Solved Clean install?

zbook · Jan 5, 2022

Using the Microsoft website the iso an be installed on any flash drive that can be formatted.
Once the clean install has been completed the flash drive can be used for other purposes.
Sometimes there are problems with Windows and having an available Windows 11 iso will allow you to fix operating system problems.
If you have more than one computer you can always make a new iso.
If you only have one computer then it's useful for troubleshooting as it has Windows Recovery Environment (RE).

Alexey2912 · Jan 5, 2022

zbook said:
Using the Microsoft website the iso an be installed on any flash drive that can be formatted.
Once the clean install has been completed the flash drive can be used for other purposes.
Sometimes there are problems with Windows and having an available Windows 11 iso will allow you to fix operating system problems.
If you have more than one computer you can always make a new iso.
If you only have one computer then it's useful for troubleshooting as it has Windows Recovery Environment (RE).

My query is that should I transfer the downloaded iso in zipped format to usb or unzip firstly and than transfer the contents?
Thanks.

zbook · Jan 5, 2022

There is no need to transfer unless you've deliberately downloaded to the desktop.
It's much easier to select the USB flash drive option from the Microsoft website.

Alexey2912 · Jan 5, 2022

zbook said:
There is no need to transfer unless you've deliberately downloaded to the desktop.
It's much easier to select the USB flash drive option from the Microsoft website.

My ignorance, downloaded on the desktop assuming to use rufus to create a bootable usb.....

thanks again!

Alexey2912 · Jan 5, 2022

zbook said:
There is no need to transfer unless you've deliberately downloaded to the desktop.
It's much easier to select the USB flash drive option from the Microsoft website.

Do I need to redownload W11 on a usb to make it bootable?
Thanks.

Bree · Jan 5, 2022

Alexey2912 said:
My ignorance, downloaded on the desktop assuming to use rufus to create a bootable usb.....

Microsoft offer two ways to get an ISO on their Download Windows 11 page. You chose the second one, to download an ISO directly. The other way is to download the Media Creation Tool, run it, and choose its option to create an ISO.

Although both ISOs are identical in terms of the Windows 11 they will install, there is one significant difference. The ISO created by the MCT contains the source files for W11 in an install.esd file, while the direct download ISO will have an install.wim.

The ESD format is more compact than the WIM format. This means you can easily make your USB by just mounting the ISO and copying all the files from it to a Fat32 formatted USB. There is nothing more to do if you are going to use this to boot on a UEFI machine, for booting on a Legacy bios machine you also need to mark the USB partition as Active.

The install.wim in the directly downloaded ISO is larger than the 4GB Fat32 maximum file size limit, so you need to use Rufus or similar to make a bootable USB to install Windows. Microsoft make sure that an install.esd will always be less than 4GB.

Alexey2912 · Jan 5, 2022

Bree said:
Microsoft offer two ways to get an ISO on their Download Windows 11 page. You chose the second one, to download an ISO directly. The other way is to download the Media Creation Tool, run it, and choose its option to create an ISO.

Although both ISOs are identical in terms of the Windows 11 they will install, there is one significant difference. The ISO created by the MCT contains the source files for W11 in an install.esd file, while the direct download ISO will have an install.wim.

The ESD format is more compact than the WIM format. This means you can easily make your USB by just mounting the ISO and copying all the files from it to a Fat32 formatted USB. There is nothing more to do if you are going to use this to boot on a UEFI machine, for booting on a Legacy bios machine you also need to mark the USB partition as Active.

The install.wim in the directly downloaded ISO is larger than the 4GB Fat32 maximum file size limit, so you need to use Rufus or similar to make a bootable USB to install Windows. Microsoft make sure that an install.esd will always be less than 4GB.

Thanks again,
So your expert recommendation is downloading using MCT vs. direct Disk ISO?

Bree · Jan 5, 2022

Alexey2912 said:
So your expert recommendation is downloading using MCT vs. direct Disk ISO?

