No, you can't just copy and paste the files to the USB drive, it won't be in a bootable format. Use the Windows Media Creation Tool: https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11 Answer from Emerald_Flame on reddit.com
🌐
Microsoft Support
support.microsoft.com › en-us › windows › create-installation-media-for-windows-99a58364-8c02-206f-aa6f-40c3b507420d
Create installation media for Windows - Microsoft Support
On that website, you can select a version of Windows and create installation media on ar a USB flash. Alternatively, an ISO file can be created for use in virtual machines (VMs) or for burning the installation media onto a DVD: ... Go to the Download Windows 11 site.
🌐
Microsoft
microsoft.com › en-us › software-download › windows11
Download Windows 11
On the What do you want to do? page, select Create installation media for another PC, and then select Next. Select the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit) for Windows 11. ... USB flash drive: Attach a blank USB flash drive with at least 8GB of space.
🌐
ASUS
asus.com › support › faq › 1039507
[Windows 11/10] How to Create and Use a USB Flash Drive Installation Media to Reinstall Windows | Official Support | ASUS Global
Connect the installation media (USB flash drive) to your device. Power on the device and select the boot option as the USB flash drive, here you can learn more about How to boot the system from USB drive. The device will enter Windows Setup. Please choose the Language, Time and currency format①, ...
🌐
HP
hp.com › us-en › shop › tech-takes › how-to-install-windows-11-from-usb
Install Windows 11 from USB Guide - HP® Tech Takes
May 7, 2025 - Select “USB flash drive” as the media to use. For optimal performance, use a high-speed USB 3.0 drive. Insert your USB drive and select it from the list. The tool will download Windows 11 and create a bootable USB drive.
🌐
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › techtips › how-to-create-bootable-usb-windows-11
How to Create Bootable USB Drive For Windows 11 - GeeksforGeeks
July 23, 2025 - This is one of the safest and easiest ... Here's how you can do it: You can visit the official website and select "Create Windows 11 Installation Media" file to download in your Windows 11 PC....
🌐
Corsair
help.corsair.com › hc › en-us › articles › 14206252671117-Windows-How-to-Install-Windows-10-11-Using-the-Media-Creation-Tool
Windows: How to Install Windows 10/11 Using the Media Creation Tool – Corsair
Visit the official Microsoft website ... to download the tool for the desired version of Windows. Insert a USB drive with at least 8GB of storage into your computer....
🌐
Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › answers › questions › 5543499 › step-by-step-guide-to-install-windows-11-from-usb
Step by step guide to install Windows 11 from USB drive? - Microsoft Q&A
Find another working computer then download the Media Creation tool (Click Download tool now). Use the tool to "Create installation media (USB flash drive at least 8GB in size) to install Windows 11".
Find elsewhere
🌐
Eleven Forum
elevenforum.com › windows support forums › tutorials
Create Windows 11 Bootable USB Installation Media | Windows 11 Forum
July 27, 2021 - This will be for a Windows 11 Version 25H2 build 26200.7462 USB. 1 Click/tap on the Download button below, and click/tap on the Download Now button at Microsoft's site below Create Windows 11 Installation Media.
🌐
Driver Easy
drivereasy.com › home › knowledge base › technical tips › how to create windows 11 install media usb
How to Create Windows 11 Install Media USB - Driver Easy
April 2, 2025 - Go to Microsoft download page and click Download Now to download Media Creation Tool. Launch the downloaded mediacreationtool.exe and click Accept. Select your language and edition according to your needs.
Top answer
1 of 5
85

Hi Kris_531,

I am Dave, I will help you with this.

1

On another working PC, click this link:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

to download the Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB on a blank 8GB USB flash drive.

Then, Boot your PC from the Installation Media you just created (change Boot Order in your BIOS) to begin installing Windows 11.

2

Activation depends on your type of Windows license.

A

If Windows came pre-installed on your PC, then you have an OEM licence stored on the motherboard and you have no need to worry, you can re-install Windows any time you need to and it will automatically activate.

B

If you purchased a retail Windows licence separately to your PC from Microsoft, then if you re-install windows and log into your Microsoft Account, it will activate automatically

C

If you purchased a retail Windows licence separately to your PC from a 3rd party retailer, you will need to have your product key available to re-activate Windows.

