I just finished building a PC and wanted to update the BIOS before installing the operating system. My only USB flash drive failed, so I'm wondering whether I can remove the SSD, connect it to another computer through an M.2 slot, and use Rufus to put Windows 11 directly on it. I'd also like to make some customizations to the Windows installer with Rufus. If Rufus cannot write to an internal SSD, are there any similar alternatives? I may have to wait until I can get another reliable USB drive.
3 Answers
Once Windows is installed, you can update the BIOS from within Windows if your motherboard manufacturer provides a supported utility or BIOS update method. Just avoid interrupting the update, use stable power, and follow the board’s instructions carefully. BIOS updates are usually separate from installing Windows, so you do not need to modify the SSD first.
You can use a bootable recovery or installation environment instead of modifying the SSD from another computer. The environment runs from removable media, so it can perform repairs or installations without unnecessarily writing to another drive. For a normal Windows 11 installation, though, waiting for a decent USB stick is probably the least troublesome route.
Rufus is designed to create bootable media on removable drives and does not support writing directly to internal HDDs or SSDs. Even if you prepared Windows on the SSD from another computer, moving it back could cause boot, driver, or hardware-detection problems. The safest option is to use a reliable USB drive to create installation media.
So basically I should stop trying to force the SSD method and get another USB drive. I was hoping there was a Rufus-like workaround.