Solved Windows 11 clean install with format


Keith Weisshar

Well-known member
VIP
Local time
2:42 AM
Posts
97
Location
Hazlet, NJ
OS
Windows 11 Pro
If I have a network adapter that is released after Windows 11 is released, is there a way to continue and install the network driver if during the OOBE Windows 11 can't detect the Ethernet connection and the network adapter list on the Let's connect you to a network screen is completely blank and shows nothing? This could happen if there are no inbox network driver for newer network adapters included on future motherboards released after Windows 11 is released. The Home edition requires internet connection and Microsoft Account to complete setup otherwise it will get stuck with no access to desktop to install driver either from motherboard support CD/USB or downloaded from another PC to USB.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Digital Storm
    CPU
    Intel Core i9 9900K 3.8GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z390 Maximus XI Hero Wi-Fi
    Memory
    16GB DDR4 2666MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 2060
    Sound Card
    Realtek Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VG-245H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB
    PSU
    850W
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF-932
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Razer DeathStalker V2 Pro
    Mouse
    Razer Cobra Pro
    Internet Speed
    Gigabit
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
Your question is not completely clear because Windows 11 isn't released yet, so the network adapters introduced after its release simply cannot exist right now. So, it's more a theoretic question about possible Home Edition limitation which may or may not happen in the future.
Let's suppose that you already have an adapter which current beta or pre-released Windows 11 cannot detect or detects as unknown device and is unable to install the driver. One possible solution is to install a temporarily network adapter like external USB Wi-Fi and connect to local network or at least a mobile phone hotspot. You can even avoid to connect the OS account to MS account and skip all other network settings before you get normal access to Settings or Device Manager and install your driver normally.

If you ask if it's possible to manually add a specific driver during OS installation or add it to custom ISO or installation media, I didn't have such practice with Windows 11, but maybe someone else did.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro; Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-12700K (Alder Lake)
    Motherboard
    Asus PRIME Z690-M Plus D4
    Memory
    16 GB (2x8 Corsair DDR4-2132)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GeForce 1050 Ti, 4 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 235PQ
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Windows 11: Samsung SSD 870 EVO, 500 GB (SATA), MBR
    Windows 8.1: Samsung SSD 980 PRO, 500 GB (M.2), MBR
    PSU
    Platimax D.F. 1050 W (80 Plus Platinum)
    Internet Speed
    Local link 1 Gbps, provider's line 500 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller (for Windows 8.1 compatibility)
    Microsoft Office H&S 2013 x64
I haven't needed to do it, but I presume that there is a "load drivers" function during the installation, like for Windows 10. (Functionally similar to the "F6" thing with older versions of Windows.)

I wonder whether most Ethernet adapters would function with some generic drivers, like the Microsoft Basic drivers for graphics devices?
 

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)
The Home edition requires internet connection and Microsoft Account to complete setup otherwise it will get stuck with no access to desktop to install driver either from motherboard support CD/USB or downloaded from another PC to USB.
Windows 11 Home does not require an internet connection nor a Microsoft Account to complete setup. When you get to the screen that wants to connect to the internet, and there is no connection available, just press Alt + F4 to continue. Once you get into Windows 11 you can load the driver for the ethernet adapter from a DVD or USB flash drive.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
Windows 11 Home does not require an internet connection nor a Microsoft Account to complete setup. When you get to the screen that wants to connect to the internet, and there is no connection available, just press Alt + F4 to continue.
That hasn't worked since build 22000.132

Bree said:
I have just tried a clean install of Win11 Home build 22000.132 in a VM and that Alt+F4 trick no longer works. There is now no way to install W11 Home without an internet connection....
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/install-windows-11-home-using-local-account.23/post-24157

Kari said:
That doesn't work anymore with Windows 11 HOME edition, as @Bree told above. You cannot get through OOBE without Internet connection.
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/install-windows-11-home-using-local-account.23/post-24564
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Digital Storm
    CPU
    Intel Core i9 9900K 3.8GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z390 Maximus XI Hero Wi-Fi
    Memory
    16GB DDR4 2666MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 2060
    Sound Card
    Realtek Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VG-245H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB
    PSU
    850W
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF-932
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Razer DeathStalker V2 Pro
    Mouse
    Razer Cobra Pro
    Internet Speed
    Gigabit
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Security

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Digital Storm
    CPU
    Intel Core i9 9900K 3.8GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z390 Maximus XI Hero Wi-Fi
    Memory
    16GB DDR4 2666MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 2060
    Sound Card
    Realtek Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VG-245H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB
    PSU
    850W
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF-932
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Razer DeathStalker V2 Pro
    Mouse
    Razer Cobra Pro
    Internet Speed
    Gigabit
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Security

Latest Support Threads

Back
Top Bottom