How To Clean Install Windows 11 From A USB Drive

By Ammarrauf01

How To Clean Install Windows 11 From A USB Drive. This article teaches you how to install Windows 11 from a USB drive. Windows 11 is beneficial in a number of ways. Give a new life to a PC plagued by crashes or manufacturer bloatware. There are many methods to install Windows 11, but only some of the methods are suitable for some.

You can install Windows 11 from a USB drive, using an ISO file, Reset This PC option, or reinstall Windows 11 from Advanced Startup. Here, we will discuss how to install Windows 11 from a USB Drive. But, before installing Windows 11 check if your PC can run Windows 11 (link article).

How To Clean Install Windows 11 From A USB Drive?

The first step in installing Windows 11 from a USB drive is to create the bootable media on the USB drive by having access to another computer.

Creating Windows 11 Bootable Media:

To create the Windows 11 bootable media:

1.Install the Media Creation Tool from the Microsoft website (https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=2QzUaswX1as&mid=24542&u1=htg/874846|xid:fr1687632173aaa&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fen-gb%2Fsoftware-download%2Fwindows11)
2.You’ll find it under the Create Windows 11 Installation Media heading.
3.After downloading, go to your downloads folder.
4.Double-click the “mediacreationtool.exe” file to open it.
5.Accept the license agreement when prompted.

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6.Choose the language and Windows edition you want to use.
7.On the media choice screen, choose USB Flash Drive.
8.Insert a blank flash drive with at least 8GB capacity into the USB port on your PC.
9.Click Next.

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10.Select your flash drive from the list.
11.Click Next.
12.Wait for the tool to download Windows 11.
13.Finish the setup of the bootable media.

Booting From the USB Drive:

Now, the next step is to boot from a USB drive. First, you have to edit the BIOS settings to make your computer boot from the USB rather than the OS partition. This process is not required in newly built PC as the USB should be the only bootable device found. To access the BIOS:

1.Press F1, F2, or F10 from your keyboard.
2.In the BIOS settings, navigate to the Boot settings.
3.You can also search it in Advanced Options if you can’t see a dedicated boot setting menu.
4.Select Removable Devices in the list.
5.Move it to the top position.
6.This will make your PC boot from the USB drive before the hard drive.
7.Save the changes and exit.
8.You can then shut down your PC.
9.Insert your USB drive into an available USB port.
10.Restart your PC.
11.Press any key when prompted.
12.Your computer will boot into the Windows 11 setup tool.

Installing Windows 11 From the USB Drive:

Now the main step of installing Windows 11 from the USB drive is mentioned below:

1.Select your preferred geographical settings for language, currency/time, and keyboard layout.
2.Click Next.
3.Then click Install Now.

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4.Then, enter a valid product key.
5.If you don’t have a product key and installing over a previously activated copy of Windows 11, then click on the option “I don’t have a product key.”
6.Reactivation will be completed once the installation is complete.

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7.Select the version of Windows 11 you want to install from a list containing Home, Pro, Education, and Enterprise.
8.Click Next and accept the license agreement.
9.Then, choose the Custom: Install Windows only (advanced) option.
10.This will install truly clean Windows 11.

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11.Choose where you want Windows 11 to be installed.
12.Windows files are most commonly installed in Drive 0 Unallocated Space.
13.You will see list of partitions, if your hard drive contains multiple partitions.
14.Delete the unnecessary partitions.

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15.The installation will begin.
16.After the installation. you will go through the Out-of-the-box Experience (OOBE) to choose things like device name, language, and login options.
17.You’ll also need to sign in to your Microsoft account.

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18.Now, run a a clean and fresh install of Windows 11.