Windows 11 fresh install to do list

[Space Lynx]

Microsoft has discontinued the oobe\bypassnro method.

Can use "start ms-cxh:localonly" instead

my system specs under my name i did a clean install with win 10 recently on this rig, man its just so damn smooth and snappy. i can't see myself going to 11, i'm pobably just going to disable updates soonish, and then just run malwarebytes lifetime key i have for my security.

not sure if that will be good enough or not, but yeah i really don't want to go to win 11 anymore. win 10 just works and is clean

 

[JLBENEDICT]

BypassNRO is just a 3-line script... as mentioned only removed in the latest build..

@echo off
reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
shutdown /r /t 0

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

my system specs under my name i did a clean install with win 10 recently on this rig, man its just so damn smooth and snappy. i can't see myself going to 11, i'm pobably just going to disable updates soonish, and then just run malwarebytes lifetime key i have for my security.

not sure if that will be good enough or not, but yeah i really don't want to go to win 11 anymore. win 10 just works and is clean

I too find myself using 10 more often than 11 for my personal use.

 

[vgm]

I'd recommend using unattended creator like @Chrispy_ suggested. I have made a copy and pushed to my github in case if you're curious. You can import it and customize to your liking and download your own version and then copy to root of ISO. My xml file works with any Windows version and on any architectures x86,x64 and ARM64.
If you want to try out my custom ISO without Edge and telemetry you can visit here
Its not pre-activated and kept it as stock as possible. I've pre-installed Brave after removing Edge. Do keep the ISO mounted so that WinToolkit's Post Setup installers such as dx9, vc++ runtimes, netfx3.5 etc can be installed. I have added unattended script within my Win 11 ISOs.

 

[Rafi2022]

First thing to do is remove bloatware, but u do it before installation. When is clear as possible u go and install.

 

[dgianstefani]

Never heard of it before but it looks promising now that you mentioned it. Does it lack any of the standard features available in regular windows? Will a normal casual user be able to run everything on it?

Get 24H2 LTSC.

 

[Chrispy_]

Microsoft has discontinued the oobe\bypassnro method.

Can use "start ms-cxh:localonly" instead

Neither bypassnro nor localonly methods are needed if you de-bloat the ISO with an autounattend.xml, or UUPDump.

You are spared from having to dance around so many of Microsoft's poor decisions with either of those methods, not just the forced Microsoft account one.

 

[Sunny and 75]

LTSC is the ONLY edition of Windows there is, period.

Spoiler

And I do use StartAllBack, thought you should know.

 

[tabascosauz]

do you know what games you prefer to use win 11 with, just off the top of your head? no big deal, I am just curious

hoyo games are by far the biggest winner since they lack a true fullscreen mode. But the instant alt tab, effectively borderless = fullscreen, and seamless windows notifs without breaking VRR can be noticed just about in any game. Old games also benefit big time.

I for one can't go back to not having tabs in explorer

 

[Space Lynx]

hoyo games are by far the biggest winner since they lack a true fullscreen mode. But the instant alt tab, effectively borderless = fullscreen, and seamless windows notifs without breaking VRR can be noticed just about in any game. Old games also benefit big time.

I for one can't go back to not having tabs in explorer

i have vrr turned off anyway, cause OLED flickering issues. and i don't really use file explorer much, so yeah its all use case dependent. i don't know what it is about 10, but it just feels like everything is faster

 

[Marcus L]

I for one can't go back to not having tabs in explorer

Ok sorry for OT...

I was today years old when I learned Explorer had this feature, is there anyway for it to always open the same tabs when you open explorer? say This PC, Download, Pictures etc.... that would be hella helpful, as it stands, I tried using tabs and it's handy to be able to open different folders/locations but when I close explorer and open it up again it defaults to the standard 1 tab "This PC" (can't stand the default "Home" explorer location, another dumbass MS move)

 

[mechtech]

I don't want to but I have to switch to windows 11 because windows 10 support will end soon so you will have to switch and I'm also getting a new system and it only makes sense to install windows 11 in it. So what's your proven to work "to do list" that can be used to get rid of Microsoft’s bloat, telemetry, annoying background nonsense and other junk??? I know there is a program called shut up 10 which I used previously with my different windows 10 installations but I think there is more it to completely shut up windows 11 than just installing a little software. I haven't used windows 11 except in work computers which you can't mess with of course. I'll install it soon however in my new system and i'm planning to rid it off all unnecessary stuff.

Thanks in advance.

Well for any fresh install or new build I will typically check for
1. Bios/FW updates on everything (ssd, monitor, mobo, gpu, etc.) to see if any and/or if anything important.
2. Secure erase ssd
3. rufus to make iso install usb - try to get a local account
4. shut down auto driver updates once installed

I'm too busy with life to waste it messing around with 11 for a day or more to get it the way I want............but it's only on my family's pc's I'm on 10 and in all honesty I might go over to Zorin or Mint OS at the end of the year if I can't get W11 LTSC/IoT version.

 

[AusWolf]

1. Wipe my drive.
2. Install Linux.

Sorry for trolling.

Seriously speaking, Windows 11 is so bloated that you might be better off using a de-bloated installer to begin with. I wouldn't want Copilot anywhere near my PC, not even for the 30 seconds it takes me to uninstall it.

 

[_roman_]

During Win11 setup when you are choosing the language, choose (i think its called) English (Worldwide) or something like that. It doesnt install any of the bloatware.

My refurbished notebook has a microsoft official refurbisher windows 11 pro license.

I took united kingdom language and german keyboard. The startmenu is full with bloat.

Last KB Update of april refuses to install. Maybe my fault to use the privacy tools and by creating the offline user during installation. The offline user got now more complicated to create during installation compared to the other refurbish notebook with windows 11 pro I initialised 4-5 months ago. They made the installer worse. OOBE bypass did work, but I think the preinstalled windows 11 pro installer image was maybe dated to January 2025.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Microsoft has discontinued the oobe\bypassnro method.

Can use "start ms-cxh:localonly" instead

This is false as of today anyway. I just used this method on my new 9800X3D build just a couple hrs ago.

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

This is false as of today anyway. I just used this method on my new 9800X3D build just a couple hrs ago.

Depends on what build you are using. It may not have been pushed to the main update channel yet.

https://blogs.windows.com/windows-i...insider-preview-build-26200-5516-dev-channel/

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...100-3775-277a9d11-6ebf-410c-99f7-8c61957461eb

I don't see it in the release notes for the general release channel, but is definitely a thing in preview channel already.