How to download Windows 11

After hearing so much about Windows 11 and all its new ones, you’ve decided to inform yourself a little and look for information on how to get and install it, so you can try it out and see if it’s right for you. In short, you would need a hand to understand how to download Windows 11 , so as to update your computer to the latest version of the Microsoft operating system and you would like to know if I can help you.

If that’s the case, I’m happy to announce that in this guide I thought I’d collect the answers to your questions about the features, editions and requirements needed to install Windows 11, but above all about the download and installation procedure of the aforementioned operating system. both in the form of an update and an ISO image to be booted from any computer via USB media or DVD to perform a “clean” installation of the same.

Don’t worry, I want to immediately reassure you that the Windows 11 download and installation procedures are not at all complex as you might think, indeed I also tell you that a little patience and a minimum of attention to the steps described here are enough to be able to bring upon completion of this operation. What do you say? Is it time to get comfortable and delve into the simple steps of this guide? If you agree with me, then I wish you a big good luck and I wish you happy reading!

Index

• Preliminary information
• Windows 11 minimum requirements
• How to download Windows 11 for free
  • How to download Windows 11: ISO
  • How to download Windows 11 without TPM
  • How to download Windows 11 beta
• How to install Windows 11

Preliminary information

Before going into the details of the procedures, I think it is appropriate to specify what are the characteristics of Windows 11 , what more does this new operating system by Microsoft have compared to Windows 10 and what differences are there between its editions ?

Well, the idea around which the Microsoft developers intended to create this new operating system is to bring the user closer to the people and content that are most important to him. Reason why Windows 11 presents a renewed interface and a series of features all aimed at stimulating and facilitating the connection with people, news, but also video games, works and, in general, all kinds of content that the user cares about more.

To translate this philosophy into a system-user interaction relationship, Microsoft has envisaged the creation of a completely new Microsoft Store where developers can upload their apps with fewer barriers of costs and technical requirements and where users can download and use Android applications. .

Microsoft also confirmed that the new marketplace also supports third-party apps . An example? The apps available on the Amazon Appstore and Epic Store . To access these apps, you need to have an account for the respective third-party stores. This compatibility is supported by a specific Windows subsystem for Android supported and updated by the Microsoft Store and Windows Update.

Windows 11 also brings a breath of fresh air in the background management of updates . These in fact become “smaller”, so that they can be managed (for the most part) without asking the user for anything. The most substantial updates take place on an annual basis.

A new Start menu based on cloud technology and integrated with Microsoft 365 is also bringing the user of the system closer to its contents . More generally, the interface of widgets and windows has been updated to be an integral part of the use of Windows : the mirrors can now contain immediate information for example on the climate or on your calendar, but also the use of multiple desktops and the Microsoft Teams application , both tools customizable in use based on personal preferences.

A large part of the novelties of Windows 11 is reserved for gamers. Features exclusive to Windows 11 are integration with Xbox Game Pass for a much faster and more intuitive interaction with your titles, the Auto HDR function , to automatically improve color realism in games, DirectStorage technology is also included which allows saving and optimized reading on SSD media so as to minimize game loading times.

As for the editions of Windows 11, these are seven .

• Windows 11 Home
• Windows 11 Pro
• Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
• Windows 11 Pro Education
• Windows 11 Education
• Windows 11 Enterprise
• Windows 11 Mixed Reality

As for Windows 10, therefore, the two main versions of Windows 11 are Home and Pro. The differences between the two refer exclusively to the presence of specific functions valid above all in the working environment for the Pro version. These functions include that of Desktop remote , or other less known ones such as Active directory or NT domain access .

Another difference is in the hardware compatibility that in Windows 11 Pro exceeds that of “normal” home use (for example the support for two CPUs and up to 2 TB of RAM). Features that make the Pro version more suitable for creating a workstation. In general, the Home version of Windows 11 is ideal for home use, but also for small and medium-sized businesses or offices of the same size.

Windows 11 minimum requirements

Have you just finished reading the most salient features of Windows 11 and would like to know what are the minimum system requirements to be able to install and use it on your PC? Nothing simpler.