That is what I have always done, for every version of W10 and now for W11. The MCT has an option to 'make media to install on another PC'. That option give you the choice of making a USB directly or making an ISO file. I make the ISO, then whenever I need a USB just make one by mounting the ISO and coping it to the USB. It is the simplest and easiest way to make a USB to install Windows. No third-party tools are needed.

Alexey2912 · Jan 5, 2022

Bree said:
That is what I have always done, for every version of W10 and now for W11. The MCT has an option to 'make media to install on another PC'. That option give you the choice of making a USB directly or making an ISO file. I make the ISO, then whenever I need a USB just make one by mounting the ISO and coping it to the USB. It is the simplest and easiest way to make a USB to install Windows. No third-party tools are needed.

Thanks again.
1 query what exactly do you mean by mounting ISO and copying to usb?

Bree · Jan 5, 2022

Alexey2912 said:
what exactly do you mean by mounting ISO and copying to usb?

An ISO is an image file of a DVD disk. In File Explorer you can double-click on an ISO file and it will be mounted as a virtual DVD drive with a drive letter. Alternatively right-click on it and select Mount. You can then explore this, just like any other drive. Just use File explorer to copy the files from it to your usb.

Alexey2912 · Jan 5, 2022

Bree said:
An ISO is an image file of a DVD disk. In File Explorer you can double-click on an ISO file and it will be mounted as a virtual DVD drive with a drive letter. Alternatively right-click on it and select Mount. You can then explore this, just like any other drive. Just use File explorer to copy the files from it to your usb.

View attachment 17811

Thanks for explaining and am glad that you are protected till April. But remember I have witnessed double, triple vaxxed getting reinfected. Vax doesn't confer complete protection, however does mitigate symptoms etc. if one gets it!
BTW my son just completed his Masters from LSE in London/England/UK.

Alexey2912 · Jan 5, 2022

Back to patients.....another same day!

hsehestedt · Jan 5, 2022

I don't want to confuse things at all, but just in case you are interested, here is a procedure for creating a bootable Windows installation flash drive using no third-party tools, batch files, or anything other than running a few commands and copying some files.

I've seen some rare circumstances, such as when a flash drive was configured for GPT, where the media creation tool did not yield a working flash drive. I like this procedure because I have NEVER seen this not work. You will be able to boot it on any system whether that system is BIOS based or UEFI based. In addition, there is no issue with having files that are greater than 4GB in size. I just keep this procedure handy in case I have any difficulties with any other method of creating the boot disk. It may be easier to use Rufus or the Media Creation Tool, but this is still a good reference to keep on hand.

Here is the procedure:

1) Begin by having your Windows ISO image available. Double-click that file. That should "mount" the ISO image. This means that the ISO image is opened and assigned a drive letter, much like inserting a DVD in a drive. Take note of the drive letter that File Explorer shows for the image.

2) Plug in your flash drive if it is not already plugged in.

3) Press WinLogoKey +R, type in "diskpart" (without the quotes), press <ENTER>.

4) From the diskpart> prompt, run this command:

Code:

list disk

5) From the size of the disks, try to determine which disk your thumb drive is and note the drive number. If that is not enough information, run these commands to get more detail on any disk. In this example, I want more info on disk 4:

Code:

select disk 4
detail disk

Here is some sample output:

Code:

DISKPART> list disk

  Disk ###  Status         Size     Free     Dyn  Gpt
  --------  -------------  -------  -------  ---  ---
  Disk 0    Online          476 GB      0 B        *
  Disk 1    Online         3726 GB      0 B        *
  Disk 2    Online          465 GB  1024 KB        *
  Disk 3    Online         7452 GB      0 B        *
  Disk 4    Online          238 GB      0 B

DISKPART> select disk 4

Disk 4 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> detail disk

SanDisk Extreme Pro USB Device
Disk ID: DC727760
Type   : USB
Status : Online
Path   : 0
Target : 0
LUN ID : 0
Location Path : UNAVAILABLE
Current Read-only State : No
Read-only  : No
Boot Disk  : No
Pagefile Disk  : No
Hibernation File Disk  : No
Crashdump Disk  : No
Clustered Disk  : No

  Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info
  ----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------
  Volume 7     Z   My Software  NTFS   Removable    238 GB  Healthy
    C:\MountPoints\My Software\

6) When you determine the correct disk, run the commands below while you are still in diskpart. In this example, I have determined that disk 4 is my flash drive. Be sure to select the correct disk number because everything on that disk will be erased!

