Even on an older system, a dedicated Windows partition makes a fresh installation easier. If not, you may need to turn off Secure Boot in the BIOS settings.That being said, installing from a USB is often necessary, especially if you have built a new desktop computer that lacks an OS. Your PC should now boot running the Windows 11 ISO file you downloaded.

From here, choose ‘Use a device’ and select the USB stick.

Before the Windows logo appears, hold the F8 key to enter Safe Mode.

Plug the USB stick into the target device.

Once complete, you now have a USB stick that can be used for a clean installation of Windows 11 on any compatible device.

Click ‘Start’ to begin the process – how long this takes depends on the speed of your USB stick.

To the right of ‘Boot selection’, click ‘SELECT’ and choose the ISO file.

Select ‘NTFS’ under ‘File system’ and ‘MBR’ under ‘Partition scheme’.From the main Rufus window, choose the relevant USB under ‘Device’.Make sure it has at least 8GB free and all other files have been removed Insert the USB which the ISO file will be mounted on.Latest version of Rufus (3.15 at the time of writing) to the device where Windows 11 has also been downloaded Once installed, this will run Windows 11 as if you’ve just got the device out of the box. If you need to keep any of your existing files and data, make sure you select this option. Follow the step-by-step guide to download the ISO file.The Media Creation Tool will now download.Under ‘Create Windows 11 installation media’, click ‘Download Now’.

Previously, the download process involved signing into a Microsoft account and registering for the Windows Insider Program. You can then choose what you want back on your PC at a later date. If there are files you don’t need immediately, it’s worth backing them up and then performing a factory reset. Our guide to freeing up space in Windows 10 could be useful. The Windows 11 ISO file is 5.1GB in size, so you’ll need that spare capacity on the device where it’s being downloaded, any flash drives you’re using and the target devices.

Before proceeding, it’s worth making sure you won’t run out of space at any stage.

Windows 11 install tool