You can use Rufus to create a bootable USB flash drive to install Windows 11 22H2 (2022 Update), and in this guide, you will learn how. The tool is similar to the Media Creation Tool, but the difference is that you have the option to provide an existing ISO or download the installation files directly from the Microsoft servers.
The advance of using Rufus is that you can create a USB installation media faster for the current and older versions of Windows, including versions 22H2, 21H2, 10, and 8.1. Also, it’s the best tool to create a USB bootable media that bypasses the requirements and allows you to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware.
In this guide, you will learn the steps to use Rufus to download the ISO file and create a bootable media to install Windows 11 22H2 on supported or unsupported hardware.
- Create Windows 11 22H2 bootable USB from Rufus
- Create Windows 11 22H2 bootable USB for unsupported hardware with Rufus
Create Windows 11 22H2 bootable USB from Rufus
To create a Windows 11 22H2 USB bootable media, connect a USB flash drive with 8GB of space, and then use these steps:
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Under the “Download” section, click the link to download the latest version.
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Double-click the executable to launch the tool.
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Click the Settings button (third button from the left) at the bottom of the page.
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Under the “Settings” section, use the “Check for updates” drop-down menu and select the Daily option.
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Click the Close button.
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Click the Close button again.
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Open Rufus again.
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(Optional) Under the “Device” section, use the drop-down menu and select the USB flash drive to create the installation media.
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Under the “Boot selection” section, use the drop-down menu and select the Disk or ISO image option.
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Click the down-arrow button (on the right side) and select the Download option.
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Click the Download button.
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Select the Windows 11 option.
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Click the Continue button.
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Under the “Release” section, select the 22H2 v1 (Build 22621.xxx – 2022.09) option.
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Click the Continue button.
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Select the Windows 11 Home/Pro/Edu option.
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Click the Continue button.
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Select the language for the Windows 11 2022 Update installation.
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Click the Continue button.
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Select the x64 architecture.
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Click the Download button.
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Select the location to save the Windows 11 22H2 ISO file automatically.
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Under the “Image option” setting, select the “Standard Windows 11 Installation” option.
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(Optional) Continue with the default settings after the download.
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(Optional) Under the “Volume label” setting, specify a name for the drive. For example, Windows 11 22H2 Setup.
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Click the Start button.
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Clear the “Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0” option.
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(Optional) Check the “Set a local account using the same name as this user’s” option if you want an installation with a local account instead of a Microsoft account (not recommended).
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Click the OK button.
Once you complete the steps, you can use the bootable USB flash drive to install Windows 11 using a clean or in-place upgrade installation.
Create Windows 11 22H2 bootable USB for unsupported hardware from Rufus
You can also use Rufus to create a bootable USB to bypass the TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and memory requirements to install the Windows 11 2022 Update on unsupported hardware.
For the purpose of this guide, I’m using the option to provide an existing ISO file. However, you can also use the “Download” option to get the Windows 11 22H2 files within the application, as shown in the previous steps.
To create a Windows 11 22H2 bootable USB for unsupported hardware, use these steps:
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Under the “Download” section, click the link to download the latest version.
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Double-click the rufus.3.xx.exe file to launch the tool.
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Under the “Device” section, use the drop-down menu and select the flash drive to create the Windows 11 22H2 bootable USB media.
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Under the “Boot selection” section, use the drop-down menu and select the Disk or ISO image option.
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Click the Select button.
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Select the Windows 11 22H2 ISO file.
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Click the Open button.
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Under the “Image option” section, select the “Standard Windows 11 Installation” option.
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Under the “Partition scheme” section, select the GPT option.
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Under the “Target system” section, select the UEFI (non-CSM) option.
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Under the “Volume label” section, specify a descriptive name for the Windows 11 22H2 bootable USB flash drive – For example, Windows 11 22H2 Setup.
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Use the default settings for the File system and Cluster size options.
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Check the Quick format option.
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Check the “Create extended label and icon files” option.
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Click the Start button.
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Check the “Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0” option to bypass the Windows 11 hardware requirements.
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Click the OK button.
Once you complete the steps, Rufus will create a bootable USB media that will bypass the security and memory requirements to install version 22H2 on a computer with unsupported hardware.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].