How To Create A Bootable USB With Rufus 4.15 (2026 Guide)
A bootable USB drive made with Rufus lets you install or repair Windows, or try Linux, from a flash drive instead of a disc.
Rufus is free and the process is the same on most PCs, but its Windows 11 options have changed in recent versions, so older guides can send you to menus that no longer exist.
This guide covers the current Rufus 4.15 workflow, the settings that matter, and fixes for the problems people hit most.
Buy links go to Amazon, and TheDroidGuy may earn a commission from them.
Quick answer: what you need for a Rufus bootable USB
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rufus version | 4.15 is the latest stable release (June 30, 2026); 4.16 was in beta as of October 30, 2026 |
| Runs on | Windows 8 or later (Rufus 4.0 dropped Windows 7; version 3.22 is the last that supports it) |
| USB drive | 8 GB or larger for Windows 11; everything on it is erased |
| Image | An ISO from Microsoft, your Linux distribution, or downloaded inside Rufus |
| Cost | Free (GPL licence) |
Which Rufus version should you download?
Download Rufus only from the official site at rufus.ie or its GitHub releases page.
The standard build and a portable build both exist, and neither needs an installer.
Here is what changed in the releases that matter for this guide.
| Version | Date | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 4.14 | April 30, 2026 | Added Windows 11 setup options, including a Quality of Life option and a Silent installation option |
| 4.15 | June 30, 2026 | Fixed the silent install failing at 75% in most cases; more fixes for OneDrive removal and username validation |
| 4.16 (beta) | October 30, 2026 | Works around a faulty NTFS driver in some AMI firmware that made good USB drives look damaged; still a beta |
Stick with the stable 4.15 unless you are hitting the AMI firmware problem.
What USB drive should you use?
Any reliable USB flash drive of 8 GB or more works, and 16 GB or larger gives you room for newer Windows 11 ISOs.
A USB 3.0 port and drive will usually write faster than USB 2.0.
These two drives are popular choices.
SanDisk Ultra 64GB USB 3.0 on AmazonSamsung BAR Plus 32GB on Amazon
How do you get a Windows 11 ISO?
You can download the ISO from Microsoft’s Windows 11 download page.
Rufus can also fetch it: click the down arrow next to Select, choose Download, then pick Windows 11, the release, the edition, your language and the architecture.
The built-in download relies on a PowerShell script, and Rufus needs PowerShell 3.0 or later with update checks enabled in its settings.
For Linux, get the ISO from your distribution’s own download page.
How to create a bootable Windows 11 USB with Rufus
- Plug in the USB drive and open Rufus.
- Under Device, pick your USB drive and double-check the name and size.
- Click Select next to Boot selection and choose the Windows 11 ISO.
- Keep the default partition scheme and target system unless you know your PC needs something different.
- Click Start.
- Tick the Windows User Experience options you want, then click OK.
- Confirm the warning that all data on the drive will be destroyed.
- Wait for the status bar to show READY, then close Rufus.
Do not unplug the drive while Rufus is writing, or the installer may be corrupted.
What do the Windows User Experience options do?
After you click Start with a Windows ISO, Rufus shows a dialog with optional customizations.
| Option | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 | Skips those hardware checks in the installer | Your PC fails the Windows 11 check |
| Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account | Lets setup finish with a local account | You do not want to sign in during setup |
| Create a local account with username | Creates the local account name you type | You want a ready local user |
| Disable BitLocker automatic device encryption | Stops automatic drive encryption | You do not want automatic encryption |
| Quality of Life (4.14 and later) | Disables Teams, Outlook, Copilot and other Microsoft extras | You want a cleaner install |
| Silent installation (4.14 and later) | Installs Windows on the first detected disk without prompting | Only on a PC you are happy to overwrite |
Treat the silent option with care, because it installs to the first disk it finds without asking.
Rufus 4.14 had a bug where the hardware-bypass checkbox kept turning itself back on, so look at the boxes each time before you click OK.
Related: after installing, see how to fix a TPM device not detected on Windows.
How to create a bootable Linux USB with Rufus
Select your Linux ISO the same way, then click Start.
For some ISOs Rufus asks whether to write in ISO Image mode or DD Image mode.
| Mode | How it works | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| ISO Image mode | Formats the drive and copies the ISO files onto it | Drive stays readable in Windows and uses its full capacity; Rufus recommends trying this first |
| DD Image mode | Copies the image byte for byte from the first sector | Usually leaves the drive unreadable in Windows and limited to the image size; use it if ISO mode fails |
The choice only applies to hybrid ISO images, so Windows ISOs never show it.
New to Linux installs? See our walkthrough of installing Artix Linux.
How do you boot from the USB drive?
Insert the drive, restart the PC and open the one-time boot menu or firmware setup.
The key differs by manufacturer and model, so check your PC or motherboard manual if the usual keys do nothing.
If the drive does not appear, set USB first in the boot order, or check the Secure Boot setting in firmware setup.
What if Rufus does not work? Symptom-to-fix table
| Symptom | Try this |
|---|---|
| Rufus does not list the drive | Use another USB port and cable, then check whether the drive shows in Disk Management; if Windows cannot see it, the drive may be faulty |
| Drive is write protected | Check for a physical lock switch; otherwise open an administrator Command Prompt and use diskpart: list disk, select disk N, attributes disk clear readonly |
| USB will not boot after writing | Recreate it; for Linux ISOs try the other write mode, and confirm the boot order |
| Installer shows errors partway | Your ISO may be damaged; compare its hash with the one the publisher lists using certutil -hashfile file.iso SHA256, and re-download on a mismatch |
| Installer says the PC cannot run Windows 11 | Recreate the USB with the hardware-requirement option ticked in the Windows User Experience dialog |
| Good drive reported as damaged at boot on some AMI firmware | Fixed in the 4.16 beta; stable 4.15 does not include the workaround |
If the drive still fails, try a different USB stick before blaming Rufus.
For a drive that behaves oddly, our guide on fixing a corrupted USB drive in Linux may help.
How do I “run the executable file”?