First of all, Windows 11 requires a 1 GHz processor with at least two or more cores, compatible with 64-bit system or System on a Chip (SoC). On the memory side, the minimum amount of RAM is 4GB , while a free disk space of at least 64GB is required . As for video features, a DirectX 12 / WDDM 2.x compatible graphics processor and a larger 9-inch screen with HD 720p resolution is required .

From the hardware point of view, the presence of the TPM 2.0 microcontroller (Trusted Platform Module 2.0, responsible for the encryption on the security of the PC hardware) is also necessary , I will focus on this with a specific chapter .

Finally, UEFI compatible system firmware , Secure Boot, and an Internet connection required to set up Windows 11 Home are required. Precisely on this last point it is also important to emphasize that you must have a Microsoft account to successfully complete the initial configuration. If you don’t have it yet, you can fix it right away by consulting my guide: how to create a Microsoft account .

These are the minimum requirements to install and use Windows 11, but obviously I want to clarify that specific functions may require further specifications. For example, for Auto HDR you need an HDR compatible monitor, or for the DirectStorage function you need an NVMe SSD and a video card with DirectX 12 support and shader 6.0 model . For complete specific hardware features, find more information here .

How do you say? Your computer does not exactly meet the official minimum requirements given by Microsoft and you would like to know if there is still a way to upgrade to Windows 11? Well, what I can tell you in this case is first of all to check through the appropriate web tool published by Microsoft on this page . In addition, you can further check if your CPU is in the supported list .

With the release of the stable version of Windows 11, Microsoft has also released a handy Windows 11 installation assistant , which can be downloaded directly from the site dedicated to downloading the operating system. Using it is very simple: connected to this page and to the entry Assistant for the installation of Windows 11, click on the Download now button and decide where to save the .exe file by clicking the Save button .

Now go to the path where you saved the file and open it with a double click, then press the Yes button . If the PC Integrity Checker app is not up to date, the program suggests you to upgrade, in which case click the Update button . If you are not getting progress, it could mean that you need to download the app, so click on the Get PC Health Check app entry .

From the new web page click on DOWNLOAD THE PC INTEGRITY CONTROL APP , once again decide where to download the file click the Save button . Now open the new file with a double click and check the box to accept the terms of the License Agreement , then click on the Install button . When finished, click the Finish button to open the program and click the Check Now button . Once this is done, if your PC is compatible, an on-screen message will be shown, otherwise the unsatisfied requirement will be shown.

As a further test, you can also go back to the Windows 11 Installation Assistant screen and click the Update button to get the check result. Essentially, the PC Health Check program provides more detailed feedback than the Assistant’s quicker check.

If even after these further checks you find incompatibility with Microsoft’s requirements of Windows 11, then I tell you that you can still install Windows 11 on old PCs , but with some limitations. First of all you cannot follow the simple update procedure , but you must continue with a clean installation from ISO, also you must consider that Microsoft does not guarantee updates for systems that have installed Windows 11 without respecting the requirements, nor does it guarantee system stability (or worse, any system malfunctions). Ultimately, this is a risky solution for security purposes and ensuring system compatibility.

How to download Windows 11 for free

That said, now that you know the Windows 11 system requirements, it’s time to take action and learn how to download Windows 11 .

After a long wait, the final release date of Windows 11 has finally come (to be precise October 5, 2021 ), so all computers that meet the minimum requirements are potential recipients of the update. This is in effect a free update of Windows 10 , reported by Microsoft itself in the form of an update.

Microsoft has specified that the availability of the update could vary in terms of date based on the monitoring of the hardware characteristics of PCs with Windows 10. The time perspective is mid-2022, a period within which all hardware eligible for Windows 11 will receive the invitation to update.

Unlike the beta version, to download the stable version, you don’t need to sign up for any program (I’m referring to Windows Insider). How do you say? Do you want to be sure you can get the upgrade to Windows 11? In this case you can follow these steps: click on the Start button , type “settings” and press the Enter key , scroll down the window that opens and click the Update and security item , finally click on the Check for updates button .

If your system is ready to receive Windows 11, this will be reported directly in this window. Obviously you can do the same even if you have recently bought a PC with Windows 10. In fact, the most recent configurations sold with the tenth version of the Microsoft operating system, most likely have an equipment capable of supporting Windows 11.