Code:

clean
convert mbr
create partition primary size=1000
active
format fs=fat32 label=FLASH1 quick
assign
create partition primary
format fs=ntfs label=FLASH2 quick
assign
exit

NOTE: The assign commands will assign the next available drive letter. If you want to assign specific drives letters, for example E:, use the command "assign letter=E" rather than just "assign" by itself. Please also note that we are assigning the label "FLASH1" to the first partition which is a FAT32 partition, and "FLASH2" to the second partition which is NTFS. The only reason we are doing this is to make these partitions easy to identify when you look at them in File Explorer.

In the next step, we will copy files from the source to the FAT32 and NTFS partitions on the thumb drive. To be clear, all the files and folders that you are being asked to copy come from your ISO image that you mounted in step 1 and you are copying them to either the FAT32 partition (the one labeled "FLASH1") or to the NTFS partition (the one labeled "FLASH2") on your flash drive.

7) Follow these steps to copy files to your thumb drive:

⦁ Copy all files and folders EXCEPT the \sources folder to the FAT32 partition.

⦁ Create a folder called sources on the FAT32 partition.

⦁ Copy the file \sources\boot.wim to the FAT32 partition \sources folder.

⦁ Create a folder called sources on the NTFS partition.

⦁ Copy all files and folders from the \sources folder EXCEPT boot.wim to the \sources folder on the NTFS partition.

At this point, you should have a bootable thumb drive that can be booted from both BIOS and UEFI based systems.

8) To finish, in File Explorer, right click the drive letter for the ISO image that you mounted in step 1 and choose "Eject". This will unmount the image, much like ejecting a DVD from its drive.

NOTE: When booting on some UEFI based systems, you may be presented with an option to boot either the FAT32 or the NTFS partition. Choose the FAT32 partition.

Alexey2912 · Jan 6, 2022

hsehestedt said:
I don't want to confuse things at all, but just in case you are interested, here is a procedure for creating a bootable Windows installation flash drive using no third-party tools, batch files, or anything other than running a few commands and copying some files.

I've seen some rare circumstances, such as when a flash drive was configured for GPT, where the media creation tool did not yield a working flash drive. I like this procedure because I have NEVER seen this not work. You will be able to boot it on any system whether that system is BIOS based or UEFI based. In addition, there is no issue with having files that are greater than 4GB in size. I just keep this procedure handy in case I have any difficulties with any other method of creating the boot disk. It may be easier to use Rufus or the Media Creation Tool, but this is still a good reference to keep on hand.

Here is the procedure:

1) Begin by having your Windows ISO image available. Double-click that file. That should "mount" the ISO image. This means that the ISO image is opened and assigned a drive letter, much like inserting a DVD in a drive. Take note of the drive letter that File Explorer shows for the image.

2) Plug in your flash drive if it is not already plugged in.

3) Press WinLogoKey +R, type in "diskpart" (without the quotes), press <ENTER>.

4) From the diskpart> prompt, run this command:

Code:

list disk

5) From the size of the disks, try to determine which disk your thumb drive is and note the drive number. If that is not enough information, run these commands to get more detail on any disk. In this example, I want more info on disk 4:

Code:

select disk 4 detail disk

Here is some sample output:

Code:

