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Set up a clean Windows 11 25H2 install from a USB drive

Wipe your PC and install Windows 11 25H2 from a bootable USB, with a working first-run setup and no leftover junk.

by@guidox updated:10/26/26 time:1 h level:Intermediate works on:Windows 11 25H2 (build 26200) tools:Media Creation Tool, USB 8 GB+
⚠ Safety notice

A clean install permanently erases all data on the target drive. Back up anything you need first.

TL;DR

Build a **Windows 11 25H2** USB with the official **Media Creation Tool**, boot from it, wipe the target drive and finish OOBE with a local or Microsoft account.

Before you start

Requirements

  • A USB stick, 8 GB or larger (will be erased)
  • A PC meeting Windows 11 requirements: TPM 2.0, UEFI, Secure Boot, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage
  • Admin rights on the machine you use to create the USB
  • Windows 11 download page: https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11
  • Backup of any data on the target PC
Step by step

Instructions

01

Download the official Windows 11 media tool

Go to https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11 and grab **Create Windows 11 Installation Media**. This ships the current **25H2** image. Run the downloaded **MediaCreationTool.exe** as admin.

tipIf you need an ISO instead, the same page offers a direct ISO download under Download Windows 11 Disk Image.
02

Create the bootable USB

In the tool pick **USB flash drive**, select your stick and let it write the image. This takes 15-30 minutes. All existing data on the USB is erased.

⚠ warningDouble-check the drive letter before confirming. The tool does not warn twice.
03

Boot the target PC from USB

Plug the USB into the target PC, power on and hit the boot menu key (**F12**, **F9**, **Esc** or **F2** depending on vendor). Pick the USB entry labeled **UEFI**. If Secure Boot blocks it, enable UEFI-only boot in **BIOS**.

04

Wipe the target drive and install

On the **Where do you want to install Windows?** screen, delete every partition on the target disk until it shows as **Unallocated Space**, then click **Next**. Setup creates the correct partitions and copies files. The PC reboots a few times.

⚠ warningDeleting partitions wipes the drive permanently. Confirm the disk number matches the target.
05

Bypass the Microsoft account requirement (optional)

If you want a local account on **Windows 11 Home** or **Pro**, at the **Let's connect you to a network** screen press **Shift+F10** to open a terminal and run the command below. The PC reboots and offers a local account prompt.

start ms-cxh:localonly
tipSkip this step if you want OneDrive, BitLocker key escrow and Store sync tied to a Microsoft account.
06

Finish OOBE and verify the build

Pick region, keyboard, account name and privacy toggles. On the desktop, open **Settings** then **System** then **About** and confirm the version reads **25H2**. Then run **Windows Update** until it reports no more updates.

winver
07

Install drivers from the vendor

Go to your motherboard, laptop or GPU vendor page and install chipset, Wi-Fi and GPU drivers directly. The ones Windows Update ships are generic. For NVIDIA use https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx and for AMD use https://www.amd.com/support.

Troubleshooting

Common issues

This PC can't run Windows 11 - TPM 2.0 required

Reboot into BIOS and enable **TPM** (Intel calls it **PTT**, AMD calls it **fTPM**) and **Secure Boot**. Re-run setup.

USB drive is not shown in the boot menu

Recreate the USB with the Media Creation Tool (GPT/UEFI format) and disable **CSM** / **Legacy Boot** in BIOS.

Setup hangs at Getting ready for a long time

Unplug all non-essential USB devices and secondary drives, then retry. A second storage drive with an old EFI partition often confuses setup.

We couldn't create a new partition

Unplug every other drive so only the target disk is connected, delete all partitions on that disk and continue.

FAQ

Frequently asked

Do I need a product key?

No. If the PC was previously activated with Windows 10 or 11, the digital license reactivates automatically once online.

Home or Pro?

Pro adds BitLocker, Hyper-V, Remote Desktop host and Group Policy. For a single home PC, Home is enough.

Will Windows 11 25H2 run on my 7th-gen Intel CPU?

Officially no. Unsupported installs work via the Rufus bypass or a registry tweak but will not receive guaranteed updates.

How to undo this

To go back to the previous Windows install, you need a backup image taken before the wipe - a clean install deletes everything on the target disk. Restore via your backup tool's recovery media, or reinstall the OEM image from the recovery partition if it still exists.

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