How to install Win-10 on a M/C that came with Win-11


sean

Member
Local time
11:08 PM
Posts
58
OS
Win 7
Hello,

I got a brand new Dell Workstation 3660 with following specs.

i-7 12700
2 NVIDIA T-600 Cards To Run 8 Monitors
Win-11 Pro
Three M.2 NVMe 512GB where Win-11 is on one of them
Three 4TB SATA 5400 rpm HDD
Eight 24 inch Monitors ( 1920 x 1200 ) Resolution

I am running into lots of issues starting from day one when Dell guy installed the system & for last 3 weeks Dell engineers have worked on it online & in person & reinstalling Win-11 with no success even with a small issue like Microphone not working & Dell is not helping or responding to my emails. So I want to try something different.

Remove the NVMe that has Win-11.

Put the blank NVMe in that slot & Fresh Install Win-10 on it.

Will that work or am I going to create more problems ? Meaning which drivers will I have to change & where can I find some of those ? ( Graphics I can from NVIDIA ) but what about BIOS OR Chipset or Sound ( Realtek ) I can't install them from Dell because I got M/C with Windows-11.

I read up on How to download Win-10 iso from MS & create a bootable USB pen drive with Rufus. Would I need a key for Win-10 to install it or do I get a 30 day trial ?

Please help.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell T-7500
    CPU
    Intel Xeon E5645@2.4 GHz
    Memory
    12 GB
You can clean-install Windows 10 by using Brink instructions.


Obtaining Hardware ID's to help Identify Hardware
- Go to Start and type in "devmgmt.msc" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Expand the "Unknown Device" category by clicking on the + sign to the left of it
- Right click on the "Unknown device" (if there's more than one, do this for all of them) and select Properties.
- Then select the Details tab.
- In the dropdown box, select "Hardware IDs" - and match the info to one of the following descriptions:
- - If the Hardware IDs description contains VEN_ and DEV_, then let us know the 4 characters immediately after the VEN_ and the 4 characters immediately after the DEV_
this is a PCI device and we'll look up the information at http://www.pcidatabase.com
- - If the Hardware IDs description contains VID_ and PID_, then let us know the 4 characters immediately after the VID_ and the 4 characters immediately after the PID_
this is a USB device and we'll look up the information at http://www.linux-usb.org/usb.ids
If you don't have those items in the Hardware IDs description, copy down the entire string of the first entry and include that with your next post.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
It appears that Dell offers Windows 10 drivers for the workstation (Dell drivers), so there should be no issue going to Windows 10.

I'm not certain, but I expect that your Windows 11 license is embedded in the machine's BIOS and would activate 10.

I strongly suggest imaging your Windows SSD before doing much. I use Macrium Reflect Free, and recommend it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Amd Threadripper 7970X
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte TRX50 Aero D
    Memory
    128GB (4 X 32) Kingston DDR5 5200 (RDIMM)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 4090 OC
    Sound Card
    none (USB to speakers), Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27E1N8900 OLED
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @ 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Crucial T700 2TB M.2 NVME SSD
    WD 4TB Blue SATA SSD
    Seagate 18TB IronWolf Pro
    PSU
    eVGA SuperNOVA 1600 GT
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo XL
    Cooling
    Alphacool Eisbaer Pro Aurora 360, with 3 Phanteks T30 fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech K120 (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
    Internet Speed
    1200 Mbps
  • Operating System
    windows 11 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Intel I9-13900K
    Motherboard
    Asus RoG Strix Z690-E
    Memory
    64GB G.Skill DDR5-6000
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 3090 ti
    Sound Card
    built in Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus PA329C
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850 1TB
    8 TB Seagate Ironwolf
    4TB Seagate Ironwolf
    PSU
    eVGA SuperNOVA 1300 GT
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo
    Cooling
    Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX Liquid CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
    Keyboard
    Logitech K120 (wired)
My Dells came with Win10 Pro and Upgraded to Win11 Pro, Notebook in Oct. and Desktop in April. They with a Cloning feature in the Dell SupportAssist software and other things like Reset, Restore along with some built-in Troubleshooting things.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 2TB WDC HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Hello,

I got a brand new Dell Workstation 3660 with following specs.


I am running into lots of issues starting from day one when Dell guy installed the system &

I don't know why you'd replace an OS on a "brand new" computer that had issues from day one instead of returning said PC for replacement? That makes no sense.

Additionally, how are you "so" sure Windows 11 is the culprit? on a day one PC that came out the store with issues? How do you know for sure there isn't a hardware issue with the PC?

Just seems to me you're listening to some Windows 11 nay-sayer push a false notion that somehow replacing the OS that should support the hardware it's installed on will fix a clearly faulty (according to your "day one" issues) PC that should be returned for replacement.

