I'm trying to help my cousin by creating a bootable USB drive for Windows 11, but I'm running into problems. I've downloaded the Windows 11 ISO and Rufus, connected the USB drive, and attempted to transfer the ISO. Unfortunately, I kept getting an error stating that it's incompatible with Windows. I tried a few different settings in Rufus but to no avail.
Now, Windows won't even read the USB drive at all! I've swapped it to different USB ports, and when I checked the file manager, I noticed an E: partition on the USB. I deleted it, but that didn't change anything. Then I deleted the partition, created a new one, and formatted it, all without success. I even tried using a different data reading system. I'm honestly out of ideas and don't want to give up. Can someone guide me on what to do next?
2 Answers
Consider using a command prompt with the diskpart tool to clean the USB drive thoroughly. After that, go to Disk Management to format it. If you're using Rufus, ensure it's set up correctly, especially if your system might not fully support the current setup. Some folks have better luck using the Windows Media Creation Tool for generating installation drives instead.
It might be worth trying a different USB drive first. They can sometimes fail unexpectedly, especially the cheaper ones or those given away as promotions. It happens more often than you'd think!
Thank you!! I'll try to do that too.