Rufus 4.15 for Windows

Rufus 4.15 is a free Windows utility for creating bootable USB drives, and it is a tiny download. Pete Batard develops it, and this build is dated 9 September 2026.

You download Rufus for Windows when you need a USB stick that a computer can start from: to install or reinstall an operating system, run a repair tool or test a live system without touching the hard drive.

At a glance

What Rufus does well

Most people meet Rufus on the day a PC refuses to boot or needs a clean install. You plug in a flash drive, point Rufus at a disk image file, and a few minutes later the drive can start a computer on its own. The program is small, opens instantly and keeps all the options on a single screen: device, boot selection, partition scheme, target system and file system. Sensible defaults are filled in once you pick an image, so beginners can simply press Start, while people who know what they are doing can change every detail. There are no bundled extras, no account and no upsell, which is rarer than it should be among free Windows tools.

How to make a bootable USB drive

1. Download Rufus from the official downloads page.
2. Insert a USB flash drive. Everything on it will be erased, so copy your files off first.
3. Run Rufus and choose the drive under Device.
4. Click Select and open the disk image you want to write.
5. Leave the partition scheme and file system as suggested unless you have a reason to change them.
6. Press Start, confirm the warning and wait until the status bar says Ready.

Is Rufus safe to download?

Yes, when it comes from rufus.ie, the author's own site. Because the tool writes directly to drives, Windows asks for administrator rights; that is expected. The real risk is choosing the wrong device, so double-check the drive letter and size before you press Start.

Price and license

Rufus is free to use with no trial period and no paid edition. You can keep it in your downloads folder and run it whenever you need it again.

Requirements

A Windows PC, a USB flash drive large enough for your image and the image file itself. Rufus is compatible with ordinary USB sticks and most external drives that Windows can see.

Tips before you start

Use a flash drive you do not need for anything else during the process, and plug it straight into the computer rather than through a hub. If the target PC is new, keep the partition scheme Rufus proposes; it matches what the image expects. When the drive is ready, the PC usually needs a key press at startup to open its boot menu, and the drive will appear there by its brand name.

Strengths and drawbacks

• Tiny, fast and free of ads.
• Clear defaults for first-time users.
• Windows only; Mac and Linux users need something else.
• One wrong click on the device list can wipe the wrong drive.