Can upgrade from 10 to 11 also be a clean install?

so I can get the automatic upgrade to 11. can I get the 11 and use it as a clean install on another hard drive as well? having win 10 issues with ethernet that are caused by software not 10 so I want to erase 10 and start over with a clean 11

Msongs said:

so I can get the automatic upgrade to 11. can I get the 11 and use it as a clean install on another hard drive as well? having win 10 issues with ethernet that are caused by software not 10 so I want to erase 10 and start over with a clean 11

Click to expand...

There's three ways to move to Win 11.
1. Update
2. Upgrade
3. Clean install

Just do a clean install of Win 11. It will activate automatically.
You can install it on a different drive, or right over top of Win 10, which will get erased in the process.



Don't forget to export your Firefox bookmarks, and save them on a USB stick or something.

If your W10 is activated, the license is embedded and you'll never need to cite/sight/quote/input it again for any (re)installation of 10/11 on the same device.

Swap out the Win10 drive for a blank SSD

Disconnect the internet
Clean install W11, skipping the part where it asked for the license (select "I don't have ...." option)
Don't connect the internet, even when MS scare tactics about an incomplete installation. Total BS !!
When complete, reboot (precautionary), connect the internet
Installation will be activated, updates will commence.

Done.

idgat said:

If your W10 is activated, the license is embedded and you'll never need to cite/sight/quote/input it again for any (re)installation of 10/11 on the same device.

Swap out the Win10 drive for a blank SSD

Disconnect the internet
Clean install W11, skipping the part where it asked for the license (select "I don't have ...." option)
Don't connect the internet, even when MS scare tactics about an incomplete installation. Total BS !!
When complete, reboot (precautionary), connect the internet
Installation will be activated, updates will commence.

Done.

Click to expand...

There is no need to disconnect internet!

Also, some pcs come with licence key embedded, but not all. Upon activation a digital licence is stored online.

You disconnect from the internet if you prefer creating a local account instead of being forced to use a Microsoft account. In Windows 11 21H2 and earlier Windows 10 version, there was a text "I don't have an internet connection" which you could click and create a local account instead. In Windows 11 22H2 this was removed forcing a Microsoft account even in the Pro version. When at the network connection screen press SHIFT+F10 to open a command prompt and execute oobe\bypassnro. This will make some changes and restart the computer. You will start with the country and keyboard layout again but this time the blue text "I don't have an internet connection" will be there to click. You will see a warning that you might miss some features, ignore it and proceed with "limited features" to create a local account. Once the configuration is complete and you see the desktop you may connect to the internet to activate Windows 11. The account folder will have exactly the name that you chose, no truncation, and if you like you can then convert it to a Microsoft account.