Are Rufus and Microsoft in a cyclic game of cat and mouse?

[TheBigFatClown]

I tried using Rufus to put the latest version of Windows 11 on a USB flash drive so I could use it to repair or reinstall Windows 11 on my mini-PC with SSD. I see this as a challenge that requires all the planets (and stars) being aligned for this to work properly. Is that an accurate view of the situation?
It looks like the Rufus developer has posted a long rant on his website about Microsoft making decisions that make it very difficult to use Rufus. And if they are doing that, this is probably why I have been unable to successfully do anything with the setup.exe signed by Rufus.
If someone could respond with some tips and a full checklist of what all things must be done so that this works and does not fail, that would be great.
I've used Windows 11 for a long time on my mini-PC but the most recent Microsoft updated drivers broke my mouse and keyboard. So, this is why I've begun the journey down this path.
It is possible my SSD is failing as well but I'm just not sure.

 

[tonylukac]

I'm in the midst of trying to install windows on an old laptop and I've found something that may work for you. The laptop has Bitlocker encryption so many people say I have to replace the hard drive. You may try windows media creator searching for windows 11 download at microsoft.com. I don't have easy access to a computer that allows elevation, so I thought this would work. Turns out it needs elevation (administrator password) too but I'll tell you since I assume you can get elevation. It may work for you. Search for git bash windows on Google and use the Linux dd command. After installing git bash on windows, invoke it with the start command. Right click git bash and click run as administrator. Give it permission and enter the dd command as follows:
dd if=winimage.iso of=\\.\D: bs=1M
where winimage.iso is your windows 10/11 image and D: is where your thumb drive or CD burner is plugged in. Let me know if it works for you.
Edited to make d: a capital D:.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

I'm in the midst of trying to install windows on an old laptop and I've found something that may work for you. The laptop has Bitlocker encryption so many people say I have to replace the hard drive. You may try windows media creator searching for windows 11 download at microsoft.com. I don't have easy access to a computer that allows elevation, so I thought this would work. Turns out it needs elevation (administrator password) too but I'll tell you since I assume you can get elevation. It may work for you. Search for git bash windows on Google and use the Linux dd command. After installing git bash on windows, invoke it with the start command. Right click git bash and click run as administrator. Give it permission and enter the dd command as follows:
dd if=winimage.iso of=\\.\D: bs=1M
where winimage.iso is your windows 10/11 image and D: is where your thumb drive or CD burner is plugged in. Let me know if it works for you.
Edited to make d: a capital D:.

Thank You. I need to try this soon. I'm guessing if I installed the Windows subsystem for Linux I could execute that same command as well, couldn't I?

 

[tonylukac]

I don't know if it really works but yes. This is simpler.

 

[tonylukac]

I found a better way. Insert your flash drive and go-to command prompt with administrator privileges. Type diskpart and wait for the prompt. Type list disk and you should see your flash drive based on its size. Type select disk 1, where 1 is your USB flash. Be careful with this as you could ruin your c: drive. Type clean to clear off the USB flash. Type create partition primary and enter, then type active to make the drive bootable. Type format fs=ntfs quick and press enter. Type assign to assign a drive letter, probably d:. Type exit to get out of diskpart. Mount the iso in windows by right clicking it in file explorer and selecting mount. It probably mounts to e:. Them type xcopy e:\*.* d:\ /e /h /f where e: is the mounted iso and d: is the flash drive. This worked for me so good luck.