2 of 5
8

Hi Kris_531,

I am Dave, I will help you with this.

1
On another working PC, click this link:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...
to download the Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB on a blank 8GB USB flash drive.

Then, Boot your PC from the Installation Media you just created (change Boot Order in your BIOS) to begin installing Windows 11.

2
Activation depends on your type of Windows license.

A
If Windows came pre-installed on your PC, then you have an OEM licence stored on the motherboard and you have no need to worry, you can re-install Windows any time you need to and it will automatically activate.

B
If you purchased a retail Windows licence separately to your PC from Microsoft, then if you re-install windows and log into your Microsoft Account, it will activate automatically

C
If you purchased a retail Windows licence separately to your PC from a 3rd party retailer, you will need to have your product key available to re-activate Windows.

My pc is working but it's just missing a file. If I install the installation media will that file be there or will I need to find a windows 11 computer that had the file?

🌐
Microsoft
microsoft.com › en-us › windows › learning-center › windows-media-creation-tool
How to Use the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool | Microsoft Windows
From here, you’ll select the USB drive or DVD, and the Windows 11 installation and setup should start automatically. Confirm your language, time, and keyboard. Next, click Install Now. If you’re prompted to choose where you want to install Windows, choose the primary partition (if there is no OS installed) or the Windows partition (if you want to wipe your current version of Windows with Windows 11), then click Next. While using the Media Creation Tool you’ll find that it’s a user-friendly process, and that installing Windows 11 on other devices has never been easier.
🌐
UNIQ
uniq.software › home › help centre › getting started › windows 11 › how do i create installation media for windows 11?
How do I create installation media for Windows 11? | UNIQ
Click on Select and search for the Windows 11 .iso file you wish to configure. Lastly, click on Start and wait for the programme to create the bootable USB drive. Note: A pop-up window called Customize Windows Installation will appear, select the Disable Data Collection option and wait for ...
🌐
Your Windows Guide
yourwindowsguide.com › home › windows 11 › create a windows 11 bootable usb
Create a Windows 11 Bootable USB
July 21, 2025 - The Windows 11 Media Creation Tool can be used to create a Windows 11 bootable USB. To download it, click the link below. ... After the download is finished, execute the Media Creation Tool. Select Create Installation Media for another PC.
Top answer
1 of 4
21

This answer is summarized below.

  • MBR partition a 16 GB or larger flash drive to contain a FAT32 volume and an ExFAT volume.
  • Copy all the files, except sources/install.wim, from the mounted Windows ISO file to the FAT32 volume on the flash drive.
  • Copy sources/install.wim from the mounted Windows ISO file to the ExFAT volume on the flash drive.
  • Boot from the flash drive and enter a command to split the install.wim on the ExFAT volume to two files placed on the FAT32 volume.
  • The result is an USB flash drive which can be used to install Windows 11.

The steps are given next.

  1. Goto Microsoft's Download Windows 11 website and download the Windows 11 disk image (ISO) for x64 devices. In my case, the Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso file was downloaded to my Downloads folder. If your file name is different, then make the appropriate substitutions when entering the commands below.

    Insert a 16 GB or larger flash drive in an USB port on or connected to the Mac.

  2. Open a Terminal application window.

    Use the command below to determine the identifier for the USB flash drive. I my case, this was disk2. If your identifier is different, the make the appropriate substitutions in the following commands.

    diskutil list external
    

    Enter the command below to format the flash drive.

    diskutil partitiondisk disk2 mbr fat32 MYFAT32 8G exfat MyExFAT R
    

    Enter the command below to remove all extended attributes from the Windows ISO file. This will remove the quarantine placed on the file when it was downloaded.

    xattr -c ~/Downloads/Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso
    

    Enter the command below to mount the Windows 11 ISO file. In my case, the output from the command shows the file was mounted on /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9. If your folder name is different, then make the appropriate substitutions when entering the commands below.

    hdiutil attach ~/Downloads/Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso
    

    Enter the command below to change the current directory to /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9.

    cd /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9
    

    Enter the commands below to copy the files from the mounted ISO to the flash drive. Note: Since the install.wim file is very large, the cp command can take a while to complete.

    rsync -r -t --exclude=sources/install.wim . /Volumes/MYFAT32
    cp sources/install.wim /Volumes/MyExFAT
    

    Enter the commands below to unmount the Windows 11 ISO file.

    cd ~
    hdiutil detach /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9 
    

    Enter the command below to eject the flash drive. Afterwards, you can remove the flash drive.

    diskutil eject disk2
    

    You can quit the Terminal application.

