Windows 11 Installation Guide

Bootable USB Setup

Prerequisites

What I'll Need:

  • 8GB USB drive (or larger) to set up as a bootable device
  • Rufus software for creating the bootable USB
  • Windows 11 ISO file downloaded from Microsoft

Note: The USB drive will be formatted during this process. Make sure to back up any important data before proceeding.

Download Windows 11 ISO

  1. Go to the official Windows download site: download here
  2. Scroll down to the "Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO)" section
  3. Select Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO) from the dropdown
  4. Save the ISO file (it's about 5-6 GB)

Download Rufus

  1. Go to Rufus website: download here
  2. Scroll down and click on the latest version (e.g., Rufus 4.x)
  3. Save the executable file
  4. Run the Rufus .exe file (no installation needed, it runs directly)

Create Bootable USB with Rufus

  1. Insert the 8GB USB drive into the computer
  2. Start Rufus application
  3. In the Device dropdown, select USB drive
  4. Browse and select the Windows 11 ISO file that was downloaded
  5. Keep the default settings (Partition scheme: GPT, Target system: UEFI)
  6. Click
  7. When the "Windows User Experience" window appears, check all the boxes to remove Windows requirements
  8. Click to begin creating the bootable USB
  9. Wait for the process to complete (this may take 10-15 minutes)

Windows User Experience Options:

Checking these boxes will remove certain Windows 11 installation requirements:

  • Remove requirement for Secure Boot and TPM 2.0
  • Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM
  • Remove requirement for an internet connection
  • Disable data collection (privacy)

Configure BIOS Boot Order

  1. Restart computer
  2. Press the BIOS key during startup which is F12
  3. Navigate to the Boot tab or section
  4. Set USB drive as the first boot device
  5. Save changes and exit BIOS (usually F10)

Windows 11 Installation

  1. With the USB drive plugged in, restart computer
  2. The computer will boot from the USB drive
  3. Select the drive where to install Windows

Note: Drive 0 is typically the C: drive. This drive must be deleted in order to install Windows on a clean partition. Deleting it will erase all data on that drive.

  1. Windows will begin copying files and installing
  2. IMPORTANT: When the screen displays "Windows will restart in a few seconds" or similar message, immediately unplug the USB drive
  3. Windows will restart and continue with the installation automatically