoy USB flash drive to make it bootable.

After you complete the steps, you can use the bootable USB flash drive to start a device with the Ventoy application, from which you can choose to launch the Windows 11 Setup.

Since Ventoy can make any ISO file bootable, you can upload multiple ISO files from virtually any platform, including Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 7, and Linux. The best part about this software is that when a new version of Windows becomes available, you do not have to reformat the flash drive. You can simply upload the new ISO file to make it bootable.

Create Windows 11 bootable USB from Command Prompt

To create a bootable USB flash drive to install Windows 11 with Command Prompt, follow these steps:

Open the Microsoft Support website.
Select the Windows 11 option under the “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices” section.
Click the Download button.
Select the installation language.
Click the Confirm button.
Click the 64-bit Download button to save the Windows 11 25H2 ISO file on the computer.
Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt (or Terminal), right-click the top result, and select the Run as Administrator option.
Type the following command to open Diskpart and press Enter:
```
diskpart
```
Type the following command to determine the USB flash drive and press Enter:
```
list disk
```
Type the following command to select the storage and press Enter:
```
select disk 1
```
Quick tip: The select disk 1 command as an example, but you must replace 1 with the flash drive you want to use.
Type the following commands to delete everything from the USB flash drive and press Enter:
```
clean
```
Type the following command to create a primary partition and press Enter:
```
create partition primary
```
Type the following command to select the new partition and press Enter:
```
select partition 1
```
Type the following command to make the USB flash drive bootable and press Enter:
```
format FS=NTFS quick
```
Type the following command to assign a volume and a drive letter for the USB flash drive and press Enter:
```
assign letter=X
```
Change X to any available letter you want to use in the command.
Type the following command to quit the tool and press Enter:
```
exit
```
Type the following command to mount the Windows 11 24H2 ISO file and press Enter:
```
PowerShell Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath "C:\path\to\Windows11.iso"
```
In the command, update the path with the location where you have stored the Windows 11 24H2 ISO file.
Type the following command to relaunch Diskpart and press Enter:
```
diskpart
```
Type the following command to determine the drive letter for the mounted Windows 11 24H2 ISO file and press Enter:
```
list volume
```
Type the following command to exit Diskpart and press Enter:
```
exit
```
Type the following command to access the ISO file and press Enter:
```
E:
```
Type the following command to open the “boot” folder and press Enter:
```
cd boot
```
Type the following command to update the volume boot code for the USB flash drive and press Enter:
```
bootsect /nt60 X:
```
Type the following command to open the root of the mounted drive and press Enter:
```
cd..
```
Type the following command to copy all the Windows 11 2024 Update installation files to the USB flash drive and press Enter:
```
xcopy E:*.* X: /E /F /H
```
In the command, change the “E” and “X” letters with the correct drive letters for the ISO image file and the USB flash drive, respectively.

Once you complete the steps, you can use the bootable flash drive to install Windows 11 on UEFI devices.

Pureinfotech’s Take

For something as foundational as creating a Windows 11 installation USB, I still see a lot of users overcomplicating the process or relying on whatever tool they first come across. In reality, this is one of those areas where Microsoft’s own Media Creation Tool remains the safest starting point for most people, especially if you just want a clean, predictable setup experience without extra tweaks.

That said, I still find tools like Rufus and Ventoy hard to ignore. Rufus has become almost essential when dealing with modern Windows installs because of how often people run into setup friction, whether it’s hardware checks or wanting more control over the process. Ventoy, on the other hand, is the kind of utility that quietly changes how you manage installation media once you start working with multiple ISOs regularly.

What hasn’t changed over the years is the reliability of the manual Command Prompt method. It’s not for everyone, but I still see it as a fallback that proves useful when everything else fails or when working in restricted environments.

At the end of the day, there isn’t really a “wrong” method here. It comes down to how much control you want and how often you build installation media. For most users, the Media Creation Tool will do the job just fine, but anyone working with Windows regularly will eventually end up using Rufus or Ventoy out of convenience more than necessity.

What method do you usually use to create a Windows installation USB drive? Let me know in the comments.

Update July 6, 2026: This tutorial has been updated to reflect that the instructions are compatible with all supported versions of Windows 11.

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