  3. Using the computer where Windows is to be installed, UEFI boot from the flash drive. You should get a window similar to the one shown below. You can ignore the contents of this window.

  4. Press the shift+F10 key combination to open Command Prompt window.

    Enter the command below. From the output, determine the drive letters for the MYFAT32 and MyExFAT volumes. In my case, the was C and D respectively. If your letters are different, the make the appropriate substitutions for c:\ and d:\ when entering the dism command given below.

    echo list volume | diskpart
    

    Enter the command below to create the install.swm and install2.swm files in the c:\sources folder. Note: This command will take a while to complete.

    dism /split-image /imagefile:d:\install.wim /swmfile:c:\sources\install.swm /filesize:4000
    

    Enter the command below to close the Command Prompt window.

    exit
    
  5. Close the window. When the popup shown below appears, select "Yes". The computer will reboot.

    The next time you UEFI boot from this USB flash drive, you should encounter the following window. You then can proceed and install Windows 11.


Example of Using the Terminal Window

Last login: Sun Mar  9 09:16:57 on console
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % diskutil list external
/dev/disk2 (external, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        *15.9 GB    disk2
   1:                 DOS_FAT_32 ⁨MYFLASHDRV⁩              15.9 GB    disk2s1

davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % diskutil partitiondisk disk2 mbr fat32 MYFAT32 8G exfat MyExFAT R
Started partitioning on disk2
Unmounting disk
Creating the partition map
Waiting for partitions to activate
Formatting disk2s1 as MS-DOS (FAT32) with name MYFAT32
512 bytes per physical sector
/dev/rdisk2s1: 15594504 sectors in 1949313 FAT32 clusters (4096 bytes/cluster)
bps=512 spc=8 res=32 nft=2 mid=0xf8 spt=32 hds=255 hid=2048 drv=0x80 bsec=15625000 bspf=15230 rdcl=2 infs=1 bkbs=6
Mounting disk
Formatting disk2s2 as ExFAT with name MyExFAT
Volume name      : MyExFAT
Partition offset : 15628288 sectors (8001683456 bytes)
Volume size      : 15370240 sectors (7869562880 bytes)
Bytes per sector : 512
Bytes per cluster: 32768
FAT offset       : 2048 sectors (1048576 bytes)
# FAT sectors    : 2048
Number of FATs   : 1
Cluster offset   : 4096 sectors (2097152 bytes)
# Clusters       : 240096
Volume Serial #  : 67cdc143
Bitmap start     : 2
Bitmap file size : 30012
Upcase start     : 3
Upcase file size : 5836
Root start       : 4
Mounting disk
Finished partitioning on disk2
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % xattr -c ~/Downloads/Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % hdiutil attach ~/Downloads/Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso
/dev/disk3                                              /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % cd /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9 
davidanderson@Davids-Mac CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9 % rsync -r -t --exclude=sources/install.wim . /Volumes/MYFAT32
davidanderson@Davids-Mac CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9 % cp sources/install.wim /Volumes/MyExFAT
davidanderson@Davids-Mac CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9 % cd ~
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % hdiutil detach /Volumes/CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-US_DV9
"disk3" ejected.
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % diskutil eject disk2
Disk disk2 ejected
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % 

Example of Using the Command Prompt Window

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26100.1742]
(c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

X:\sources>echo list volume | diskpart

Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.26100.1150

Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: MININT-NBNQP5I

DISKPART>
  Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info
  ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------
  Volume 0     E                       DVD-ROM         0 B  No Media
  Volume 1     C   MYFAT32      FAT32  Removable   7629 MB  Healthy
  Volume 2     D   MyExFAT      exFAT  Removable   7505 MB  Healthy

DISKPART>
X:\sources>dism /split-image /imagefile:d:\install.wim /swmfile:c:\sources\install.swm /filesize=4000

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.26100.1150

The operation completed successfully.

