HOW TO INSTALL

WINDOWS 11
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
Read the original article

By Ionut-Alexandru Popa

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REQUIREMENTS

• A PC with at least one storage drive, preferably

unformatted, but not required. Minimum Windows
11 hardware requirements are listed here. Note
the TPM module requirement. Your computer
might have one but needs to be enabled in BIOS.

• A bootable USB disk 8 GB or larger.

• A working computer with an Internet connection

so you can download Windows ISO disk
image and create a bootable disk.

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 HOW LONG DOES
IT TAKE TO
INSTALL
WINDOWS 11?
From booting your PC to the Windows
desktop, it can take anywhere between 10 to
15 minutes to install Windows 11 on modern
hardware.

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 GOOD TO KNOW

If you already have a Windows install medium (DVD or USB

key) you don’t need a working computer to create the
installer disk.

Recommended read: How to download Windows 11, How

to create a USB bootable disk, How to install Windows 11
on hardware that doesn’t meet minimum requirements

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 STEP 1:

Insert the bootable DVD into the optical bay or the USB
disk into your computer.

Note: if using a desktop case try to insert the USB drive

into one of the rear ports. Front-panel USB connectors are
more convenient to use but can cause issues during the
install process.

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 STEP 2:

Press the F8 key multiple times while the computer starts

to call the Boot Manager menu.

STEP 3:

Use the arrow keys to select the drive unit that contains
the Windows 11 installer. Some drives may show up twice.
If so, I recommend you chose the version that’s named EFI
or UEFI. This is the best way to install Windows 11 and it’s
a hassle to switch to UEFI after installing the OS in legacy
BIOS mode.

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 STEP 4:

Next, a message to Press any key to boot from the CD or

DVD… appears. Doing so will start the actual Windows 11
installation process and the new Windows 11 flat logo will
show up.

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 STEP 5:

First step is to choose to Install now. On this screen, you’ll

also see an option to Repair your computer. You’ll ignore it
for this guide.

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 STEP 6:

The installer will ask now to choose the language of the

interface, the time and currency format, and the keyboard
layout. These can be mixed and matched to your
preference, and don’t need to reflect reality. Changing
them at a later date is possible without reinstalling
Windows 11.

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 STEP 7:

At the next step you’ll be asked to enter the Windows 11

product key. This step can be skipped for now, but you’ll
have to eventually activate Windows 11 to get all the
features (find out what happens if you don’t activate
Windows).
Be careful and enter the correct code provided with your
license. The serial key is made up of 25 characters (5
groups of 5 letters and numbers each).

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 STEP 8:

Now it’s time to select the Windows edition you want to

install. Your selection must match the product key entered
earlier or else Windows won’t activate.
You can’t buy a Windows 11 Home license and activate
Windows 11 Pro.

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 STEP 9:

To proceed you need to agree to the licensing terms (EULA)

at this step. Check the “I accept…” box and click Next.

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 STEP 10:

Next select the installation type. There are two

options: Upgrade an existing installation of Windows
(version 7, 8, or 10) or Custom. Select the latter option to
continue.

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 STEP 11:
At this step you’ll see all available disks detected in your
computer. Let the installer know the disk where Windows
11 files will be copied. You can choose to partition the
existing disk into smaller virtual disks (recommended for
bigger disks). If you only have one unformatted disk just
select it and hit Next. The installer will create all the
needed partitions for you.

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 STEP 12:

The installer will now start to copy the required files from
the install medium to their destination. A computer reboot
will happen at this point.

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 STEP 13:

If this is a deja-vu, don’t worry, because you’re asked

again to select the geographical region and keyboard
layout. They can differ from the original choice and will
override the settings from step 6. You can optionally add
more keyboard layouts (hint: use WIN + Shift to switch
between them while using Windows).

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 STEP 14:

All previous screens are almost identical to the Windows

10 installer. Now we’re getting the first newly designed
screen: name your PC. I suggest you enter a computer
name that’s recognizable and easy to remember.

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 STEP 15:

The installer will now check for any updates and download
them before proceeding. Let it do its thing.

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 STEP 16:

At this next step you’ll select the predefined device usage

scenario: for Personal use or Organization, in which case
your system administrator will enforce some settings for
you after you login into your company network. We’ll be
using the Personal option for this guide.

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 STEP 17:

Now it’s time to create the administrator account for this

PC. Microsoft still tries to make you sign in with your
outlook.com account, but I suggest you stick to an offline
account for privacy reasons. We also have an article
detailing the differences between the two account types.

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 STEP 18:

To ensure you can recover your files if you don’t remember

your password, you’ll need to provide answers to one of
the 3 security questions set up at this step.

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 STEP 18 (A):

If you sign in with a Microsoft account, you will be asked

to Create a PIN to log in quicker to your computer, instead
of using the complex Microsoft password.
You can complete a more secure PIN if you wish, but by
default, you’re only required to add numbers, not letters
and symbols.

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 STEP 19:

If this is not your first Windows device and you had set up
settings sync in the past, you can choose to restore settings from
another machine (it can also be the same machine if you’re
reinstalling Windows).
By default, Microsoft shows the last device that was synced, but
you can click on the Restore from another device link and you will
see a list of all devices associated with your Microsoft account.
For this guide, we’ll just select Set up as new device.

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 STEP 20:
Privacy settings are next. By habit, I disable everything
that’s possible without hampering the use of Windows.
Expect some telemetry data to still be sent to Microsoft,
but I’m working on an article about how to disable pretty
much everything that affects privacy in Windows 11.

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 STEP 21:
This is a new step, which will ask you to select the basic
types of activities you’ll be doing with your new machine.
Options include Entertainment, Gaming, School, Creativity,
Business, and Family.
Based on your selection Windows will personalize tips, ads,
and recommendations. You can just press Skip, as all these
options can be changed later in the Settings app in
the Personalization > Device Usage section.

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 STEP 22:
You’ll now be asked to set up an automatic backup with
OneDrive. It’s part of the Windows settings sync. You can
just click on the Only save files to this PC link and continue.
If you want to set up OneDrive, follow this complete guide.

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 STEP 23:
Now you can set up your Microsoft 365 Family plan 1
monthly trial for Office + 1TB OneDrive cloud space. If you
don’t need it click Decline. If you already have an active
subscription, you can click on the I have a product key to
link this device.

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 STEP 24:
Another promo, this time for Xbox Game Pass. It’s a pretty
good deal if you’re a serious gamer. You can press Skip for
now to proceed further.

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 STEP 25:

After a few moments and a couple of different screens

you’ll be greeted with the new Windows 11 desktop for the
first time. Don’t worry, the start menu is supposed to be
centered!
That’s it. You’ve successfully installed Windows 11 on your
new computer!

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