Installation and Upgrade Download Official Windows 11 ISO file from Microsoft

Berton · Nov 24, 2023

fg2001gf11F said:
Whatever!
They just screwed up.
Easy to see how. MCT should be able to create the USB media from the downloaded ISO. No need for separate options that require two downloads.

Once the download page is loaded the MCT is out of it. Once a choice is started the MCT page can be closed then within a limited time, maybe 24 hours, it can be reopened to use a different choice or do the same again.

The download of the .iso file is just that. The creation of the USB drive is similar to watching a movie/streaming, writing the files to the drive which is to only that USB drive, not stored on the computer.

Maybe a suggestion to Microsoft using the Feedback Hub in the Start menu asking for the USB Image Writer feature included on most Linux bootable LiveDVD to create that bootable drive from the downloaded .iso file?

This shows the contents of the USB drive:

fg2001gf11F · Nov 24, 2023

Berton said:
The download of the .iso file is just that. The creation of the USB drive is similar to watching a movie/streaming, writing the files to the drive which is to only that USB drive, not stored on the computer.

Maybe a suggestion to Microsoft using the Feedback Hub in the Start menu asking for the USB Image Writer feature included on most Linux bootable LiveDVD to create that bootable drive?

Before this latest change, MCT could download the ISO and then create the Media from the same file. No need for a separated download.
They just changed the logic, but they could easily avoid that and give the same options as they did before this silly implementation.

I already sent my feedback about this. It is nothing fancy nor difficult.

Marie SWE · Nov 24, 2023

I will put in.. MS has made it hard to get the ISO.. you seems not be able to download the ISO from a windows computer when winupdate and all is inactivated, so the windows media creation tool can't start.. and they have no direct link to download the ISO unless you are on Linux/mac or changing the browser to give wrong signal so the MS download site cant detect you are on a windows machine.

I tried to download win10 om mi win7 machine that is really hardened.. and the creation tool cold not start as all services for win updates is killed/buried/stamped on... That is MS-big time screw up that you cant download the ISO without the dam crappy idiotic tool..

But I'm not surprised.. as MS hasn't got anything right since 2008.

fg2001gf11F · Nov 24, 2023

Marie SWE said:
I will put in.. MS has made it hard to get the ISO.. you seems not be able to download the ISO from a windows computer when winupdate and all is inactivated, so the windows media creation tool can't start.. and they have no direct link to download the ISO unless you are on Linux/mac or changing the browser to give wrong signal so the MS download site cant detect you are on a windows machine.

I tried to download win10 om mi win7 machine that is really hardened.. and the creation tool cold not start as all services for win updates is killed/buried/stamped on... That is MS-big time screw up that you cant download the ISO without the dam crappy idiotic tool..

But I'm not surprised.. as MS hasn't got anything right since 2008.

You have the option to download the ISO without MCT.

Download Windows 11

The only problem is that the one downloadable now is an older Build 22631.2428 instead of the current one 22631.2715.

Marie SWE · Nov 24, 2023

fg2001gf11F said:
You have the option to download the ISO without MCT.

Download Windows 11

The only problem is that the one downloadable now is an older Build 22631.2428 instead of the current one 22631.2715.

View attachment 78954

one + for win11 then.... But you can not do that with windows10 :wink:

I just checked with my win8 computer

Berton · Nov 24, 2023

A problem now exists in that Microsoft has stopped all activations from Win7 and Win8/8.1 to Win10, last month.

windows 8 and 7 stopped from upgrading to windows 10 at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

Bree · Nov 24, 2023

Berton said:
Not missing anything, opening the MCT file does 1 thing, it opens the page where one can either download the .iso file or create/write the USB drive.

Not quite, the MCT always downloads the same set of component files and then creates the .iso or the USB from them.

fg2001gf11F · Nov 24, 2023

Bree said:
Not quite, the MCT always downloads the same set of component files and then creates the .iso or the USB from them.

It is silly that MCT cannot create the USB directly from an already downloaded ISO.
They had that functionality even with Windows 7, should be pretty easy to implement the same capability with windows 11.
What is preventing them from doing something so basic?

Bree · Nov 24, 2023

fg2001gf11F said:
It is silly that MCT cannot create the USB directly from an already downloaded ISO..... What is preventing them from doing something so basic?

Yes, really silly. But MS are in uncharted waters here. This is the first time ever that the install.esd has ended up larger than 4GB.

The really sensible thing would have been for the MCT to make an ISO with the same split install.swm files as the USB. Don't they realise that most of us make just the one ISO, then copy its files to as many USBs as we need?

Bree · Nov 24, 2023

Anibor_11 said:
Just insert the UFD and format it with FAT32 (if necessary). Mount the ISO with double click, copy all the files to the UFD.