X:\sources>exit
2 of 4
3

User Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight posted the following comment.

I'm leaving this as a comment since without access to a Mac I don't feel I could write a complete answer. Instead of directly creating a bootable windows installer USB, create a Ventoy bootable USB. Once you do that you can copy bootable drive images in all the major formats on as ordinary files, and then start them from a basic menu system that Ventoy shows when it boots. It's slightly more work the first time, but as long as you don't reformat the USB it'll make any future uses much easier since it reduces the operation to a simple copy/paste. ventoy.net/en/index.html

I decided to post this answer in response to the above comment. Note that the question does not explicitly rule out posting a solution which uses third party tools.

This answer is summarized below.

  • Download Ventoy live CD image (ISO) file, then copy this file to an 8 GB or larger flash drive.
  • Boot from the flash drive and install Ventoy to the same flash drive.
  • Download the Windows 11 ISO file and copy to the flash drive.
  • Boot from the flash drive and install Windows 11. If necessary, first enroll the key in MOK manager.

The steps are given next.

  1. Goto SourceForge's Ventoy project files website and download the Ventoy live CD image (ISO) for x64 devices. In my case, the ventoy-1.1.05-livecd.iso file was downloaded to my Downloads folder. If your file name is different, then make the appropriate substitutions when entering the commands below.

    Insert an 8 GB or larger flash drive in an USB port on or connected to the Mac.

  2. Open a Terminal application window.

    Enter the command below to remove all extended attributes from the Ventoy live CD image (ISO) file. This will remove the quarantine placed on the file when it was downloaded.

    xattr -c ~/Downloads/ventoy-1.1.05-livecd.iso
    

    Use the command below to determine the identifier for the USB flash drive. I my case, this was disk2. If your identifier is different, the make the appropriate substitutions in the following commands.

    diskutil list external
    

    Enter the commands below to copy the Ventoy live CD image (ISO) file to the flash drive. Note: Using rdisk2 instead of disk2 usually results in a quicker copy.

    diskutil unmountdisk disk2
    sudo dd if=$HOME/Downloads/ventoy-1.1.05-livecd.iso bs=1m of=/dev/rdisk2
    

    Enter the command below to eject the flash drive. Afterwards, you can remove the flash drive.

    diskutil eject disk2
    
  3. Using the computer where Windows is to be installed, UEFI boot from the flash drive.

    Note
    You will need to disable Secure Boot.

    When the following Grub menu appeared, I choose the first entry, which is the default.

    Ventoy2Disk is loading completely into RAM disk. This allows the flash drive to be overwritten. In my case, to install to the same flash drive, I just needed to select "Install" button shown below, then the "OK" button in the following popups.

    After installation to the flash drive has successfully completed, the following is displayed.

    At this point, either manually shutdown the computer or reboot by closing the window. If you choose to reboot and are successful, then the following will appear.

    Shutdown the computer by pressing the F5 key, then selecting "Power" and finally selecting "Halt".

    Remove the flash drive.

  4. Goto Microsoft's Download Windows 11 website and download the Windows 11 disk image (ISO) for x64 devices. In my case, the Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso file was downloaded to my Downloads folder. If your file name is different, then make the appropriate substitutions when entering the commands below.

    Insert the same flash drive in an USB port on or connected to the Mac.

  5. Use the same or a new Terminal application window to enter the following commands.

    Enter the command below to remove all extended attributes from the Windows ISO file. This will remove the quarantine placed on the file when it was downloaded.

    xattr -c ~/Downloads/Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso
    

    Use the command below to determine the identifier for the USB flash drive. I my case, this was disk2. If your identifier is different, the make the appropriate substitutions in the following commands.

    diskutil list external
    

    Enter the command below to copy the Windows ISO file to the ExFAT formatted volume named Ventoy on the flash drive.

    cp ~/Downloads/Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso /Volumes/Ventoy
    

    Enter the command below to eject the flash drive. Afterwards, you can remove the flash drive.

    diskutil eject disk2
    
  6. If necessary, enroll key in MOK manager as described in this step.

    Using the computer where Windows is to be installed, UEFI boot from the flash drive.