As for the procedure itself, after clicking on the check button for the availability of new updates, if your PC meets the requirements , the Download and install button is shown . Proceed by clicking the Accept and Install button , then wait for the update to finish downloading. Upon completion, the Restart button is shown , you can then proceed by clicking on it.

Well done! If everything went well, at the end of the update you can finally use the new Windows 11. However, if you want to find out how to install Windows 11 from the ISO, perhaps to use it on a PC other than the one with Windows 10 via update, continue with the reading of the next chapters.

How to download Windows 11: ISO

If you want to download the Windows 11 installation files to create an operating system installation DVD or USB stick , you should know that with the final release of the operating system, you no longer need to be enrolled in the Windows Insider program. Quiet, I’ll explain how to download Windows 11 for free .

The procedure starts from this page where you can click on the Select download drop-down menu under Download the Windows 11 disc image (ISO) to choose the Windows 11 option . Then click on the Download button and then on the Choose a language drop-down menu to select Italian and press the Confirm button . Finally, click on the 64-bit Download button to start the download.

Select the path where to save the file (if you don’t know where, choose the Desktop) and press the Save button . The total weight of the download is about 5 GB (consequently the media on which to transfer / mount the ISO must be at least 8 GB).

Since the official release of the first stable version of Windows 11 Microsoft has also released a Windows 11 Installation Media Creation tool , the purpose of which is to create a media for a clean installation of the operating system. To use it, linked to this page and to the item Creating installation media for Windows 11, click on the Download now button and decide where to download the file by clicking the Save button .

Proceed by opening the file you just downloaded with a double click and press the Yes button , wait for the upload and click the Accept button , then click the Next button . Then choose between USB flash drive and ISO file , the first option to create a USB media directly, while the second to download the ISO image and then burn it to DVD (for example).

To create a USB drive, insert one of at least 8 GB and only then click on the Next button to select it from those available. Then click the Next button one more time. Clearly any file contained on the stick will be removed, so make sure there is no important data. At the end of the procedure, you can close the program and continue with the installation procedure of Windows 11 .

If you proceed to download the ISO, you just have to press the Next button , choose where to download the image and click on the Save button , then you have to “manually” copy the ISO to USB . There are various ways to do this, as I have described to you in this tutorial , however the procedure involves the following steps.

• Make sure the media capacity is at least 8GB, that you have a fast internet connection (you can take a test by following this guide)
• Download the Rufussoftware by connecting to this page and clicking on the Rufus [version number] link under the Download section .
• Connect the USB stick and start Rufus by double clicking on the program icon, then select the stick from the Drivedrop-down menu , MBR as Partition scheme , BIOS (or UEFI CSM) as Target system , NTFS as file system, 4096 bytes ( Default) as Cluster size , assign a name of your choice by writing it in the Volume label box and finally click on the arrow View advanced drive options and check the Quick format , Create extended label and icon file boxes andControl test for incorrect unit blocks by assigning the choice 1 step to the drop-down menu . Finally, click on the SELECT button next to the Boot Selection item to navigate through the folders and select the Windows 11 ISO downloaded earlier.

Once these steps have been completed, start everything by pressing the START button and the OK button at the notice of loss of all data inside the USB stick. At the end of the process, your USB drive is ready to be used. The other possibility is to burn ISO to DVD and I tell you about this in my article how to burn ISO files .

Finally, there is a third way to open the ISO without necessarily burning it to a USB media or DVD: open it as a normal folder .

You read that right, you can double-click on the Windows 11 ISO to open it by “mounting” the image, so you just need to transfer the ISO file as it is to any USB stick or DVD with enough space to open it, leaving it to let Windows itself mount the image. The limitation lies in the fact of having to open the file from a Windows operating system, or with a third-party program that can mount the ISO to view its contents.

Once the ISO preparation is finished, you can go directly to the installation procedure , if instead you are looking for more information on how to pass the TPM 2.0 module check, please follow this procedure first .

How to download Windows 11 without TPM

As you yourself have seen by reading the minimum requirements of Windows 11, in order to install this new Microsoft operating system your PC must have a TPM 2.0 module .

