Create Bootable Flash Drive with Rufus: Step-by-Step Guide Tutorial

Rufus is a free, portable utility that creates bootable USB flash drives from ISO files. As of 2026, the latest version is Rufus 4.13 — and it’s faster and more capable than ever, with built-in options to bypass Windows 11’s TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot requirements. This guide walks you through the complete process: downloading Rufus, choosing the right settings, creating the bootable drive, and troubleshooting when things go wrong.

The whole process takes about 10–20 minutes depending on your USB drive speed and the size of your ISO file.

What You Need Before Starting

Before opening Rufus, gather these three things:

A USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of storage — 16 GB is recommended for Windows 11. Everything on the drive will be erased, so back up any files first.
An ISO file — Download Windows 11 from Microsoft’s official site, or grab your Linux distribution’s ISO from the distro’s official page. Rufus also supports IMG, VHD, VHDX, and WIM formats.
A Windows PC — Rufus runs on Windows 7 and later. There is no Mac or Linux version of Rufus itself.

Recommended USB drives for Rufus:

Buy on Amazon — SanDisk Ultra 64GB USB 3.0 (~100 MB/s read speed, reliable and widely compatible)
Buy on Amazon — Samsung BAR Plus 32GB USB 3.1 (200 MB/s read, metal body, great for repeated use)

Note: Use a USB 3.0 or faster port (blue connector) when possible. Writing a Windows 11 ISO takes roughly 10 minutes via USB 3.0 versus 25+ minutes via USB 2.0.

How to Download Rufus

Download Rufus only from the official site to avoid bundled software or malware.

Go to rufus.ie — the official Rufus homepage maintained by developer Pete Batard.
Under the Download section, click Rufus 4.13 (the standard version). The file is about 1.9 MB.
Save the .exe file anywhere on your computer — your Desktop or Downloads folder works fine.

Rufus does not need to be installed. It’s a portable executable: double-click it and it runs immediately. You can also download Rufus 4.13 Portable if you prefer to run it directly from a USB drive.

Checksum tip: If you want to verify the download, the SHA-256 checksums for each release are posted on the official Rufus GitHub releases page.

Understanding Rufus Settings Before You Start

When you open Rufus, you’ll see several dropdown menus. Here’s what each one does — getting these right is the difference between a bootable drive and a wasted USB.

Device

This is the USB drive Rufus will write to. If you have multiple drives connected, double-check the drive letter shown matches the one you intend to erase. Rufus wipes the drive completely — there’s no undo.

Boot selection

Click SELECT and browse to your ISO file. Once selected, Rufus auto-configures most of the settings below based on the ISO it detects.

Image option (Windows ISOs only)

This dropdown appears only when a Windows ISO is loaded. It has three choices:

Standard Windows 11 Installation — Creates a normal bootable USB. Your PC must meet Windows 11 hardware requirements (TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, 4 GB RAM minimum).
Extended Windows 11 Installation (no TPM / no Secure Boot / 8 GB- RAM) — This is Rufus’s exclusive bypass option. It removes the TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and RAM checks from the installer. Choose this if your PC doesn’t meet Windows 11’s requirements. As of early 2026, Microsoft continues to deliver updates to Windows 11 installed this way on most systems.
Windows To Go — Installs Windows directly onto the USB drive so you can boot and run it on different PCs. Requires a high-speed, high-endurance drive.

Partition scheme

GPT — Use this for modern PCs with UEFI firmware (virtually all PCs made after 2012). Required for Windows 11.
MBR — Use this only for old PCs with legacy BIOS that don’t support UEFI, or for Windows 7 installations.

Target system

UEFI (non-CSM) — Select this when using GPT. Pairs with GPT for all modern systems.
BIOS (or UEFI-CSM) — Select this when using MBR for older machines.

File system

For Windows 11, Rufus will auto-select NTFS — leave it as-is. For Linux ISOs, Rufus typically selects FAT32. Don’t change this unless you have a specific reason.

Step-by-Step: Create a Bootable Windows 11 USB

Plug in your USB drive and double-click rufus-4.13.exe to launch Rufus. Accept the UAC prompt if it appears.
Under Device, select your USB drive from the dropdown. Confirm the drive letter and size match your USB drive.
Next to Boot selection, click SELECT. Navigate to your downloaded Windows 11 ISO file and click Open.
Rufus auto-fills most settings. Under Image option, choose Standard Windows 11 Installation if your PC meets requirements, or Extended Windows 11 Installation (no TPM / no Secure Boot / 8 GB- RAM) to bypass hardware checks.
Set Partition scheme to GPT and Target system to UEFI (non-CSM).
Leave the Volume label as-is (or rename it — this doesn’t affect bootability).
Click START.
Rufus will show an ISOHybrid image detected dialog for some ISOs. For Windows ISOs, leave the default selection and click OK.
A warning will appear: “All data on [Drive] will be destroyed.” Click OK to confirm.
The progress bar will fill as Rufus writes and verifies the data. Do not remove the USB drive during this process. When the status bar turns green and shows READY, the drive is complete.

