At least an 8GB stick, you won't need the full thing. Easier to get large thumbdrives then small ones these days. Answer from logicearth on reddit.com
Reddit
reddit.com › r/windows11 › what size flash drive do i need to install windows 11 pro oem?
r/Windows11 on Reddit: What size flash drive do I need to install windows 11 Pro OEM?
February 13, 2022 -
I believe I use windows 11 media creation tool to create the install for my new PC. How much storage space would my USB flash drive need to store the install data?
Top answer 1 of 9
10
At least an 8GB stick, you won't need the full thing. Easier to get large thumbdrives then small ones these days.
2 of 9
4
8GB. I just used one a couple of days ago and it worked perfectly fine. In my case I used rufus to create the bootable Windows 11 thumb drive from ISO image.
Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › answers › questions › 5353981 › size-flash-drive-do-i-need-for-windows-11
Size Flash Drive Do I Need for Windows 11? - Microsoft Q&A
To create a bootable USB drive for Windows 11 installation, Microsoft recommends a USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of storage. However, to ensure sufficient space for updates and additional tools that might be useful during the installation, ...
Overclockers UK
forums.overclockers.co.uk › software › windows & other software
Size of your Windows 11 OS partition? | Overclockers UK Forums
March 1, 2024 - ... Mine is 200GB with just over half free, only used for the OS and applications. Games, docs, media, downloads etc are all on on the other partition or other SSDs entirely. ... Click to expand... Not sure what you mean, my Documents folder is on a different drive to my Win11 install and OneDrive ...
Reddit
reddit.com › r/techsupport › how large of a usb for windows 11 boot drive?
r/techsupport on Reddit: How large of a USB for Windows 11 Boot Drive?
December 30, 2023 -
My USB is 20GB, attempting to load the W11 .iso file and every time says I need more space.
Top answer 1 of 3
1
Making changes to your system BIOS settings or disk setup can cause you to lose data. Always test your data backups before making changes to your PC. For more information please see our FAQ thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/q2rns5/windows_11_faq_read_this_first/ I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
2 of 3
1
32 GB flash drive.
BleepingComputer
bleepingcomputer.com › bleepingcomputer forums › microsoft windows support › windows 11
Boot drive size - Windows 11
November 14, 2025 - Those don't get created when Windows 11 is installed. In fact, that is where the EFI System Partition should be. What needs to be done to get everything combined is to image-copy the EFI System Partition over that "System reserved" partition, remove the old EFI System Partition, disable Windows Recovery Environment, remove the recovery partition, and then extend the Boot partition to fill all the space to the end of the disk.
Eleven Forum
elevenforum.com › windows support forums › installation, updates and activation
How big is your system partition? | Windows 11 Forum
March 11, 2024 - Microsoft recommends 64 GB or larger storage device, more storage space you have for Windows 11 better it's as for updates take storage space as well. ... Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games) Samsung 990 Pro 2TB Samsung 980 Pro 2TB Samsung 870 Evo 4TB Samsung T7 Touch 1TB
EaseUS
easeus.com › data recovery resource › windows 11 size: how much space does windows 11 take up?
Windows 11 Size: How Much Space Does Windows 11 Take Up?
2 weeks ago - Although it is not sure of the exact GB of Windows 11, there is a general statement: a clean installation of Windows 11 will take up about 27 GB of space on a C drive. Things could be different if you upgrade your computer to Windows 11 from ...
Top answer 1 of 4
1
I'm currently building a pc and was just thinking it would be better to have a ssd for the OS and some other apps like yours, but use another ssd for things like games and streaming stuff along with photo & video storage.
For that, 250GB absolute min, 500GB SSD preferred.
Along with whatever other drives meet your space needs and budget.
2 of 4
0
Depends on what other drives are on this system, and what you use it for.
My current system has a 500GB SSD for the OS drive.
OS and all applications.
I personally would not go any smaller.
Along with 6 other SSDs for other stuff.
It is NOT just 'the boot drive'.
OS and applications.
Some people recommend a single drive for everything.
Makes things easy.
Others, like me, have it more split.
1 drive for the OS and applications, other drives for other things.
I'm currently building a pc and was just thinking it would be better to have a ssd for the OS and some other apps like yours, but use another ssd for things like games and streaming stuff along with photo & video storage.
Quora
quora.com › How-big-of-an-SSD-hard-drive-do-I-need-that-will-only-be-used-for-Windows-11-operating-system-and-how-to-prevent-it-from-storing-anything-else-that-is-unnecessary-to-windows-11-operating-system-on-it
How big of an SSD hard drive do I need that will only be used for Windows 11 operating system and how to prevent it from storing anything else that is unnecessary to windows 11 operating system on it? - Quora
Answer (1 of 7): In the past I have used a 128 GB SSD and it is more than enough for windows 11 since the minimum requirements state 64 GB, however, I recommend a 200 - 250 GB drive.
