Skip To Main Content

If you use the wrong format, your computer may not recognize the drive, or the installation may fail with an error like "We couldn't create a new partition" or "The selected disk has an MBR partition table."

Here is the direct answer and a detailed breakdown of your options. For the vast majority of users, the USB drive should be formatted as FAT32.

Creating a bootable USB drive is the most common way to install Windows 11. However, a frequent point of confusion is: What file system should the USB drive use?