Total write time is typically 8–12 minutes with a USB 3.0 drive for a Windows 11 ISO (~5.4 GB).

Step-by-Step: Create a Bootable Linux USB

Follow steps 1–3 above, selecting your Linux ISO (Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.).
When Rufus detects a Linux ISO, it will ask whether to write in ISO Image mode or DD Image mode. For most distributions, ISO Image mode is correct. If the USB isn’t bootable after creation, re-run Rufus and choose DD Image mode instead — some ISOs (Fedora, Arch) require it.
For Ubuntu and Debian-based distros, you can also enable a persistent partition in Rufus’s advanced settings. This lets the live USB save files and settings between reboots — useful for running Linux without installing it.
Set Partition scheme to GPT for UEFI systems, or MBR for older hardware.
Click START and confirm the warning. The process takes 5–15 minutes depending on drive speed and ISO size.

How to Boot from Your New USB Drive

Creating the USB is only half the process. To actually use it, you need to boot from it.

Insert the USB drive and restart your PC.
Enter the one-time boot menu by pressing the appropriate key right as the PC powers on. Common keys: F12 (Dell, Lenovo, most brands), F9 (HP), Esc or F11 (ASUS), F10 (some HP models).
Select your USB drive from the boot menu. It typically appears as “USB Flash Drive”, “UEFI: [Drive name]”, or similar.
If no boot menu key works, enter BIOS/UEFI setup (usually Delete, F2, or F10 at startup) and change the boot order to put USB first.

If Secure Boot blocks the USB: Enter BIOS/UEFI setup and temporarily disable Secure Boot under the Security or Boot tab. You can re-enable it after installation.

Troubleshooting: Rufus Errors and Bootable USB Problems

Rufus won’t detect my USB drive

Try a different USB port, preferably directly on the motherboard (rear ports on a desktop). Front panel USB ports can be unreliable. If Rufus still doesn’t see the drive, check Disk Management (Windows key + X → Disk Management) to confirm Windows detects the drive at all. If Windows doesn’t see it, the drive itself may be faulty.

The USB was created successfully but won’t boot

The most common cause: you used ISO mode when the ISO requires DD mode (or vice versa). Re-run Rufus, select the same ISO, and when the ISOHybrid dialog appears, switch modes. Fedora and Arch Linux ISOs frequently need DD mode. Also verify your BIOS boot order puts USB above your internal drive, and confirm Secure Boot isn’t blocking unsigned bootloaders.

The device is write protected error

Some USB drives have a physical write-protect switch (a small slider on the side). Check if yours has one and slide it to the unlocked position. If there’s no physical switch, open Command Prompt as Administrator and run diskpart, then list disk, select disk [number], and attributes disk clear readonly.

Rufus fails or freezes during write

Windows Defender’s Controlled Folder Access feature can block Rufus from writing to removable drives. Go to Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Manage ransomware protection → Controlled folder access and temporarily turn it off while Rufus runs. Re-enable it afterward.

Write completes but installation shows errors

The ISO file may be corrupted. Verify the SHA-256 checksum of your ISO against the value published on the download page (Microsoft, Ubuntu, etc. all publish checksums). Use certutil -hashfile filename.iso SHA256 in Command Prompt to calculate your file’s hash. A mismatch means you need to re-download the ISO.

Windows 11 installer shows This PC can’t run Windows 11

If you used Standard Windows 11 Installation and your PC lacks TPM 2.0 or an unsupported CPU, you’ll see this error. Go back to Rufus and recreate the USB using Extended Windows 11 Installation (no TPM / no Secure Boot / 8 GB- RAM) instead. This removes the hardware checks from the installer.

Rufus vs. Other Bootable USB Tools

Tool	Windows 11 Bypass	Linux Support	Speed	Cost
Rufus 4.13	Yes (Extended option)	Yes (ISO + DD modes)	Fast	Free
Windows Media Creation Tool	No	No	Moderate	Free
Ventoy	No built-in bypass	Yes (multi-boot)	Fast (setup only)	Free
balenaEtcher	No	Yes	Moderate	Free

Rufus is the top choice for single-OS bootable USB creation on Windows, especially for anyone who needs the Windows 11 TPM bypass or wants precise control over partition scheme and file system settings.

Final Tips for 2026

Always use Rufus 4.13 from rufus.ie. Third-party download sites sometimes bundle outdated or modified versions.
USB 3.0 makes a real difference. Using a USB 2.0 drive or port can more than double your creation time.
For Windows 11 on old hardware, use Extended mode. As of early 2026, Microsoft has not blocked updates for unsupported hardware installed this way — but this policy could change.
Keep your ISO verified. A bad ISO ruins the whole process. Download from official sources and check the SHA-256 hash.