How to Boot Your Windows 11 PC From a USB Drive

In the past, to boot from a USB drive we will configure the BIOS to boot from a USB drive or CD. Windows 11 made booting from a USB very easy to do.

All you need is a bootable USB, and to follow these few simple steps.

Boot Your Windows 11 PC From a USB Drive

Make sure your computer is on and the Windows desktop is running.

Plug the bootable USB into any USB port on your computer.

Click the Start button and then click the Power icon to see the Shutdown options.

Hold down the shift key and click “Restart.”

Your computer will restart. When it boots up, you’ll see a list of options to choose from. Choose “Use a device.”

Choose the USB device that you want to boot from, and your computer will then restart using your USB drive.

Note: If the “Use a device” option is not there it means that the USB device is not bootable.

How to boot from USB using thru BIOS

If the Windows 11 boot method doesn’t work, You can still boot from the USB drive, you will need to edit the BIOS settings.

Unfortunately, every BIOS screen is configured differently, so you will need to explore the options for yourself.

Shut off your computer.

Turn it back on and press the key indicated briefly on the startup screen to enter your BIOS Setup. It’s usually Escape, Delete, F1, F2, F8, F11, or F12.

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In the boot menu, look for the Boot order and move the USB drive to the top of the list.

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When you’re done press F10 key to save and exit. Upon exiting your PC will boot from the USB flash drive.

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Video Tutorial:

Miguel

I started this tech blog back in 2011 as a place to write down processes I took to fix my client systems and network. Now I write some tips and tricks to help others with the tech issues that one might encounter.

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