    Note
    You should have Secure Boot enabled before UEFI booting from the flash drive.

    If you encounter the following display, select OK, otherwise proceed to the step 7.

    The next display should appear as shown below. Before the timer expires, press any key.

    Select Enroll key from disk, as shown below.

    Select VTOYEFI, as shown below.

    Select ENROOL_THIS_KEY_IN_MOKMANAGER.cer, as shown below.

    Select Continue, as shown below.

    Select Yes, as shown below.

    Select Reboot, as shown below.

  7. Install Windows 11.

    If you have not already done so, UEFI boot the computer where Windows is to be installed from the flash drive.

    Note
    You should have Secure Boot enabled before UEFI booting from the flash drive.

    When the display below appears, press the F5 key.

    Select Temporary Control Settings, as shown below.

    This answer assume Windows 11 is being installed on supported hardware. Normally, when booting from the Windows 11 installer, the following would be set to 0, as shown in the image below. You need to decided whether the following need to be set to 0 or 1.

    • Bypass CPU/TPM/SecureBoot check when installing Windows 11 This allows includes bypassing the 4 GB RAM check.
    • Bypass online account requirement when installing Windows 11

    When finished, press the esckey twice.

    Select Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso, as shown below.

    Select Boot in normal mode, as shown below.

    Note
    When message Press any key to boot from CD or DVD. appears, you may need to press any key.

    When the display shown below appears, proceed with the installation of Windows 11.


Example of Using the Terminal Window

Last login: Thu Mar 13 17:46:02 on ttys001
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % xattr -c ~/Downloads/ventoy-1.1.05-livecd.iso
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % diskutil list external
/dev/disk2 (external, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        *15.9 GB    disk2
   1:                 DOS_FAT_32 MYFLASHDRV              15.9 GB    disk2s1

davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % diskutil unmountdisk disk2                                               
Unmount of all volumes on disk2 was successful
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % sudo dd if=$HOME/Downloads/ventoy-1.1.05-livecd.iso bs=1m of=/dev/rdisk2 
186+1 records in
186+1 records out
195702784 bytes transferred in 4.038241 secs (48462383 bytes/sec)
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % diskutil eject disk2
Disk disk2 ejected
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % xattr -c ~/Downloads/Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % diskutil list external
/dev/disk2 (external, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        *15.9 GB    disk2
   1:               Windows_NTFS Ventoy                  15.8 GB    disk2s1
   2:                       0xEF                         33.6 MB    disk2s2

davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % cp ~/Downloads/Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso /Volumes/Ventoy 
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % diskutil eject disk2
Disk disk2 ejected
davidanderson@Davids-Mac ~ % 
🌐
Lifewire
lifewire.com › create-windows-11-bootable-usb-7187331
Transform Any USB into a Windows 11 Installer: Two Foolproof Methods to Try Today
July 31, 2025 - The Windows 11 Media Creation Tool, ... guides you through each step. Visit Microsoft's Download Windows 11 page and select Download Now under the Create Windows 11 Installation Media section....
🌐
Dell
dell.com › home › support home › knowledge base article
Create a retail image of Windows with the Microsoft Media Creation Tool | Dell Canada
June 9, 2025 - Create Windows installation media for Windows 11 and 10 with Media Creation Tool. Choose your media type (USB or DVD) and follow easy steps for OS upgrades or reinstalls.
🌐
Wikihow
wikihow.com › computers and electronics › operating systems › windows › how to make a windows 11 boot drive usb: full guide
How to Make a Windows 11 Boot Drive USB: Full Guide
2 days ago - We've also addressed some frequently asked questions about creating a Windows 11 boot drive. Read on to learn more! Download the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool. Open the Media Creation Tool. Choose Create installation media for another PC.
🌐
Beebom
beebom.com › how-use-windows-11-media-creation-tool-create-installation-media
How to Use Windows 11 Media Creation Tool to Create an Installation Media | Beebom
January 13, 2025 - Under “Create Windows 11 Installation Media”, click on “Download Now”. Next, run the “mediacreationtool.exe” file and accept the terms. Click on “Next” as you move ahead.