Quora
quora.com › Is-a-128-GB-SSD-enough-for-a-Windows-11-installation
Is a 128 GB SSD enough for a Windows 11 installation? - Quora
“Yes, with an asterisk.” Win11 wants about 20GB of drive space to install, but planning on about 32GB is probably more appropriate to leave room for patches, updates, and the ...
EaseUS
easeus.com › data backup questions answered › how big is a windows 11 recovery usb?
How Big Is a Windows 11 Recovery USB? - EaseUS
June 30, 2025 - However, the size of the USB flash drive required to create the Windows 11 recovery drive varies from 1 GB to 32 GB. The specific size of the USB depends on whether the user chooses to back up the system files to the recovery drive. In other words, if the recovery drive contains system files, ...
DiskPart
diskpart.com › aomei software › windows 11 › what’s the recommended partition size for window 11?
What’s the Recommended Partition Size for Window 11?
December 13, 2023 - If you find your partition – usually the C drive - isn’t able to hold the 64GB operating system, besides partition extension, you can also try moving some large apps from the current system drive to another drive to free up space.
MS.Codes
ms.codes › blogs › windows › how-big-is-windows-11-on-usb
How Big Is Windows 11 On USB
February 29, 2024 - However, it is essential to note that these figures can vary depending on the specific build and edition chosen. When creating a bootable USB for Windows 11, it is recommended to have a minimum of 16GB or 32GB USB drive to accommodate the ...
Microsoft Community Hub
techcommunity.microsoft.com › microsoft community hub › communities › products › windows › windows 11
Creating Windows USB Recovery Drive. 32GB Requirement | Microsoft Community Hub
I may have missed something else but the (real) capacity of 28.8GB seems to be what is stopping me from proceeding. I am sure that the good people of Microsoft know about USB drive capacities.
Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › windows › whats-new › windows-11-requirements
Windows 11 requirements | Microsoft Learn
General settings: Secure boot capable, virtual TPM enabled. Memory: 4 GB or greater. Processor: Two or more virtual processors. The VM host processor must also meet Windows 11 processor requirements.
Microsoft Support
support.microsoft.com › en-us › windows › windows-11-system-requirements-86c11283-ea52-4782-9efd-7674389a7ba3
Windows 11 System Requirements - Microsoft Support
If your PC does not have a large enough storage drive, there are sometimes options for upgrading the drive. You may want to consult your PC manufacturer’s website or with a retailer to see if there are easy and affordable options to meet the minimum requirements for Windows 11. UEFI (for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, a modern version of the PC BIOS) and Secure Boot capable. If your device does not meet the minimum requirements because it is not Secure Boot capable, you may want to read this article to see if there are steps you can take to enable this.
Eleven Forum
elevenforum.com › windows support forums › installation, updates and activation
Upgrade from Win10 to Win11 - How much free space do you need? | Windows 11 Forum
April 13, 2024 - I'm soon going to upgrade my PC at work from Windows 10 22H2 to Windows 11 (likely 23H2). When I first looked into it, my 256GB HDD had about 5 GB of space available. I removed Visual Studio 2022, since I wasn't using it, and if I remember correctly, it's now got about 25GB of free space. How...
Eleven Forum
elevenforum.com › windows support forums › installation, updates and activation
Why does windows 11 need minimum of 48GB HDD storage to install etc | Windows 11 Forum
January 26, 2023 - With standard HDD's and SSD's, I would do the separate drive, but with M.2 drives where I only have 2 slots of my mobo's, I just go for a large capacity drive and make a parttion. I don't like to have to clean up and continuously be on the look out for free space, so I make it bigger than I need it to be.
Quora
windows11hacks.quora.com › What-is-the-minimum-size-of-a-USB-stick-for-you-to-use-it-as-a-bootable-drive
What is the minimum size of a USB stick for you to use it as a bootable drive? - Windows 11 Hacks - Quora
Answer: Usually 8GB is enough. Most of system image install additional packages via internet during installation, or install them after reboot. So system image doesn't need to contains everything.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/buildapc › how much storage for a "boot drive?"
r/buildapc on Reddit: How much storage for a "boot drive?"
November 8, 2023 -
Is 1 TB enough? What even goes inside a boot drive?
I do like the thought of having a separate storage for eveything else and keep the OS stuff in its own thing.
Edit: Thank you for the great advice. I will be doing a 1 or 2 TB boot drive (depends on SSD pricing) and a 2 or 4 TB storage drive for everything else. Then, I am saving the last NVME slot in my motherboard for future storage upgrade
Top answer 1 of 27
47
A boot drive is where you install windows. C:\ basically. If this will be your only drive, i would recommend getting 2 TB. If you plan to add other sata SSDs later on down the line, 1TB is enough.
2 of 27
11
It's good enough for your primary startup programs, motherboard BIOS software, security software and a couple of games. Have that as your drive C and never stuff it past 80% storage capacity for long life. You can always daisy chain more SSDs as you need them as Drive F and Drive G