How to Boot from USB on Windows 11 PC

Typically, the computer needs to boot from external USB drive for OS installation or system repair. However, booting Windows 11 PC from a USB flash drive can be a bit tricky unless you know what you are doing.

Here we have presented all the information required to boot a Windows 11 computer from a USB flash drive. Hope you find it useful.

Legacy BIOS vs UEFI

There are 2 booting schemes for personal computer in general; the legacy mode, and the UEFI mode. Getting to know the details will help you troubleshoot the issue you might come across.

The legacy mode, as the name suggests, is an out of date approach. To understand the legacy method, you need to understand what is a firmware.

A firmware is a piece of code that resides on a hardware which forms a bridge between operating system and hardware. The legacy method uses the basic input and output system (BIOS) for computer booting. The BIOS stores various information about which devices should the PC use to boot up, what should be the priority order of those devices for booting, and so on. The legacy boot method uses this information present in the BIOS firmware to boot into the PC. Here’s what actually happens:

1. BIOS does a POST (Power On Self Test) which checks if all devices are present and are running properly.

2. The internal speakers of PC emits a sound to indicate if POST was successful or otherwise. In case it is not successful, the pattern of the sound helps to understand what is causing the POST failure.

3. Once POST is complete, the BIOS firmware loads the first sector of the storage into the main memory.

4. Next, it checks for a operating MBR (Master Boot Record).

5. If found, the bootloader program chooses the partition to boot from in the first device present in the BIOS firmware. In case it cannot find it, it moves to the next device and so on.

Compared to this, most modern PCs adopts UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) approach for system booting. This method is more robust than using the legacy method by gaining access to large storages, providing a user-friendly GUI boot menu, and other such advantages.

Instead of using BIOS firmware, UEFI uses it’s own firmware which does all the work of storing the information of various boot devices, does the POST etc. It also provides more stringent security over the legacy method.

Overall, UEFI is the most recent method of booting into a PC and should always be used over the legacy method when presented with a choice.

Boot Menu Key

The boot menu, which consists of all important information for booting a PC including the boot devices and their orders, can be accessed during booting the PC. It gives the ability to determine if the PC should start using the operating system present within the PC, or using some other application (even external applications like Ubuntu Live CD, or Windows To Go).

How you can get hold of the boot menu depends on the model of PC you are using. However, there are a number of keys which are pretty common when it comes to accessing the boot menu of your PC. These common keys include the Esc, F2, F10, or F12 key. For example, for a GigaByte computer you need to use the F12 key to open boot menu.

How to Boot from USB on a Windows 11 PC

The process to boot your PC using a USB flash drive is pretty simple, if you know what you are doing. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Insert the bootable USB flash drive in Windows 11 PC.
2. Turn Windows PC on by pressing the power button.

3. Get into the boot menu by continuously tapping on the boot menu key.

4. Using the arrow keys on the keyboard or the mouse to change the boot order in the boot menu. Make sure the USB flash drive is the first priority amongst the boot devices present.

5. This should automatically start booting your PC from the USB flash drive you inserted in it. At times, for some models of PC, you may get a message while booting that “Press any key to boot from external devices”. In such cases, press any key when this message appears on your screen.

That’s all you need to do to boot Windows 11 PC from a USB flash drive!

Troubleshooting

In case you are unable to boot using a USB flash drive even after a couple of tries, here are some troubleshooting steps you can take a look into:

• Disable Secure Boot in BIOS if the OS can’t be loaded or the computer was stuck on a black screen.
• If you are unable to access the boot menu even after a number of tries, check if the boot menu key is working properly. If you are on a PC and not a laptop, you can do this very easily by replacing it with another keyboard.
• Try to listen for sounds while booting up, this may indicate an issue during POST. If you can hear a sound, check on the internet the meaning of that sound based on the manufacturer of your PC or the motherboard of your PC.
• Keep an eye on the screen for any error messages. If found, try searching for it on the internet to find out the cause of the error, and a probable solution.
• Do read the official documentation that came along with your PC, or the motherboard of your PC.
• Remove any external devices like USB flash drives or external hard drives, and then boot normally to check if you are able to boot properly. If you can, then the issue is with the flash drive or the external hard drive.
• Check if the model of your PC supports booting from a USB flash drive in case you have an old model.

Hope these information helps you in booting your Windows PC using a USB flash drive. If you are still facing issues that are unique to your case, do search for them on the internet and I am sure you would be able to find a solution.