Doesn't work, the install.esd in the 23H2 ISO made by the MCT is 4.45GB - that's too large for Fat32.

SIW2 · Nov 24, 2023

I havent got an esd lying around to test if it can be split into .swm in one step rather than convert to .wim then split to .swm

Bree · Nov 24, 2023

SIW2 said:
I havent got an esd lying around to test if it can be split into .swm in one step rather than convert to .wim then split to .swm

I have, it can....

fg2001gf11F · Nov 24, 2023

Bree said:
Yes, really silly. But MS are in uncharted waters here. This is the first time ever that the install.esd has ended up larger than 4GB.

The really sensible thing would have been for the MCT to make an ISO with the same split install.swm files as the USB. Don't they realise that most of us make just the one ISO, then copy its files to as many USBs as we need?

I think they are still stuck with the idea of creating the ISO that can be used for a DVD or Blue Ray where they don't want to split to .swm.
Nobody is using DVDs anymore for creating the installation media.

B.T.W.
Splitting the .esd works, it just takes a little longer than splitting a .wim.

Redirecting

Note:
The ISO with split install*.swm files works fine for clean install or update in place, it fails if used with Rufus 4.3 to install Windows11 to Go.
Looks like Rufus cannot handle that split situation, it works only with an ISO file with install.wim or install.esd.

Marie SWE · Nov 24, 2023

Bree said:
Yes, really silly. But MS are in uncharted waters here. This is the first time ever that the install.esd has ended up larger than 4GB.

The really sensible thing would have been for the MCT to make an ISO with the same split install.swm files as the USB. Don't they realise that most of us make just the one ISO, then copy its files to as many USBs as we need?

yeah.. and if you remove all bloat like Xbox, and all those programs, the file becomes less then 4GB
So if MS just give a darn about stuffing the crap with all kind of stuff people can install manually IF they want it.. Then the problem would not exist

as i said.. MS has not done anything right since 2008. *LOL*

Megahertz · Nov 25, 2023

Bree said:
Yes, really silly. But MS are in uncharted waters here. This is the first time ever that the install.esd has ended up larger than 4GB.

The really sensible thing would have been for the MCT to make an ISO with the same split install.swm files as the USB. Don't they realise that most of us make just the one ISO, then copy its files to as many USBs as we need?

In my opinion the Win 10 or Win 11 iso file should come with Install.wim instead of install.esd or install.swm
The original install.wim is used on some operations that can't be done with install.esd or install.swm.
I don't understand why Microsoft MCT don't create a USB with two partitions. One small (700M) Fat32 partition with all files and folders with \sources with only boot.wim and another NTFS partition with \sources with all files except boot.wim.

fg2001gf11F · Nov 25, 2023

Megahertz said:
In my opinion the Win 10 or Win 11 iso file should come with Install.wim instead of install.esd or install.swm
The original install.wim is used on some operations that can't be done with install.esd or install.swm.
I don't understand why Microsoft MCT don't create a USB with two partitions. One small (700M) Fat32 partition with all files and folders with \sources with only boot.wim and another NTFS partition with \sources with all files except boot.wim.

Agree, install.wim would be desired for the ISO.
MCT should have the option to create the bootable USB media directly from the ISO downloaded.
At that time, if the install.wim is greater than 4GiB, it could either split the install.wim, or create the 2 partitions USB, whichever is easier.
Both solutions will work.
There should be no need for a separate download to create the ISO and another download to create the USB flash.

Many different links on the web for creating the 2 partions USB flash.

Create Bootable USB For Windows 10 Install.wim Larger Than 4GB

How to Create Bootable USB For Windows 10 Install.wim Larger Than 4GB The days of burning operating system ISO images to a disc are long gone. Today most

winaero.com

Try3 · Nov 25, 2023

fg2001gf11F said:
There should be no need for a separate download to create the ISO and another download to create the USB flash

There isn't.

Denis

fg2001gf11F · Nov 25, 2023

Try3 said:
There isn't.

Denis

If you are using the current 23H2 MCT version, it is a separate download just to make the USB flash.

Try3 · Nov 25, 2023

fg2001gf11F said:
If you are using the current 23H2 MCT version, it is a separate download just to make the USB flash.

You can download the ISO then make the USB from it yourself without any additional download being required.

All the best,
Denis

Try3 · Nov 25, 2023

@Brink,

In Option 2, Step 5 does not happen. When I do Step 4, it just starts downloading to my already-defined Downloads folder without any dialog being shown.
Not a great bother.
I'm using Firefox to download the King's English version.

Thought you'd like to know,
Denis