DISKPART> list disk Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt -------- ------------- ------- ------- --- --- Disk 0 Online 476 GB 0 B * Disk 1 Online 3726 GB 0 B * Disk 2 Online 465 GB 1024 KB * Disk 3 Online 7452 GB 0 B * Disk 4 Online 238 GB 0 B DISKPART> select disk 4 Disk 4 is now the selected disk. DISKPART> detail disk SanDisk Extreme Pro USB Device Disk ID: DC727760 Type : USB Status : Online Path : 0 Target : 0 LUN ID : 0 Location Path : UNAVAILABLE Current Read-only State : No Read-only : No Boot Disk : No Pagefile Disk : No Hibernation File Disk : No Crashdump Disk : No Clustered Disk : No Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info ---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- -------- Volume 7 Z My Software NTFS Removable 238 GB Healthy C:\MountPoints\My Software\

6) When you determine the correct disk, run the commands below while you are still in diskpart. In this example, I have determined that disk 4 is my flash drive. Be sure to select the correct disk number because everything on that disk will be erased!

Code:

clean convert mbr create partition primary size=1000 active format fs=fat32 label=FLASH1 quick assign create partition primary format fs=ntfs label=FLASH2 quick assign exit

NOTE: The assign commands will assign the next available drive letter. If you want to assign specific drives letters, for example E:, use the command "assign letter=E" rather than just "assign" by itself. Please also note that we are assigning the label "FLASH1" to the first partition which is a FAT32 partition, and "FLASH2" to the second partition which is NTFS. The only reason we are doing this is to make these partitions easy to identify when you look at them in File Explorer.

In the next step, we will copy files from the source to the FAT32 and NTFS partitions on the thumb drive. To be clear, all the files and folders that you are being asked to copy come from your ISO image that you mounted in step 1 and you are copying them to either the FAT32 partition (the one labeled "FLASH1") or to the NTFS partition (the one labeled "FLASH2") on your flash drive.

7) Follow these steps to copy files to your thumb drive:

⦁ Copy all files and folders EXCEPT the \sources folder to the FAT32 partition.

⦁ Create a folder called sources on the FAT32 partition.

⦁ Copy the file \sources\boot.wim to the FAT32 partition \sources folder.

⦁ Create a folder called sources on the NTFS partition.

⦁ Copy all files and folders from the \sources folder EXCEPT boot.wim to the \sources folder on the NTFS partition.

At this point, you should have a bootable thumb drive that can be booted from both BIOS and UEFI based systems.

8) To finish, in File Explorer, right click the drive letter for the ISO image that you mounted in step 1 and choose "Eject". This will unmount the image, much like ejecting a DVD from its drive.

NOTE: When booting on some UEFI based systems, you may be presented with an option to boot either the FAT32 or the NTFS partition. Choose the FAT32 partition.

Thanks for your expert advice. For me it's easier to cure a covid infected than understanding it.
Shall give it a try, once I get some time!

hsehestedt · Jan 6, 2022

LOL. If you have any questions, please free free to ask.

Alexey2912 · Jan 6, 2022

hsehestedt said:
LOL. If you have any questions, please free free to ask.

I shall and thanks again!

Winuser · Jan 6, 2022

Alexey2912 said:
Thanks for the link. Should I partition during install or after using disk management, 200 GB to C active and 250 GB to D. What would they be in MBs?

When you do the clean install just delete all partitions and let the installer create the ones Windows needs.

Winuser · Jan 6, 2022

Alexey2912 said:
Thanks for your expert advice. For me it's easier to cure a covid infected than understanding it.
Shall give it a try, once I get some time!

Why are you trying to make it complicated? If you just want to join the two partitions, there are programs that make it easy. I use MiniTool Partition Wizard. If you do decide to do a clean install here is an easy-to-follow tutorial. Clean Install Windows 11 Tutorial

Alexey2912 · Jan 6, 2022

Winuser said:
When you do the clean install just delete all partitions and let the installer create the ones Windows needs.

At what stage do I unplug the bootable USB?

Alexey2912 · Jan 6, 2022

Winuser said:
Why are you trying to make it complicated? If you just want to join the two partitions, there are programs that make it easy. I use MiniTool Partition Wizard. If you do decide to do a clean install here is an easy-to-follow tutorial. Clean Install Windows 11 Tutorial

Which is better, clean install vs. using Minitool Partition to merge?