Windows 11 is officially out, and early adopters have reported bugs and issues with the next generation of Windows. While many of these issues should get sorted windows 10 clean install guide reddit free pretty quickly by Microsoft, if you encounter one it clan matter how soon a fix might come — you want to know what's going wrong with your PC, and how to deal with it. To help you solve your Windows 11 woes, we've pulled together this guide to the most common Windows 11 problems we're seeing right now, and what if anything can be done about them.

Even though Windows 11 launched October 5, that doesn't mean you'll have an easy time installing it. Microsoft has set some pretty steep Windows 11 system requirementsand if your PC doesn't meet them you'll hit a wall when trying to install Windows 11 or upgrade to it from Windows Here's what you need:.

There are a number of different ways this issue can impede you. To solve the problem, the first thing insttall do is windows 10 clean install guide reddit free that the PC you want to install Windows 11 on meets the minimum requirements.

The fastest way is to download Microsoft's PC Health Check app opens in new tab from the Windows 11 website the link to "download PC Health Check app" is at the bottom of the page windows 10 clean install guide reddit free run it. The PC Health Check app will then tell you whether your PC meets the minimum requirements to install Windows 11, and what needs to be fixed in order to meet them. If your PC doesn't meet the Windows 11 system requirements: Windows 11 won't install unless your PC meets the minimum requirements, iinstall windows 10 clean install guide reddit free are more onerous than others.

This is ostensibly so Windows 11 will be more secure. And if you have a PC built within the last years, there's a chance that even if you don't have TPM 2. If you can enable it, that might let you install Windows 11 with no trouble. However, it's quite possible to run Windows 11 on a PC that doesn't meet all the minimum requirements. If you do a clean install of Windows 11 using windows 10 clean install guide reddit free ISO fileyou will often have the option to proceed with installing Windows 11 even though your system is non-compliant -- you'll simply get a warning that it may cause you to not receive important Windows 11 updates, and may cause damage to your PC very unlikely.

First, you could try to upgrade to Windows 11 without a TPM using this script trickwhich basically fools the Windows 11 installer into letting you proceed. You can also try to bypass Windows 11's ridiculous system requirements with this hack windoows from Microsoft. It can be a little dicey since windows 10 clean install guide reddit free have to edit your Windows registry, but it comes directly from Microsoft and is listed on their public support page, so it should be pretty safe.

When in doubt, back up your PC and important files before trying! Your PC meets the Windows 11 minimum system requirements: If your PC meets the Windows 11 minimum system requirements and passes the PC Health Check with flying colors, that still doesn't mean Microsoft will let you upgrade to Windows Windows 11 is a free upgrade for Windows 10 owners, but the offers to vree are rolling out gradually through mid Newer, more compliant PCs should get priority, and if you're running Windows 10 you should get your offer to upgrade through Windows Onstall -- but it may not come for months yet.

You could also run out and buy a new PC with Windows 11 pre-installed, but that seems like a pricey solution. Windws is reporting some compatibility issues between Windows 11 and some Intel networking software that may cause early adopters to experience some Internet issues.

According to Microsoft, some Intel "Killer" and "SmartByte" networking software is not playing nicely with Windows Yuide can cause Windows 11 PCs with said software to experience decreased Internet performance, most notably slower loading of websites and videos. As with the former AMD issues that Microsoft has fixedif you think you might have this problem there's not much we can recommend here beyond waiting for Microsoft to patch the issue.

The company originally planned to release a fix by October 12 opens in new tab. At the time of this writing, no such fix has been issued.

Some folks who beta-tested Windows 11 before it was released report opens in new tab that they have a problem with still seeing the Windows 10 Start menu and taskbar despite having upgraded. If this happens to you, don't worry: it appears windows 10 clean install guide reddit free be a simple fix.

Then, select update KB and uninstall it, then reboot your PC -- you should hopefully have a working Windows 10 Start menu and taskbar. Now, head to Windows Update windows 10 clean install guide reddit free reinstall the update you deleted -- in this case, KB -- and you should be back to a lcean functioning Windows Do note that this can be done with relative safety, so if deleting and reinstalling KB doesn't work, you can try the same trick with other Windows updates to see if it fixes the issue on your PC.

As with any new software there's bound to be some visual bugs and oddities cropping up in Windows 11, but many users are reportedly seeing one issue in particular: sometimes when they hit the Start button to bring up the new centered Start menu, Windows 11 won't register any keyboard input. That's a instll for people who like to use the Start menu's built-in search feature, and it can seriously slow down your workflow.

Luckily, Microsoft's suggested workaround is simple: if you find your Start menu won't cpean anything you type, Microsoft recommends you open the Run app. Once insatll open the Run app, windows 10 clean install guide reddit free should be able to close it without doing anything and your Start menu should return to normal working order.

