Rufus

About this release

Rufus is one small executable that does one job better than the alternatives. Point it at an image, point it at a USB stick, press start. It detects the partition scheme and target system the image expects, sets the file system appropriately, writes the boot record, copies the contents and verifies. On a fast stick the whole thing is done in a couple of minutes, which is often less than half what other tools take.

The value is in the awkward cases. Installation media carrying a single install file larger than four gigabytes cannot sit on a FAT32 volume, and simple tools either fail or silently produce a stick that will not boot in UEFI mode. Rufus splits the file or uses an alternative file system with a UEFI boot shim, and it explains which it is doing. It handles legacy BIOS and UEFI targets, GPT and MBR schemes, and the combinations in between.

The customisation options during a Windows write are the reason a lot of people keep it specifically. It can remove the hardware requirement checks, skip the account requirement during setup, disable data collection, set the regional options in advance and turn off automatic device encryption, all as checkboxes presented after you press start. That converts a difficult install into an ordinary one without touching the image itself.

Beyond installation media it writes bootable diagnostic and rescue images, creates DOS bootable sticks for firmware flashing, works with images of Linux distributions, checks the stick for bad blocks before writing, computes checksums of the source image to confirm the download was not corrupted, and runs entirely portably with no installation and no components left behind.

What you get

• Fast bootable USB writing with automatic detection of the scheme the image expects
• Handles installation media carrying a single install file larger than four gigabytes
• Supports legacy BIOS and UEFI targets across both GPT and MBR partition schemes
• Windows setup customisation for hardware checks, account requirements and data collection
• Regional options and device encryption settings applied in advance
• Bad block checking on the target stick before writing
• Checksum computation on the source image to confirm the download is intact
• DOS bootable stick creation for firmware flashing
• Works with Linux distribution images and rescue environments
• Single portable executable with nothing installed and nothing left behind

Changes in this build

• Write speed improved on current generation USB controllers
• Setup customisation list extended with the newer requirement prompts
• Better detection of images using unusual boot configurations
• ARM64 build added alongside the existing ones
• Fixed a case where a stick above two terabytes could be partitioned incorrectly

Installation

Read the whole list before you start. Most of the reports that come into the desk about this title turn out to be a step taken out of order.

1. Extract the archive. There is nothing to install, it runs as it is.
2. Back up everything on the USB stick first. Writing erases it completely.
3. Run the executable as administrator.
4. Select your device, then select the image file.
5. Check the partition scheme and target system match the machine you are going to boot.
6. Press start, answer the customisation prompts if it offers them, and wait for the verification pass to finish.

System requirements

Processor	Any x86, x64 or ARM64 processor
Memory	512 MB
Graphics	Not applicable
Storage	5 MB for the executable plus a USB stick of a suitable size
Display	1024 by 768 minimum

Notes from the desk

Full details

Title	Rufus
Developer	Akeo Consulting
Version	4.15.2396
Category	Utilities & Tools
Release type	Full version
Operating system	Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7
Architecture	x86 / x64 / ARM64
Interface language	Multilingual
Archive size	1.4 MB
File name	rufus_4.15.2396.rar
Shelf updated	2 days ago
Total downloads	291,685

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