Well, if you are interested in learning more about it, why not check if your PC is equipped with this module? The fastest method is to press the Start key , type Device Manager and press the Enter key . Now scroll down the list of different devices and click on the item Security devices : if your PC has a TPM 2.0 module then you should find the word Trusted Platform Module 2.0 .

If you have found that you have the module, you can follow the advice above , otherwise you can try to make changes to the registry .

This type of modification can be very dangerous, to the point of seriously compromising the normal and regular functioning of the operating system and causing vulnerabilities and system errors. My suggestion is to avoid this solution except in case you feel you are an experienced user.

If you still think it’s worth a try, start by opening the Start menu , then type regedit and hit the Enter key . Now type HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ Setup in the address bar at the top and press the Enter key .

Proceed by clicking with the right mouse button on the Setup folder (on the left), choose the New> Key items from the menu that opens and assign the name LabConfig to the key . Then right-click on the newly created key, select New> DWORD (32-bit) value and write BypassTPMCheck setting the value of the new key created to 1 .

Repeat the same operation by creating the BypassRAMCheck and BypassSecureBootCheck values and setting them to 1 . When you are done, close the Registry Editor. If the procedure is successful, you will be able to start the installation of Windows 11 normally.

How to download Windows 11 beta

If you are looking for how to download Windows 11 Insider and, therefore, how to download the beta version of Windows 11 to try out some features of the operating system in preview (as long as you give up some stability), know that you can easily do it by subscribing to the special Microsoft official program.

The procedure begins by registering at this link after logging into your Microsoft account by clicking the human silhouette logo at the top right and entering your email and password , then clicking the Next button .

With the release of the stable version of Windows 11, at the time of this writing, you can still download a beta version in ISO image format , similar to how I explained to you but by selecting the respective beta build from the drop-down menu. The same instructions as above apply to creating the installation media.

Beta version or not, now let me guide you through the installation process and basic setup of Windows 11.

How to install Windows 11

Whichever method you have chosen to use the Windows 11 ISO, all you have to do is start the installation program by double-clicking on the file .Setup.exe

Alternatively, you can insert the USB stick or DVD with the Windows installation files into your PC and boot from the drive in question. To do this, enter the BIOS and set USB or DVD devices as the main preferences in the boot hierarchy (if you don’t know how to do it, follow what I have explained to you here ).

At this point, in the first screen of the Windows installation, choose the language , the date and currency format and the keyboard language , respectively in the first, second and third drop-down menus.

After clicking on the Next button , you can immediately enter a Product Key to register the copy of the operating system, or you can proceed without, selecting the item I don’t have a product key and pressing the Next button .

On the new screen, check the terms and conditions box and click the Next button again . Now you can choose whether to continue with an installation that keeps the current Windows files and settings , or with a clean installation .

There is a substantial difference between these two installation methods: the first option, selectable by checking the Keep Windows settings, personal files, and apps item , installs Windows 11 while keeping programs, system preferences and files intact (if you start from Windows 10 on a compatible PC); the second, instead, selectable by checking the options change what to keep> nothing , deletes everything that is present on the PC to return a “clean” version of Windows 11.

If you choose to keep the current settings, the following steps may differ slightly (so expect fewer steps) from those described below where I report the “more complete” ones to complete a clean installation.

After confirming the choice and indicating the drive on which to install the operating system (you can choose whether to format it or not; if you do not format it, the current data will not be deleted, but all the files related to the old Windows installation will be moved to the Windows.old folder ), wait for the installation and any formatting times and wait for the PC to restart.

After restarting, a new Windows 11 setup screen will open: select the region you are in, assign a name to your PC , log in with your Microsoft account by entering your email and password and click on the Next button .

In the new screen, set a PIN to enter the system more quickly from the lock screen, click the Next button , select whether to restore files from previous OneDrive configurations or whether to set preferences from scratch by clicking on the respective buttons and click on the Next button . In the new screen choose your privacy preferences and press the Next button .

In the last two screens, choose whether to set your personal personalization preferences by selecting interests from the list and click the Next or Skip button if you do not want to express preferences. In the last step choose whether to save files on OneDrive and click the Next button .

By doing so, Windows 11 will start its first configuration and, after this last wait, you will be ready to use it as your new operating system!