Make this make sense please

Once again, performing a clean install of Windows 11 has proven to be a complete nightmare...

Basically, after months of Microsoft embedding the monthly cumulative updates onto the flash drive created using the MCT usually the following Thursday after Patch Tuesday, this month this wasn't the case.
At least, after creating a bootable flash drive, the window where it shows the progress, what's going on (DL, installing etc.) was finally there for the second time since Windows 25H2 came out. Until it wasn't.
I've tried for a few days performing a clean install and the window is gone again. Not only do I have to stare at the step where I name my device and listen to the laptop fans like an idiot to know more or less when everything is done, the monthly cumulative update is not automatically installed. Instead, it has to be installed through Windows Update.
No big deal you might think. Nope, it's actually a big deal. The latest Intel graphics for my rig came out AFTER the cumulative update was made public and now there's some glitches if I install them on a system without the latest cumulative.
But what about installing the graphics afterwards? If I install the cumulative update manually and then the graphics drivers Windows will then automatically install older graphics. Not to mention that sometimes the graphics drivers aren't even recognized... I'm sure there's ways to prevent this but I don't want to have to babysit an OS like a baby when basic stuff should work as intended. I'd understand if I used a bunch of 3rd party software that makes the desktop look like a Christmas Tree and there was some conflicts and whatnot but holy rubbish, I'm just asking for basic stuff to work in a basic way. I'm completely fed up with this OS.

I'm not quite sure I can make any sense of what you're trying to do and/or describe, but ....
(EDIT Apart from the fact that it may be a faulty USB or incorrectly created. Are you booting from the USB or running it from within the existing installation? EDIT)

Have you tried Rufus? I do ALL my clean installs, irrespective of the status of the device and/or hardware, using Rufus and a newly downloaded W11 ISO

No, I haven't. Technically, a flash drive created using the MCT should be the cleanest method of installing Windows, but MS somehow manages to screw up anything along the way.

idgat said:

I'm not quite sure I can make any sense of what you're trying to do and/or describe, but ....
(EDIT Apart from the fact that it may be a faulty USB or incorrectly created. Are you booting from the USB or running it from within the existing installation? EDIT)

Have you tried Rufus? I do ALL my clean installs, irrespective of the status of the device and/or hardware, using Rufus and a newly downloaded W11 ISO

Click to expand...

There doesn't seem to be a problem with the flash drive at all. I actually used a different one a few months ago and installs were also chaotic.
I'm booting from the USB and formatting and deleting all partitions.

JaxTD said:

a flash drive created using the MCT should be the cleanest method of installing Windows

Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Multiple 3rd party options work just as well, some as simple as Rufus, others using programming options

JaxTD said:

I actually used a different one a few months ago and installs were also chaotic.

Click to expand...

That would suggest a flawed creation, for whatever reason. Go Rufus.

No point to add updates to an old ISO. Just download latest official Windows 11 25H2 ISO from Microsoft and clean install Windows. I downloaded it yesterday to upgrade my father's computer and it was build 8037. Not that old. Then just use Windows Update to reach current build. Much easier and much faster. Even if you want the ISO for doing an in-place upgrade/repair, you can use an older build of the same version. For example use 8037 ISO to fix 8655. In worst case you will then have to reinstall some updates.


Alternatively, you can download latest ISO (currently build 8037) and then use a utility such as NTLite to inject the latest updates if you want to have the latest build.