How to create Windows 11 25H2 USB for unsupported PCs using Rufus and Ventoy

To create a Windows 11 25H2 bootable USB for unsupported hardware, open Rufus, select the USB flash drive, click “Select,” choose the ISO file, click Open, click “Start,” and choose the “Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0” and the “Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account” options, and click “OK.”
To create a Windows 25H2 installer for unsupported PCs using Ventoy, download and install the app on a USB flash drive, then copy and paste the ISO files.

If you want to install Windows 11 25H2 on unsupported hardware, you can use tools like Rufus or Ventoy to create a bootable USB drive. In this guide, I’ll show you the steps to make it possible.

On devices running Windows 10 or older versions that don’t meet the official requirements for Windows 11 25H2 (2025 Update), Rufus allows you to create custom installation media that bypasses most hardware checks. The utility also includes options to skip the internet requirement during setup, allowing you to complete the installation with a local account instead of a Microsoft account.

Ventoy works differently. Instead of creating a single bootable USB per ISO, it turns your flash drive into a multi-boot tool where you can simply copy ISO files and boot from them directly. When using a Windows 11 25H2 ISO, Ventoy automatically applies the workarounds to bypass the hardware restrictions, saving you extra steps.

Keep in mind that you’ll still need a computer with at least TPM 1.2 support and a processor that includes the “POPCNT” (Population Count) instruction. Without these, the system won’t boot properly when installing or upgrading to version 25H2.

In this guide, I will outline the steps to use Rufus and Ventoy to create a bootable USB to install the Windows 11 2025 Update on virtually any hardware.

Create a Windows 11 25H2 USB for unsupported PCs using Rufus
Create a Windows 11 25H2 USB for unsupported PCs using Ventoy

Important: The feature update is expected to become available on October 14, 2025. Currently, you have three ways to obtain the ISO file. You can use the latest preview from the Release Preview Channel, download the image using the UUP Dump, or download the final version of the ISO file directly from the Microsoft delivery servers.

Create a Windows 11 25H2 USB for unsupported PCs using Rufus

Rufus provides two methods for creating custom USB installation media by downloading and using an existing ISO file.

Create a bootable USB using an existing ISO file

To create a Windows 11 25H2 bootable USB for unsupported hardware using an existing ISO file, connect a USB flash drive of at least 8GB and follow these steps:

Open the Rufus website.
Click the link to download the latest version under the “Download” section.
Double-click the executable to launch the tool.
Choose the USB flash drive from the “Device” setting.
Click the Select button.
Select the Windows 11 25H2 ISO file.
Click the Open button.
Continue with the default settings.
(Optional) Specify a name for the drive under the “Volume label” setting.
Click the Start button.
Check the “Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0” option to install version 25H2 on unsupported hardware.
Check the “Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account” option to bypass the internet requirement and create a local account.
(Optional) Check the “Create a local account with username” option and specify an account name to create a local account automatically.
Check the “Disable BitLocker automatic device encryption” option to prevent the setup from enabling BitLocker during the installation.
Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, Rufus will create a USB bootable media that bypasses the hardware requirements to install the Windows 11 2025 Update on virtually any computer hardware.

Create a USB installer by downloading an ISO file

This option will be available once the feature update is officially available to the public.

To create a Windows 11 25H2 bootable USB for unsupported PCs by downloading ISO files with Rufus, follow these steps:

Open the Rufus website.
Click the link to download the latest version under the “Download” section.
Double-click the executable to launch the tool.
(Optional) Use the drop-down menu and select the USB flash drive to create the installation media 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 under the “Release” section.
Click the Continue button.
Select the Windows 11 Home/Pro/Edu option.
Click the Continue button.
Select the language of Windows 11.
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 settings after the download.
(Optional) Specify a name for the drive under the “Volume label” setting.
Click the Start button.
Check the “Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0” option to install version 25H2 on unsupported hardware.
Check the “Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account” option to bypass the internet requirement and create a local account.
(Optional) Select the “Create a local account with username” option and enter an account name to create a local account automatically.
Check the “Disable BitLocker automatic device encryption” option to prevent the setup from enabling BitLocker during the installation.
Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, the tool will begin creating the Windows 11 25H2 installer for unsupported devices.

Create a Windows 11 25H2 USB for unsupported PCs using Ventoy

To create a Windows 11 25H2 bootable USB with Ventoy, connect a flash drive with enough space (8GB or more) and follow these steps:

Open the Ventoy GitHub page.
Click the ventoy-x.x.xx-windows.zip file under the “Assets” section 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.
Click the Install button.
Click the OK button.
Click on This PC from the left pane of File Explorer.
Open the Ventoy drive.
Copy and paste the Windows 11 25H2 ISO files to make them bootable.

After completing the steps, you can use the USB flash drive to boot a device with the Ventoy tool and launch the Windows 11 25H2 installation on computers that don’t meet the hardware requirements and on compatible devices.

Since Ventoy can hold multiple ISO files, you can add images for other versions of Windows and other platforms, such as Linux.