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Windows 11 Clean install tutorial
This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows 11, version 23H2 or newer but can be equally applied to earlier versions which may have some basic differences in the screens you see but will largely remain similar in all other regards. It is HIGHLY recommended that you FULLY read through ALL steps, and familiarize yourself with ALL notes, and the information at all linked pages, before beginning the installation or doing anything that might wipe out your current installation prematurely especially if you have not yet attached your Windows 11 installation/license to a Microsoft account that in turn is attached to you, for activation purposes later. This is not always 100% necessary, but it's a really good idea even if you plan to use a local account rather than a Microsoft account for daily operations.
Just FYI, the Windows installer screens change somewhat periodically, adding or removing some steps based on whatever Microsoft deems necessary at the time, and if you should be installing a newer or older version that does have a few different screens just use your judgement for those as primarily the most important aspect of the clean install, which is making sure to disconnect ALL drives except the source and target drives and removing all existing partitions on the target drive, remains the same basically since Windows 7 to now.
Visit the link below and familiarize yourself with the process, if you are not already, BEFORE you go ANY further!!!
(Keep in mind that for most systems if your Windows 10 or 11 installation was previously activated it SHOULD activate automatically once you connect to the internet after installation. Associating
your license with a Microsoft account attached to you is only an optional safety net for those few cases where for some reason it might not have already been, but that is rare these days. The majority will
activate automatically if they were previously activated with a valid license.)
Before you begin the installation, whether now or after you create your installation media, it is of utmost importance that you disconnect ALL system attached storage drives EXCEPT for the target drive (Drive you are installing TO) and source drive (Drive you are installing FROM, usually a USB flash drive these days). This is important because we've seen MANY instances of where either the system has decided it does not need to create a new boot, EFI or recovery partition because it sees there is already one present on another drive that may previously have had Windows installed on it, or decides to put it somewhere other than the target drive, and that results in making it impossible to boot into Windows if that partition or the drive is ever removed.
So prior to installation, power off, disconnect the SATA and power connectors from all hard or solid state drives except for the target drive where the operating system will be installed, and then you can reattach them after the installation is complete. Also, if you have external USB drives attached other than the drive you are installing Windows FROM, disconnect those as well for now.
Obviously, if your system has only one internally attached drive (And don't assume that it does, KNOW that it does or else find out if it does.) then the need to do that does not apply to you.
**NOTE: In addition to the information at the link above, it is a good idea take a look at the list below as all of the following are highly recommended OR required prior to beginning the clean install process
1. Check that the software and hardware you intend to use are compatible with Windows 11 and have drivers available for it, even if your system has
already passed the compatibility check. Download and save these drivers to a suitable DVD, USB thumb drive or USB external HDD/SSD so that in
the event you need to install them later, you can do so without needing to go find them when it is no longer convenient to do so.
2. Create a backup of any important files and folders on your current installation to a secondary drive, external storage device or cloud service. Better yet
would be to additionally or alternatively create an entire system backup image using a utility like Acronis true image or Macrium reflect so you can simply
restore your previous installation to it's exact self if something goes wrong or doesn't work out later on.
3. Before you begin installation it is not only a good idea but is REQUIRED that you go into the BIOS (Unless you already know that it is set accordingly)
and ensure that your BIOS is set to fully UEFI compliant settings including enabling Secure Boot and enabling your TPM 2.0 or AMD fTPM device.
Legacy modes are not officially supported and if you wish to run any form of legacy mode with Windows 11 you will need to find that information
elsewhere as I will not be providing it. This tutorial is for a legitimate Windows 11 UEFI installation ONLY.
4. Temporarily disconnect ALL other hard drives or SSD devices including external drives other than the target drive and source drive you will be installing
FROM. This step will prevent the possibility of accidentally deleting any files or partitions from those drives when preparing the primary target drive for the
Windows installation.
5. If you have partitions on the target drive being used for the new Windows installation which are being used for OTHER, Non-OS purposes, then back up
any information on there to another location or drive as we will be completely removing all existing partitions from the target drive prior to installing
Windows 11 on that drive. Do not forget this step as any existing partition information on the drive will be eradicated during this process.
Ready? Then let's begin!
Create installation media
First, you will need to create bootable media, either on a USB flash drive or on optical media such as DVD. You will need a blank DVD or USB flash/thumb drive. Any files on the drive should be saved elsewhere as they will be erased
during the creation of the installation media.
Go to the following link and begin the process for the creation of the Windows 11 installation media.
1. After clicking the link above it will take you to the starting page for creating the Windows 11 installation media. Once there, ignore the first sections, scroll down and click on "Download now" below the section titled "Create Windows 11 installation media".
