New 12700K Build initial installation setup questions

can I use my old windows 10 key to install windows 11 from a usb or do I need to buy a new os. Also how do I make sure all my drives are all GPT and Ueifi upon installation I want to use resizable bar and make sure my EFI BCD boot partion manager is only my OS drive I have like 5 drives.

1. Yes you can use your old Windows 10 key to install Windows 11
2. Please fill out your computer specs (especially your motherboard make/model)
3. Get Minitool Partition Wizard, install it... run the program and post a screenshot , showing all your drives.
4. You could post a screen shot of EaseUS Partition Master instead.



Pic should look like one of these...






Other things...

1. Clean install Windows 11
2. To make sure all Win 11 partitions are on the same drive... just unhook all the other drives during install.
3. For answers to the GPT question... we need the screenshot mentioned.
4. For answer to UEFI settings we need motherboard make/model.

A piece of advice, detach all other drives before you install any OS. Make sure you only have one drive. Your target OS drive. It will make your life easier and no need for boot manager app.

It’s a new build I don’t have the parts yet they are on their way I just want to make sure the drives will be GPT all of them when I format them and such especially the OS drive which will be an 970 evo nvme m.2. The rest are sata ssds. I assume since it’s a very recent build (12700k) everything is already UEFI. I can’t take any pics right now

This is the mobo I’m getting

I didn’t know if I needed to buy a new windows since I think my current key was win 10 Oem or if it would work with win 11 on a USB install

Your OEM key is tied to your old motherboard. Which will mean you may have to buy a new key. Or try to activate it by phone and tell them your mobo died and needed a new system. Work for me a while back.

Ok what about my other GPT and uefi questions and stuff

spartanz1080 said:

Ok what about my other GPT and uefi questions and stuff

Click to expand...

It's up to you whether the drives are GPT or MBR. You can set them either way.
As for the UEFI... that depends on the settings in the BIOS.

The drives will all be wiped clean and new

spartanz1080 said:

The drives will all be wiped clean and new

Click to expand...

Then if they are GPT just leave them that way. If they are MBR just convert to GPT

What are they out of the box how do I tell in the windows install menu

spartanz1080 said:

What are they out of the box how do I tell in the windows install menu

Click to expand...

Here...



And in the BIOS you'll probably see something like this...

1. Enable CSM so you can see the other settings.
2. The choose either: UEFI or UEFI and Legacy... either will work.
3. Personally, I always pick UEFI and Legacy. That gives me more options... down the road.






The reason I've linked these items in post #9 and this post... is so I don't have to type them out.
Just read them. Read the one in this post first. Then if you need to... read the one in post #9. :)



In post #2 the Clean Install link...

If the BIOS is set to UEFI or UEFI and Legacy... and when booting from the USB, you choose the UEFI option...
It should configure the drive as GPT automatically.

When starting the clean install... you need to tell the computer to boot from the USB stick that has the Windows installation media on it. On an ASUS board for example... as soon as the computer starts to boot, you would hit the F8 key.

You will see a list of all bootable devices. The USB stick with Windows on it, will show as "two" USB sticks. One will be UEFI the other won't. You want to choose the UEFI one.

That's pretty much all there is to it.


You can pre-pepare the drives as GPT, from within Windows or from bootable partitioning software, like Minitool Partition Wizard. Actually you can also do it from the command prompt as shown with the command in the item linked in post #9.

So once I configure the bios it will dictate what the drives are correct in the install menu

spartanz1080 said:

how do I tell in the windows install menu

Click to expand...

You don't, as everyone said make sure ONLY the system drive is installed during a clean install of windows. In the installation process, you delete all the partitions on the drive making it unallocated space. When asked where you want to install windows you select unallocated space. You always install Windows in unallocated space. The process will then format and build all the necessary operating system partitions for you. If your bios is set to UEFI, it will properly partition your drive accordingly.

okay so setting my csm to disabled and uefi in bios first should make that os drive GPT when install windows then connect my other drives and format them and they should be GPT too

spartanz1080 said:

then connect my other drives and format them and they should be GPT too

Click to expand...

No, it is not an automatic process. You can format and partition all your other drives however you like by using any partitioning software or Windows own Disk Management.

ok so just setting my BIOS mode to UEFI and csm to disable should make the OS drive GPT though

This is why @Ghot requested a screenshot of your current disk layout. By seeing what you have, he can best tell you what you need to do.

I haven't done this a lot, but I recall that new bare drives come as all unallocated space.

When Windows detects them, you'll be asked to set them up. The default should be GPT. I'd make one partition per drive, and do quick format to NTFS.

Quick and painless.

But its gonna be in a new PC so it doesent do anything in my current PC right now that are all GPT and a new motherboard

but right now in my current they are all GPT and I have CSM disabled and 4G encoding enabled because I am using resizable BAR with my rtx 3090 which I want to do on the New PC and mobo

But I can provide a pic of this computer I guess