1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,520 You've built a new PC or upgraded your existing one, and now it's time to install Windows. 2 00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:09,440 Pretty straightforward, right? Isn't it just a case of inserting installation USB, 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,640 clicking through the prompts and arriving at your fresh new desktop? 4 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:17,280 Well, it turns out there are still issues that you can run into even though the process is supposed 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:21,440 to be mostly automated. We're going to tell you all about these issues and how to avoid them, 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:25,040 starting with the first screen you see once the installer loads up. 7 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:29,760 If you're attempting to install Windows 11 without extra bloatware, pick English 8 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:34,960 World in the time and currency format field. You might get an error message, but just skip it, 9 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,960 and once you get into the Windows desktop, you will need to change your country to the 10 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,560 appropriate setting in order to get the Microsoft Store working. 11 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:48,720 As if there's something on the Microsoft Store that you want. Just joking, sometimes they force 12 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:53,200 you. But regardless of whether you care about bloatware, what if the installer doesn't even 13 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,680 list your system's drives when it asks you where you want to install Windows? 14 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:02,720 Although Windows can usually recognize your drives automatically, there are still times 15 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:08,000 when this won't happen. Fortunately, you can always download storage drivers from the manufacturer's 16 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:14,400 website and either put them on your installation USB before installing Windows or on a different USB 17 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:19,360 if your computer has another free port. Click Load Driver, follow the instructions, 18 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,600 and your drive should pop up. Speaking of drives, it can also be a good idea 19 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:29,360 to disconnect any extra drives before you install Windows. Not only does this ensure 20 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:34,000 you won't accidentally pick the wrong drive, but Windows can sometimes weirdly install 21 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:39,200 certain installation files on a separate disk, especially if you already have another copy 22 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:44,320 of Windows installed on that drive. So if you ever remove or wipe that drive, your Windows 23 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:48,960 installation could just stop working. But once you get past these first few steps, you can still 24 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:54,720 get chipped up because of the way Windows 11 installer now requires you to be online. 25 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,040 Previous versions of Windows allowed you to skip through network setup, but 26 00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:06,080 no longer! This presents a couple of problems. The first is that, like with drives, the Windows 27 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:11,600 installer sometimes won't automatically install a driver for your Ethernet or Wi-Fi controller. 28 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:16,880 Fortunately, also with drives, you can mitigate this problem by downloading the driver beforehand. 29 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:22,320 But you'll need a bit of command line wizardry to install them. Hold Shift and F10 to bring up 30 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:28,080 the command prompt. Type in this command to open up the device manager, find your Ethernet or Wi-Fi 31 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:34,720 adapter, and update the driver manually. But here's the other problem. What if you want to bypass 32 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:40,560 the need for an internet connection entirely? This can be a legitimate concern if you don't want 33 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:46,240 to sign up for a Microsoft account, or you simply need to get into Windows and you're in a place 34 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:51,360 without a connection handy. Imagine that. And unlike previous versions of Windows, 35 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:56,320 you're not presented with an option to just use a local account. To get around this, 36 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:00,320 ensure you're not connected to the internet. Disconnect your Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi adapter 37 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:05,040 if you have to, and bring up the command prompt again. Type in this command and the computer 38 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:09,920 will restart. After going through the subsequent screens, you should see an option that says 39 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:14,960 I don't have internet, which you can click through to a limited setup option that will let you 40 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:20,800 proceed without an internet connection. Will this approach work forever? Given Microsoft's push to 41 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,720 continue integrating Windows with its cloud services, it's anyone's guess whether they'll make 42 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:29,360 offline installation even harder in the future. Do you have any suggestions for your fellow users 43 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:34,800 faced with a new Windows 11 install? Let us know down below. And if you want to find out why Windows 44 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:40,080 11 still doesn't have all that many users compared to Windows 10, go watch this video next.