This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows 11, version 23H2 or newer but can be equally applied to earlier versions which may have some basic differences in the screens you see but will largely remain similar in all other regards. It is HIGHLY recommended that you FULLY read through ALL steps, and familiarize yourself with ALL notes, and the information at all linked pages, before beginning the installation or doing anything that might wipe out your current installation prematurely especially if you have not yet attached your Windows 11 installation/license to a Microsoft account that in turn is attached to you, for activation purposes later. This is not always 100% necessary, but it's a really good idea even if you plan to use a local account rather than a Microsoft account for daily operations.
Just FYI, the Windows installer screens change somewhat periodically, adding or removing some steps based on whatever Microsoft deems necessary at the time, and if you should be installing a newer or older version that does have a few different screens just use your judgement for those as primarily the most important aspect of the clean install, which is making sure to disconnect ALL drives except the source and target drives and removing all existing partitions on the target drive, remains the same basically since Windows 7 to now.
Visit the link below and familiarize yourself with the process, if you are not already, BEFORE you go ANY further!!!
(Keep in mind that for most systems if your Windows 10 or 11 installation was previously activated it SHOULD activate automatically once you connect to the internet after installation. Associating
your license with a Microsoft account attached to you is only an optional safety net for those few cases where for some reason it might not have already been, but that is rare these days. The majority will
activate automatically if they were previously activated with a valid license.)
This link is hidden for visitors. Please Log in or register now.
Before you begin the installation, whether now or after you create your installation media, it is of utmost importance that you disconnect ALL system attached storage drives EXCEPT for the target drive (Drive you are installing TO) and source drive (Drive you are installing FROM, usually a USB flash drive these days). This is important because we've seen MANY instances of where either the system has decided it does not need to create a new boot, EFI or recovery partition because it sees there is already one present on another drive that may previously have had Windows installed on it, or decides to put it somewhere other than the target drive, and that results in making it impossible to boot into Windows if that partition or the drive is ever removed.
So prior to installation, power off, disconnect the SATA and power connectors from all hard or solid state drives except for the target drive where the operating system will be installed, and then you can reattach them after the installation is complete. Also, if you have external USB drives attached other than the drive you are installing Windows FROM, disconnect those as well for now.
Obviously, if your system has only one internally attached drive (And don't assume that it does, KNOW that it does or else find out if it does.) then the need to do that does not apply to you.
This link is hidden for visitors. Please Log in or register now.
**NOTE: In addition to the information at the link above, it is a good idea take a look at the list below as all of the following are highly recommended OR required prior to beginning the clean install process
1. Check that the software and hardware you intend to use are compatible with Windows 11 and have drivers available for it, even if your system has
already passed the compatibility check. Download and save these drivers to a suitable DVD, USB thumb drive or USB external HDD/SSD so that in
the event you need to install them later, you can do so without needing to go find them when it is no longer convenient to do so.
2. Create a backup of any important files and folders on your current installation to a secondary drive, external storage device or cloud service. Better yet
would be to additionally or alternatively create an entire system backup image using a utility like Acronis true image or Macrium reflect so you can simply
restore your previous installation to it's exact self if something goes wrong or doesn't work out later on.
3. Before you begin installation it is not only a good idea but is REQUIRED that you go into the BIOS (Unless you already know that it is set accordingly)
and ensure that your BIOS is set to fully UEFI compliant settings including enabling Secure Boot and enabling your TPM 2.0 or AMD fTPM device.
Legacy modes are not officially supported and if you wish to run any form of legacy mode with Windows 11 you will need to find that information
elsewhere as I will not be providing it. This tutorial is for a legitimate Windows 11 UEFI installation ONLY.
4. Temporarily disconnect ALL other hard drives or SSD devices including external drives other than the target drive and source drive you will be installing
FROM. This step will prevent the possibility of accidentally deleting any files or partitions from those drives when preparing the primary target drive for the
Windows installation.
5. If you have partitions on the target drive being used for the new Windows installation which are being used for OTHER, Non-OS purposes, then back up
any information on there to another location or drive as we will be completely removing all existing partitions from the target drive prior to installing
Windows 11 on that drive. Do not forget this step as any existing partition information on the drive will be eradicated during this process.
Ready? Then let's begin!
Create installation media
First, you will need to create bootable media, either on a USB flash drive or on optical media such as DVD. You will need a blank DVD or USB flash/thumb drive. Any files on the drive should be saved elsewhere as they will be erased
during the creation of the installation media.
Go to the following link and begin the process for the creation of the Windows 11 installation media.
This link is hidden for visitors. Please Log in or register now.
1. After clicking the link above it will take you to the starting page for creating the Windows 11 installation media. Once there, ignore the first sections, scroll down and click on "Download now" below the section titled "Create Windows 11 installation media".