Windows 11 installation looks different today

BlueShark · Mar 16, 2026

Is this something new in Windows? Has anyone seen this screen while installing Windows 11 24H2?

BlueShark · Mar 16, 2026

After completing it gives the normal screen following a restart.

BlueShark · Mar 16, 2026

Just when I thought had installed everything it had not. Makes me wonder why it spent all that time on the previous screens. It took like 20 minutes on a 1 Gbps connection with 16 GB or RAM on an i9-14900K.

hsehestedt · Mar 16, 2026

What you were seeing is the installation of a quality update during setup. In other words, if you are installing a build that is not the latest, Windows can download and install a newer build during setup. This can cause Windows setup to take a LOT longer to complete. However, note that there are ways to prevent this. I use unattended setup and have entries in there to stop this from happening but there are other methods as well.

The reason that you were seeing updates installed AFTER Windows was installed is that these are all other updates (not quality updates). These are much smaller than the quality updates and should install fairly quickly at least compared to a quality update.

But the point is that you will be better protected right after Windows is installed because the quality update will have included all the latest security updates, as well as bug fixes, latest features, etc.

Helmut · Mar 16, 2026

All standard stuff, you are way behind in updates. There is a version update as well that takes time.

hsehestedt · Mar 16, 2026

Helmut said:
There is a version update as well that takes time.

You will note that no version update was being installed after the initial installation of Windows. This is because it was installed (if one was available) during Windows setup.

Helmut · Mar 16, 2026

hsehestedt said:
You will note that no version update was being installed after the initial installation of Windows. This is because it was installed (if one was available) during Windows setup.

I don't care what the trivial detail is.

maur0 · Mar 16, 2026

BlueShark said:
Just when I thought had installed everything it had not. Makes me wonder why it spent all that time on the previous screens. It took like 20 minutes on a 1 Gbps connection with 16 GB or RAM on an i9-14900K.

View attachment 166011

Unacceptable that a top-of-the-line PC with a 14900 SSD takes 20 minutes to load. I gave up on the newer Windows 11 versions and am now using the 11 21h2 Lite version, which remains faster in any task than the 25h2 version. If you want to test it, the link to the custom ISO I use is in my signature.

pseymour · Mar 16, 2026

maur0 said:
am now using the 11 21h2 Lite version, which remains faster in any task than the 25h2 version. If you want to test it, the link to the custom ISO I use is in my signature

You've suggested this a dozen times probably. It's kind of irresponsible to suggest that people use an edition of Windows for which they're not licensed, being an Enterprise and an IoT edition.

garlin · Mar 16, 2026

If you're installing 24H2, all the official images (download ISO or Media Creation Tool) are behind in Windows Updates. For about two years, MS has been enforcing a mandatory update check in OOBE. Sometimes you're lucky and don't see the screen, but more often you do.

The solution is to use an already updated image to avoid the long wait (or to reduce the update time). Some users get their updated 24H2 images from the UUP dump website.

Try3 · Mar 16, 2026

BlueShark said:
Windows 11 installation looks different today
...
while installing Windows 11 24H2

That's a lot of work for an OS version that only has seven months supported life left.

Denis

hsehestedt · Mar 16, 2026

Helmut said:
I don't care what the trivial detail is.

While you may not care, others reading this thread might be interested in some of the specific details.

hsehestedt · Mar 17, 2026

Just returning to the topic of quality updates being installed during setup, I had noted earlier that there are several ways to skin that cat. The method that I use is to disable all network adapters upon entering OOBE and then re-enabling the adapters after that point like this:

XML:

<!--
******************************************************************************************************************
* This command disables all network adapters. Use this to prevent ALL updates from being installed during setup. *
* Note that if you use the option to block Quality updates and create a clean Start screen with minimal pins,    *
* then ZDP updates are not blocked. This should not be a big deal because they are small and install quickly,    *
* but you can use this option either with or without that option to ensure that all updates are blocked. Note    *
* that if you use this option you should also use the option to re-enable the network adapters before the        *
* Desktop is presented to the user to restore normal operation.                                                  *
******************************************************************************************************************
-->
                <RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>1</Order>
                    <Path>powershell.exe -Command &quot;Get-NetAdapter | ForEach-Object { Disable-NetAdapter -Name $_.Name -Confirm:$false }&quot;</Path>
                </RunSynchronousCommand>

Then I re-enable it like this:

XML:

<!--
*********************************************************************
* In OOBE you can disable the network to prevent updates from being *
* installed during setup. You only need this block if you use that  *
* option. This re-enables the network before the user sees the      *
* desktop to allow for proper operation of the system.              *
*********************************************************************
-->
                <SynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>4</Order>
                    <CommandLine>powershell.exe -Command &quot;Get-NetAdapter | ForEach-Object { Enable-NetAdapter -Name $_.Name -Confirm:$false }&quot;</CommandLine>
                </SynchronousCommand>

You will note from the above that I am automating this in an unattended setup, but you could do it manually as well and a quick search will reveal other methods (likely easier) to do this as well.

garlin · Mar 17, 2026

Code:

                <SynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>4</Order>
                    <CommandLine>cmd /c echo "127.0.0.1 sdx.microsoft.com" &gt;&gt; C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\HOSTS</CommandLine>
                </SynchronousCommand>

hsehestedt · Mar 17, 2026

garlin said:

Code:

                <SynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
                    <Order>4</Order>
                    <CommandLine>cmd /c echo "127.0.0.1 sdx.microsoft.com" &gt;&gt; C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\HOSTS</CommandLine>
                </SynchronousCommand>

That's clever. I like it. But I take it that at a later point in setup (like where I was re-enabling networking), that action must be reversed, right?

garlin · Mar 17, 2026

sdx.microsoft.com is mostly used for OOBE (Autopilot) API calls.

OOBE will force you to quality update during onboarding

It also serves Family Safety and Phone Link setup. I guess you might need to remove the host entry if you like those features.

Windows 11 installation looks different today

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