Rufus download for Windows

Rufus does one job. It takes an ISO image and writes it to a USB drive in a way a computer can boot from. People use it to install or reinstall Windows, to try a Linux distribution, or to run a firmware update from DOS on a machine that has no working system at all. The program is a single small file and never needs installing.

Which Rufus file to download

The Rufus site offers four files for each release:

• Standard (x64) suits nearly every current PC.
• Portable (x64) is the same program. According to the project's FAQ the only difference is that it keeps its settings in a rufus.ini file next to the program, which is handy on a technician's USB stick.
• x86 is for 32-bit Windows.
• ARM64 is for Arm-based Windows machines.

Rufus needs Windows 8 or later. Download the file, double-click it and approve the administrator prompt; writing a boot drive requires low-level access to the disk.

Make the drive, step by step

1. Plug in the USB drive and copy off anything you want to keep. Rufus wipes the entire drive.
2. Check the Device box at the top. If you have several USB drives attached, unplug the others so there is no way to pick the wrong one.
3. Click SELECT and choose your ISO. No image yet? The small arrow beside that button switches it to DOWNLOAD, which fetches an official Windows ISO for you.
4. Leave the partition scheme and file system as Rufus sets them after reading the image, unless you know the target machine needs something else. As a rule, GPT goes with modern UEFI computers and MBR with old BIOS-only ones. The FAQ's own advice is to trust the file system Rufus selects.
5. Press START. With a Windows 11 image Rufus first shows a short list of optional tweaks to the Windows setup. Tick only the ones you understand.
6. Wait for the bar to finish, close Rufus and eject the drive the normal way.

Where Rufus stops

One image per drive. Rufus does not build multiboot sticks. Its author says so plainly and points people to other tools; Ventoy is the one we list.

Removable drives only. Internal disks are left out of the list on purpose, so that nobody formats their system drive by accident.

It writes media, nothing more. Rufus does not supply a Windows licence, and it cannot tell you whether the target computer's firmware is set to boot from USB.

Windows To Go wants a fast drive. If creating one takes longer than about twenty minutes, the FAQ treats that as a sign the USB stick is too slow for the purpose.

Questions & answers

Do I have to install Rufus?

No. It is one executable that runs as soon as you open it. Delete the file and it is gone.

Standard or portable: which one?

They behave the same. Take the portable build if you carry Rufus on a USB stick and want its settings to travel in the rufus.ini file beside it. Otherwise the standard one is fine.

Will Rufus delete what is on my USB drive?

Yes, all of it, including every existing partition. Back the drive up first.

Can I put Windows and Linux on the same stick?

Not with Rufus. Use a multiboot tool such as Ventoy for that.

Is Rufus free?

Yes. It is open source under the GNU GPL version 3 or later, with no paid edition.