How to Reinstall Windows 11

Have you ever had a computer with inexplicable problems - random BSODs, freezing, and more? While this can be caused by a hardware issue, it’s also possible that your installation of Windows 11 has gone bad. Unfortunately, while there are many apocryphal remedies out there, the best solution, though a little time consuming, is reinstalling Windows. Here's the best way to do it

Windows 11 provides a couple of options for reinstalling itself, many of which do not clear your personal data. If you’d like to read more about those, we’ve linked a Microsoft support article here.

However, in many cases, your personal files contribute to whatever issues Windows is having, so a clean reinstall is usually your best bet for getting rid of all your OS-related woes. To begin, you’ll need a USB drive with at least 8GB of capacity and an internet connection. Download the Microsoft Installation Media creation tool here, and select your USB drive to begin creating a bootable Windows 11 USB.

While the tool creates your bootable drive, now is a good time to make sure you’ve backed up any important files on your current boot drive - this installation will wipe all data on your C:\ drive, no exceptions.

Once the tool has finished, you can reboot into the drive using your BIOS. While this process varies by manufacturer and motherboard model, you’ll typically find this setting under a “Boot” tab in the Advanced settings mode. You’ll be able to reorder the boot priority of drives on your computer - make sure to put your new USB drive at the top.

From there, you should boot into a Windows-esque loading screen and be greeted with a purple install screen after that. Follow the instructions on screen to complete your installation.

Note: You’ll likely need to reformat your C:\ drive for this operation - make sure to delete ALL existing partitions on that drive before installing Windows into the remaining Unallocated Space.