Want to try something on Windows 11 without touching your system? You can do it easily, and the whole process is free. You'll need a USB drive with at least 16 gigabytes of capacity (you'll need a larger USB drive if you plan on using Windows 11 frequently) and the free, open-source tool Rufus to create a portable Windows 11 installation.
The first thing you need to do is download the latest Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft official site.
Then, download and run it Rufus.
Here you need to make the following changes:
Click the Choose button near the top and use the file browser to select the Windows 11 ISO image you downloaded.
Select “Windows To Go” in the “Select an image” section.
Press the Start button to begin the process.
When prompted, select the version of Windows you want to install (Windows 11 Home or Pro).
Make sure “Prevent Windows To Go from accessing internal disks” is selected. This will ensure that the bootable Windows installation will not affect the operating systems on your internal disks.
Select “Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account” if you want to use a local account from the start.
Select “Create a local account with username” and enter the username you want to use to automatically create this account.
Click OK to continue.
Confirm the warning that all data you have on the USB will be destroyed.
Rufus will write the Windows 11 files to the USB, which may take a while to complete.
You can then boot Windows using the USB device.
Now that your Windows 11 USB drive is ready, all that's left is to boot from it. You may need to adjust your computer's boot order in the BIOS. Make sure the USB has a higher priority than the actual operating system, which is likely on one of your internal hard drives.
If you don't know how to enter BIOS or UEFI, watch the first few screens that appear when your computer boots up. You'll see the key you need to press to access BIOS. You can also try pressing regular keys like F1 or F10 for this.
Another option you have is to enable Advanced Startup if you have Windows on your computer. On Windows 10, you should open Settings > Update & Security > Recovery. From there, enable the Restart now button under the “Advanced Startup” section.
When Windows starts in the recovery environment, select “Use a device” and enable the USB option.
The next time you want to boot into normal systems, simply unplug the USB device and everything should be back to normal.
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
