Create Windows 11 Install Media

Before you can install or upgrade to Windows 11, you need to have the Windows Setup program and associated files available. This typically takes the form of what Microsoft calls the Windows 11 installation media, which these days is a USB flash drive to which the Windows 11 Setup files have been properly copied and configured.

You can create the installation media using a handy Microsoft utility called the Media Creation Tool. This tool will download the latest version of the Windows 11 Setup files to your PC and then and create a bootable USB flash drive that can be used to clean install (or upgrade to) Windows 11.
Tip: To create the Windows 11 installation media, you need a USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of storage space.
To get started, insert the USB flash drive you wish to use into a USB port in your PC. Then, open your favorite web browser, navigate to the Download Windows 11 page on the Microsoft website and select the "Download Now" button under "Create Windows 11 Installation Media." Once the download is complete, run the Media Creation Tool.

After accepting the software license terms, you're ready to start.

Here, the wizard automatically selects your language and product edition (Windows 11 or Windows 11 Pro, typically) as determined by the current PC's configuration. But you should review those options by deselecting "Use the recommended options for this PC," especially if you intend to use this installer on a different PC.

Where did it go?
The Windows 10 Setup media would also ask you to choose between 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) installation media. But Windows 11 no longer supports 32-bit PCs, so this option is no longer available.
Once you've selected the right choices for your PC, select Next.

If you are going to create USB-based Setup media directly, which I recommend, select "USB flash drive."
What about that other option, "ISO file"? This lets you download the Windows 11 Setup media to an ISO file, which is an image file representation of a disk that you can then use later in Windows as if it were a physical disk. ISO files have many uses, though most are not pertinent to this process. For example, in Windows 11, you can double-click an ISO file to "mount" the disk image in File Explorer as if it were a physical disk, and then use it normally from there. You can use an ISO file to install Windows 11 in a virtual machine using Hyper-V, a Windows 11 Pro feature, or a third-party solution like Oracle Virtual Box or Parallels Desktop. You can also burn this disk image to a DVD disc if you prefer that type of Setup media. Or, you can use a utility like Rufus to copy the ISO file to a USB flash drive, in essence duplicating the "USB flash drive" option in the Media Creation Tool.
Then, click Next. Here, you are asked to select the flash drive you wish to use.

Once you've made your selection, click Next and the Windows Setup files will immediately begin downloading to your PC. And when that...