Good luck.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (Build 22631.3296)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    Intel i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Xtreme
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair RGB Dominator Platinum (3600Mhz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon VII
    Sound Card
    Onboard (ESS Sabre HiFi using Realtek drivers)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242w (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    5 Samsung SSD drives: 2X 970 NVME (512 & 1TB), 3X EVO SATA (2X 2TB, 1X 1TB)
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova I000 G2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Cooler Master H500M
    Cooling
    Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
    Keyboard
    Logitech Craft
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    500mb Download. 11mb Upload
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    System used for gaming, photography, music, school.
  • Operating System
    Win 10 Pro 22H2 (build 19045.2130)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z270X-GAMING 8
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair Dominator Platinum (3333Mhz)
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R9 Fury
    Sound Card
    Onboard (Creative Sound Blaster certified ZxRi)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2415 (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    3 Samsung SSD drives: 1x 512gig 950 NVMe drive (OS drive), 1 x 512gig 850 Pro, 1x 256gig 840 Pro.
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova 1000 P2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Phantek Enthoo Luxe
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 710
    Internet Speed
    100MB
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    This is my backup system.
I don't know why you'd replace an OS on a "brand new" computer that had issues from day one instead of returning said PC for replacement? That makes no sense.
They are removing the drive with Windows 11 and replacing it with a drive that they want to install Windows 10 on. IMHO, that's a good way to see if it's a problem with Windows 11 or the hardware. If they still have the problems all they have to do is replace the drive and return the computer.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec B746
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-10700K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
    Memory
    16GB (8GB PC4-19200 DDR4 SDRAM x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SAM0A87 Samsung SAM0D32
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    NVMe WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 1TB
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
    PSU
    750 Watts (62.5A)
    Case
    PowerSpec/Lian Li ATX 205
    Keyboard
    Logitech K270
    Mouse
    Logitech M185
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge and Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET Internet Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec G156
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
    Memory
    16 MB DDR 4-2666
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Speptre HDMI 75Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe
    Mouse
    Logitek M185
    Keyboard
    Logitek K270
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge and Edge Canary
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
They are removing the drive with Windows 11 and replacing it with a drive that they want to install Windows 10 on. IMHO, that's a good way to see if it's a problem with Windows 11 or the hardware. If they still have the problems all they have to do is replace the drive and return the computer.
And IMHO, I disagree and think the laptop should be replaced as explained. I see no reason to keep a brand-new PC that's been having problems from day one. As I said... it makes no sense. IMHO.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (Build 22631.3296)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    Intel i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Xtreme
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair RGB Dominator Platinum (3600Mhz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon VII
    Sound Card
    Onboard (ESS Sabre HiFi using Realtek drivers)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242w (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    5 Samsung SSD drives: 2X 970 NVME (512 & 1TB), 3X EVO SATA (2X 2TB, 1X 1TB)
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova I000 G2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Cooler Master H500M
    Cooling
    Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
    Keyboard
    Logitech Craft
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    500mb Download. 11mb Upload
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    System used for gaming, photography, music, school.
  • Operating System
    Win 10 Pro 22H2 (build 19045.2130)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z270X-GAMING 8
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair Dominator Platinum (3333Mhz)
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R9 Fury
    Sound Card
    Onboard (Creative Sound Blaster certified ZxRi)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2415 (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    3 Samsung SSD drives: 1x 512gig 950 NVMe drive (OS drive), 1 x 512gig 850 Pro, 1x 256gig 840 Pro.
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova 1000 P2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Phantek Enthoo Luxe
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 710
    Internet Speed
    100MB
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    This is my backup system.
Take a note of your Service Tag. You can see it on a little sticker on the computer, or on the BIOS, or with a utility such as Aida64 or Speccy. If using Aida64 go to Computer -> DMI -> System and see the Serial Number or SKU value. Open Dell's site go to support, put your Service Tag to go to your specific model, then download ALL available drivers, even if Windows Update automatically finds and installs some of them. It doesn't harm to have them handy. Copy all drivers to a USB flash drive and then you can replace your disk and install Windows 10. If creating the USB flash drive with Rufus, select the UEFI (GPT) option to make sure it can boot on your computer. Also some NVMe drives can only boot in UEFI mode, not Legacy BIOS, so make sure your USB is UEFI bootable.

TIP: Disconnect your LAN cable so you have no internet access. This will allow you to create a local account instead of a Microsoft account to use after installation is complete. In Windows 11 Pro just click I don't have an Internet connection to create a local account. In Windows 11 Home you have to end task the Network configuration dialog to proceed. To do that press SHIFT+F10 to open a Command Prompt window. Then execute the command taskmgr to open Task Manager. Click on More details to reveal all tabs, go to Details tab, scroll down the list to find OOBE...network... task. Select it and click End Task. Close the Task Manager and Command Prompt windows. Now you should be offered to create a local account.

Once you are at the desktop, you can keep disconnected from the internet, use your USB to install all the drivers you downloaded earlier starting with the chipset driver and then go back online to activate Windows. You don't need any new license your Windows 11 license should automatically activate Windows 10 too. If Windows Setup didn't pick the Windows key from UEFI Firmware (BIOS) and you are prompted for a key, click I don't have a key and you should be asked for which version to install. Make sure you select the SAME version (Home or Pro) as your Windows 11 so it will find the appropriate data on Microsoft servers and activate once online.
 
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My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v23H2 (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Patriot Burst Elite 480GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Stock Intel CPU Fan, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
I sincerely want to THANK each & everyone of you for being so kind & taking time to help me out.

There is lot to digest & learn.

The reason I want to try Win-10 is that other people have found same problems I have with Win-11. I am not removing Win-11. Just removing the NVMe that has Win-11 & place a blank NVMe in its place. So I will always have Win-11 just in case.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell T-7500
    CPU
    Intel Xeon E5645@2.4 GHz
    Memory
    12 GB

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