Windows-media-creation by amateur: result seems wrong

Community Support
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1

I have written this carefully.

essence:

On https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11, i downloaded ‘Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices’ to an HP pc’s c drive, as <Win11_25H2_English_x64.iso>.

Then i used Rufus software to create on a USB stick what i hope is a bootable Windows 11. The files in there do not mention Windows, but the notable files are:

setup.exe

bootmgr.efi

bootmgr

autorun.inf

(plus 2 folders)

Does that seem like a bootable Windows 11?

Then on my disabled Framework pc, i resumed following the relevant part of https://guides.frame.work/Guide/Windows+11+Installation+on+the+Framework+Laptop+DIY+Edition/116:

‘Power off your Framework Laptop if it is on. Plug your bootable USB Flash Drive into your Framework Laptop. Power on your Framework Laptop. If the storage device installed in your laptop is blank [Definitely true; it’s a new SSD], it will boot directly into the Windows Installer. [Did not happen]’

The error message is yet again: ‘Default Boot Device Missing or Boot Failed. / Insert Recovery Media and Hit any key / Then select ‘Boot manager’ to choose a new Boot Device or to Boot Recover Media’. I clicked ok, which put me into Boot Manager, which stated i should press the up arrow or down arrow to ‘change option’, but there were no options. So i pressed Escape, which gave the message, ‘No bootable device – Please restart system’.

So if the USB stick is bootable, then there is something broken in my Framework pc other than its completely new SSD, right?

[intentional separating line]

details:

Regarding a prior posting by me on a somewhat-related but different question, thank you for comments there. I will reply when i catch up with urgent tasks here.

I assembled the Framework pc 3.5 yrs ago. The pc has been reliable.

model: Framework Laptop 13 with 11th-gen Intel Core

Bios version: ‘InsydeH2O Setup Utility Rev. 5.0’

Windows Media Creation tool amateur question, regarding Apple PCs
2

Okay, so, there’s something up with the recent versions of Rufus. They default to using the “NTFS” filesystem for bootable Windows media, which is not compatible with most firmware.

If you’re not sure whether you used NTFS, or just want to retry making the media to be sure… try this instead.

Launch Rufus as normal, load up your ISO and select your destination flash drive as normal. Before you proceed, though, press Alt+E. You should see a message at the bottom about “dual UEFI/BIOS mode”. Now you should be able to choose “FAT32” from the filesystem dropdown. Do that. You can also set partition scheme to “MBR” and target system to “BIOS or UEFI.”

(The Framework Laptop is a Class 3 UEFI firmware and it does not have a BIOS compatibility support module. Doing this does not risk installing Windows in legacy mode.)

3

I have written this carefully.

essence:

Thank you very much to DHowett in the Community.

Now the USB stick should be bootable, so there must be something broken in my Framework pc other than its completely new SSD, right?

[intentional separating line]

details:

Indeed the USB stick had been formatted or set as NTFS. I again used the Rufus software to re-make the stick, following DHowett’s instructions, including changing such format to FAT32.

Then on my disabled Framework pc, i resumed following the relevant part of https://guides.frame.work/Guide/Windows+11+Installation+on+the+Framework+Laptop+DIY+Edition/116:

‘Power off your Framework Laptop if it is on. Plug your bootable USB Flash Drive into your Framework Laptop. Power on your Framework Laptop. If the storage device installed in your laptop is blank [Definitely true; it’s a just-bought SSD], it will boot directly into the Windows Installer. [Did not happen]’

The error message is yet again: ‘Default Boot Device Missing or Boot Failed. / Insert Recovery Media and Hit any key / Then select ‘Boot manager’ to choose a new Boot Device or to Boot Recover Media’. I clicked ok, which put me into Boot Manager, which stated i should press the up arrow or down arrow to ‘change option’, but there were no options. So i pressed Escape, which gave the message, ‘No bootable device – Please restart system’.

[intentional separating line]

broader details:

I assembled the Framework pc 3.5 yrs ago. The pc has been reliable.

model: Framework Laptop 13 with 11th-gen Intel Core

Bios version: ‘InsydeH2O Setup Utility Rev. 5.0’