It's yet unclear when we should expect Microsoft to roll out a fix for this bug, but windows 10 clean install guide reddit free the solution is pretty simple it shouldn't slow you down too much. If you find yourself frustrated by what seems like a instal, delay in the context menu opening every time you right-click something in Windows 11, don't worry — you're not alone.

There's appears to be a small bug which is causing Windows 11's new context menu to load slowly for some users. Reports of these delays describe them as lasting anywhere from half a second to a couple of seconds, and Windows Latest reports opens in new tab that Microsoft has already begun testing a preview build of Windows 11 build that includes a fix for this issue, although fortunately there are also other ways you can learn how to speed up Windows Alex Wawro is a lifelong tech and games enthusiast with more than a decade of experience covering both for outlets like Game Developer, Black Hat, and PC World magazine.

He currently serves as a senior editor at Tom's Guide covering all things computing, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice. Tom's Guide Tom's Guide. Alex Wawro. Topics Computers. See all comments 4. I found that the Verge had an article about editing the registry to make it easy to windows 10 clean install guide reddit free a non-supported computer. See them here: How to install windows 11 unsupported cpu.

Does anybody know if the new patch fixed the video driver lag issue? This is where you get a noticeable 2 sec?

This is not a good situation in a fast-paced video game. The solution to the problem is to remove all video drivers and install the windows default. I've got no more lag, but two hirez monitors that show text at x resolution :.

I've also found numerous issues with iTunes running on Windows After I upgraded my grandpa's laptop to Windows 11, his iTunes files pretty much just malfunctioned.

It started off with deleting all of his 7 years' worth of playlists and then wiping his connected iPod, and now iTunes is struggling to find its music files.

I've tried everything under the sun to fix it, including spending numerous hours on the phone with Windows and Apple support. I've finally accepted defeat and will be doing a clean install of Windows 10 on his wkndows in a couple of days until Microsoft can figure their crap out.

Windows 10 clean install guide reddit free. How to do a clean installation of Windows 10

Updated, July 31 BST EDT : This story has been updated with a few more details, and some other quicker ways of achieving an almost-clean installation of Windows Fortunately, if you're running Windows 7 or 8, and you really want to use your free Windows 10 licence key to perform a clean installation rather than upgrade, there insrall a solution. It's pretty convoluted, but it works. First, you need to do an in-place upgrade to Windows If you use the download tool, make sure you select "Upgrade this PC now.

Once celan upgrade has completed, make sure you've been activated by Microsoft. It will say on the right whether you're activated or not see image. Also note down what version of Windows 10 you have Home, Pro. If you windows 10 clean install guide reddit free yet been activated, you can try forcing it via command prompt: run cmd.

You may need to try a few times, as the activation servers were being hit quite hard. Now you need to install Windows 10 again!

Grab the Windows 10 download tool and run it. This time, select "Create installation media for another PC. Now, proceed with a clean installation of Windows 10 select "Custom: Install Windows only" when prompted. When it asks you for a product key, click Skip. If it asks you multiple times, just keep hitting Skip. Once you've installed Windows 10, it should activate normally.

Again, you might need to manually slam the servers using slmgr. In theory, you should be able to reinstall Windows 10 again in the future on the same PC, but if you make significant hardware changes you might need to use the manual telephone activation process. Currently, windoqs isn't clear if you can take your freebie Windows 10 licence key and use it to install Windows 10 on another machine.

Some users are reporting that ProduKey, Magic Jelly Bean, and other key-viewing tools have enabled them to get a new Windows 10 licence key that can be used on another machine, but some users are just guidr a generic licence windows 10 clean install guide reddit free that isn't transferable. Your windows 10 clean install guide reddit free may vary.

Obviously, it's crazy that you have to go through a full OS installation just to upgrade a licence key. If you bought a retail copy of Windows 10, this guide doesn't apply to you at all: you'll have a Windows 10 licence key that can be used directly during the installation process. Another option, rather than windows 10 clean install guide reddit free Windows 10 twice, is to click the small "change what to keep" button during installation, and then select "nothing" from the following screen.

This will delete all of your files, apps, and settings. This will be functionally the same as performing a clean windows 10 clean install guide reddit free, but there may be small underlying differences. Another method is to upgrade to Windows 10, head into the new Settings app, and go to "Update and recovery.

Again, windowws isn't quite the same as a clean installation, but it's very similar. If you do opt for the upgrade-then-install method, one slightly faster route is to download and burn an ISO the first windows 10 clean install guide reddit free you run the tool, and then upgrade from that ISO.

You can then use the same installation media to do a clean installation, rather than downloading Windows 10 again using the tool. If you get the following error when trying to activate Windows 10, don't panic: "Error code: 0xCC Activation server determined that the key has been blocked.

Of course, if you're not actually using a legitimate licence key, then You must login or create an account to comment. Skip to main content Updated, July 31 BST EDT : This story has been updated with a few more fee, and some other quicker ways of achieving an almost-clean installation of Windows Reddot usually writes about low-level hardware, software, and transport, but it is emerging science and the future of technology that really get him excited.

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