How to Boot from a USB Drive in Windows 11

Normally, when you press the power button on your computer, the motherboard immediately searches the internal hard drive, finds Windows 11, and boots the operating system. However, if your hard drive fails catastrophically, or if you want to install a completely fresh copy of Windows (or test a Linux distribution), you must force the computer to ignore the internal hard drive and boot from an external USB flash drive instead.

Because modern computers use UEFI firmware (the modern version of BIOS) and feature ultra-fast SSD boot times, you usually cannot rely on the old method of frantically mashing the F12 key during startup. You must use the Windows 11 Advanced Startup menu.

Step 1: Access the Advanced Startup Menu

If you can successfully log into Windows 11, you can access the boot override menu directly from the Settings app.

1. Plug your bootable USB drive into a working USB port on the computer. (Ensure it is securely connected before proceeding).
2. Click the Start Menu and open the Settings app (the gear icon).
3. In the left-hand navigation sidebar, click on System.
4. Scroll down the main window and click on Recovery.
5. Look for the section labeled Advanced startup.
6. Click the Restart now button next to it.
7. A warning pop-up will ask you to save your work. Click Restart now again.

(Note: If you cannot log into Windows because your computer is broken, you can access this exact same menu from the lock screen: hold down the Shift key, click the Power icon in the bottom right corner, and click Restart).

Step 2: Trigger the USB Boot Override

The computer will restart and drop you into a stark blue diagnostic screen titled “Choose an option.” Do not click “Troubleshoot” or “Continue.”

1. On the blue screen, click the option labeled Use a device.
2. A new menu will appear listing every external device currently connected to the motherboard.
3. Look for the name of your USB drive (it might be listed generically as “USB Storage Device,” “EFI USB Device,” or by the brand name like “SanDisk Cruzer”).
4. Click the name of the USB drive.

The computer will immediately reboot one final time. Instead of loading your old, broken copy of Windows 11 from the internal hard drive, it will read the installation files off the USB stick and launch the setup process.

Troubleshooting: The “Use a Device” Button is Missing

If you reach the blue Advanced Startup screen, but the “Use a device” button is completely missing, it means the computer does not recognize the USB drive. This usually happens for two reasons:

1. The USB Drive is Not Actually Bootable: You cannot simply copy an ISO file onto a blank USB stick like a normal document. You must use a dedicated formatting tool (like Rufus or the official Windows Media Creation Tool) to “burn” the operating system into the USB drive’s boot sector. If you did not do this, the motherboard will ignore the drive.
2. Secure Boot is Blocking It: If you are trying to boot a third-party operating system (like Kali Linux) rather than official Microsoft software, the motherboard’s “Secure Boot” protocol will actively block the USB drive to prevent malware from loading. You must click Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings to enter the BIOS and manually turn off the Secure Boot toggle before the USB drive will appear in the menu.