Download Official Windows 11 ISO and Create Bootable USB

By Alex Rivera Jul 12, 2026 10 min read How-To Guides

Windows 11 is Microsoft's latest operating system. If you need to install from scratch, repair a damaged installation, or create emergency installation media, you need the official ISO. Unfortunately the internet is full of modified ISOs with malware and bloatware.

Download from Microsoft's Official Page

Go to microsoft.com/software-download/windows11. This is the official download page. You will see two options: Installation Assistant (upgrades your current PC) and Create Installation Media (downloads ISO or creates USB). Scroll down to "Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO)" to download the ISO directly.

Select the edition and language. The file is about 5-6 GB depending on the version. Download time varies from 10 minutes to an hour. Do not interrupt the download.

Verify ISO Integrity

Microsoft provides the SHA-256 hash on the download page. In PowerShell, run Get-FileHash .\Windows11.iso. Compare the hash with Microsoft's. If they match, the ISO is authentic and not corrupted. If not, the download was corrupted or the file was tampered with. Download again.

Create Bootable USB

You need a USB of at least 8 GB. All content will be erased. The official Media Creation Tool does this automatically. For more control, use Rufus (rufus.ie). Rufus lets you choose filesystem (NTFS or FAT32), create USB for legacy BIOS and UEFI, and bypass Windows 11 TPM 2.0 requirements.

With Rufus, select your USB, choose the ISO, and click Start. The process takes 5-15 minutes. The "bypass TPM" option is useful for installing Windows 11 on older hardware that does not meet requirements.

Install Windows 11 from USB

Connect the USB, reboot, enter BIOS (F2, F12, DEL), set USB as first boot device, and save. The PC boots from USB and starts Windows Setup. Follow the instructions, choose "Custom: Install Windows only" for a clean installation. Select your partition. For a clean install, delete all partitions and create new ones.

If you used Rufus with TPM bypass, Windows 11 will install on hardware that does not officially support it. Note that Microsoft does not guarantee security updates on unsupported hardware.