Do you have a new/new-to-you/used Windows device that needs a fresh start? Here's the process I've refined for myself over the years to get the best, most usable device possible. Start with zero added crap like McAfee or manufacturer sales programs.

You'll need a couple of USB flash drives for this process. Grab one that's at least 16 GB (install media) and one that's at least 32 GB (data backup). If you're going to be doing this often, you can replace the install media flash drive with an IODD device. I've got one with a 1TB SSD with a bunch of Windows and Linux ISOs, a separate folder for drivers, and a little 1 GB FAT32 partition specifically for holding BIOS updates.

Step 0: BACK UP YOUR DATA. On a separate, external device like the 32 GB or larger flash drive. Copy your user profile(s) and set it aside. You can just copy C:\Users and get 99% of things you'll care about. Get one that's visually distinct, label it, and put it somewhere else so you don't overwrite it. Do this even if you have multiple drives in the system. Don't count on your ability to keep internal storage devices straight. You can skip this step if you're pulling the device straight out of the box.

Step 1: Prepare Media. This requires a working computer.

Microsoft provides clean (for Microsoft) Windows 11 ISOs directly on their website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11 Download the ISO directly from Microsoft. Don't download the ISO from any third-party sites. You can also use the Microsoft “Create Windows 11 Installation Media” program which will automate a lot of the process.

With the Windows 11 ISO, you can use Rufus to create your Win11 install flash drive. Rufus can do some fun things like kill the Microsoft Account requirement.

MAKE SURE YOUR INSTALL USB DEVICE ISN'T YOUR BACKUPS USB DEVICE

You can also just dump multiple ISOs on your IODD. I keep older versions of Win11 install ISOs around specifically so I can just use the bypassnro trick to create a local account, but there will probably always be some option to get around the online account requirements.

Step 2: In addition to Windows, there are a couple of other things you want to grab.

Check to make sure you have the latest UEFI (AKA/FKA BIOS) version for your device. Get this from the vendor with their name on the box directly from their website. Download the version specific to your model/serial number.

Also grab the latest system/platform, graphics, and network/wifi drivers from the manufacturer's website. 90% of these “executables” will be zip files that you can extract and point Windows at the folders later.

Lastly, you want to grab other stuff you want to install immediately. For me, that's Privacy.Sexy, WinAeroTweaker, Vivaldi browser, a Copilot Killer Script and the latest releases of PowerShell, Windows Terminal, and PowerToys.

After you create your install USB, you can copy the BIOS update, drivers, and miscellaneous programs to it.

Step 3: Update UEFI/BIOS. Specifics are going to depend on your device and its process. Make sure you're on the most recent version, especially because of the Secure Boot certificate expirations.

Step 4: Boot Windows 11 Installer. Start fresh, blow away everything on the existing internal drive. The default manufacturer programs are almost never worth saving. The restore partitions are going to have old crap that will be replaced almost immediately when you start updating.

Modern devices won't have a Windows license sticker; the key is baked into the UEFI. Sometimes the Windows installer will pick up the right edition (home/pro/enterprise), sometimes you have to select it yourself. Either way, you can install Win11 without needing to provide a license key at this step. See also the MAS further down.

Step 5: Install drivers for devices Windows didn't handle during installation. The old Device Manager still exists. Right-click on the Start button/Windows logo, and select “Computer Management”. There you can see devices, including ones that don't have working drivers. Either run the executables you downloaded earlier, or right-click on the problem device and “Update Driver”, pointing it at the folders you unpacked.

Step 6: Kill the annoying semi-setup bullshit Windows pulls after updates. Settings app –> System –> Notifications –> Additional Settings –> Uncheck “Suggest ways to get the most out of Windows and finish setting up this device” and “Get tips and suggestions when using Windows”. These are the terrible interruptions Microsoft has started imposing after some updates that will do the absolute bullshit like tricking you into using Onedrive or switching your browser back to Edge. They're gross and terrible and if we had working antitrust enforcement they'd get another deserved crotch-kicking over it.

Step 7: Run the RemoveWindowsAI script. Kill it all, roll back to “classic” Paint/Notepad/Snipping Tool. Uninstall a bunch of MS garbage like Onedrive, Teams, the Office stub, and whatever else you don't need.

Step 8: Install PowerShell7/Terminal/PowerToys, configure to taste. You can install MS Office here too, if you need it. If you don't, we'll install LibreOffice later.

Step 9: Update Windows. Settings –> Windows Updates –> Check for Updates and Advanced Options –> Optional Updates. Just grab everything, get to the latest version. Check “Receive updates for other Microsoft products” too. This covers MS Office and PowerShell. This will take a while, and make sure the bullshit in step 6 didn't get re-enabled.

Step 10: Run the RemoveWindowsAI script again, because “no” isn't a term Microsoft understands.

Step 11: Install Vivaldi, set as default browser, configure as desired. For me that's a dark mode theme, crank the built-in ad-blocker to max, make Settings a tab instead of its own window, setting the search engines to DuckDuckGo, and install the extensions for 1Password, PrivacyBadger, and uBlock Origin.

Step 12: Install/run Privacy.Sexy and WinAeroTweaker.

Privacy.Sexy can break things, so I normally just use the “Standard” setting. I've had good luck with its revert options when it DID break things, but your mileage will vary.

WinAeroTweaker will restore some older Windows defaults to their better options. Once you find settings you like you can save and load those settings to a simple file.

Step 13: Verify Windows activation. Settings –> System –> About –> Product Key and Activation. The system has probably already activated itself in the background. If not, do it now. Or not. I'm not the software police. You can also use the MassGrave Activation Scripts, at your own risk.

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK: Massgrave.dev has published the “Microsoft Activation Scripts (MAS)” on MassGravel GitHub: https://github.com/massgravel/Microsoft-Activation-Scripts These can be used to activate Windows and Office through a couple different methods.

Step 14: Everything else. I've used Ninite for decades to bootstrap a bare computer into usability. Check the boxes, get an executable that will download and install the apps with the best defaults. Only criticism is the free version dumps a bunch of icons on your desktop.

My personal absolute minimum app list is this: Vivaldi Firefox WinDirStat 7-Zip VLC Notepad++

For utility, I'll add these: Paint.NET IrfanView LibreOffice FileZilla

You can keep the Ninite executable around and rerun it later to update existing installs. The EXE isn't locked to a specific machine, so if you're doing several machines you can just dump it on the install flash drive and run it directly.

Manufacturer utilities like Dell's SupportAssist can be okay, but you've got to keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't do something dumb like install McAfee for “free”.

Step 15: Restore your documents/pictures/music/miscellaneous backed-up data. Now's a good time to make sure you have a comprehensive and tested backup scheme for your data too.

Now you should have a usable, fast Windows 11 device with the minimum Microsoft bullshit hanging around.

#Windows #Microsoft #Laptop #PC #Security #Reinstall #Copilot #Malware #Dell #HP #Lenovo #ASUS #Acer