Auntie's Guide to Installing Windows 11

by Eris "my sweet girl" Ivy and iFlex0x

Hi! This is a guide on how to install and setup Windows 11 on your new computer. I'm handwriting this guide for you because Windows is a bit of a problem-child and we'll need to take serious precautions to get the 'best' experience out of it.

Unlike MacOS, Windows is notorious for bloatware, ads, telemetry, and overall just an unpleasant user experience; which makes it all the more comforting to know that most of the world's computers run this garbage. My personal gripes aside; it's the only other operating system that officially supports the Adobe creative suite and the go-to place for high-end gaming.

The biggest problem with Windows 11 is the mandatory use of a Microsoft account to log in. We are not going to be doing this, for a multitude of reasons. On Windows 11, there is a program that auto-backups files to the cloud; similar to MacOS' iCloud. Which is nice to have, but the problem is that its the default storage. Any file you download will quietly back itself up and a couple weeks down the line you'll be pestered to "upgrade your OneDrive storage".

To avoid this entirely we're just not going to log in with a Microsoft account. Normally this requires jumping through a bunch of hoops during setup - but we've already done the hard work for you. We used a tool called Chris Titus's Win11 Creator to patch a Windows 11 image that skips all of that nonsense automatically. Friends don't let friends use OneDrive <3

The install process I've organized into three chapters:

• 1. Flashing Windows 11 to USB drive
• 2. Installing Windows 11 on your computer
• 3. First-time setup

and after that, a guide on how to tweak your BIOS and install drivers so your computer is working to it's full potential!

Before we get started, remember the following:

• DO NOT SIGN IN WITH A MICROSOFT ACCOUNT
• DO NOT GIVE ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION OR DATA TO MICROSOFT

I've already patched a Windows 11 image using Win11 Creator and uploaded it for you. You can download it here: swisstransfer.com/d/Windows (7.07 GB)

This is a modified .iso file - it has OneDrive removed, telemetry disabled, bloatware stripped out, and it's set up to let you create a local account without Microsoft getting involved. You don't need to do any of the manual bypass tricks that older guides describe.

Alright cool, let's get started!

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Before You Start: WiFi Antennas

When we built the PC we didn't get around to installing the WiFi antennas, so let's do that now before anything else. They're in the motherboard box and look like little paddles on a short cable with a screw-on connector.

• On the back of the PC (the I/O panel, where all the ports are) look for two small gold-colored round connectors close together - these are the antenna ports
• Screw each antenna onto its connector by hand. Finger-tight is all you need, don't force them
• Stand them upright or angle them slightly outward once they're on

That's it, WiFi is ready to go.

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btw - congrats on building your first PC!! posting on the first troubleshoot try is a huge win, most people don't get that lucky and have to unplug and troubleshoot while nervous, anyways now let's get Windows on it :)

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1. Flashing Windows 11 to USB drive

• Download the patched Windows 11 image linked above
• Download and install WinDiskWriter
  • You may need to allow this program to run by going into "Privacy & Security" in your system settings. Scroll down to "Security" and click "Open Anyway"
• Plug your USB drive into your Mac
• Choose the .iso file you downloaded for "Windows Image" in WinDiskWriter
• Select your USB drive under "Target Device"
  • It may not be necessary as you will be buying brand-new computer parts but check Patch Installer Requirements and use the FAT32 file system
• Click Start to flash Windows to the USB drive
• Once finished, eject the USB drive from Finder

2. Installing Windows 11 on your computer

• Plug the USB drive into a USB port
• Power on the computer

⚠️ Heads up - because the processor is an X3D chip, the motherboard will pop up a message on the very first boot asking if you want to enable X3D Turbo Mode. This is a Gigabyte performance feature built specifically for X3D processors and it's worth having on. Say yes. The PC will restart once on its own and then boot normally into the Windows installer.

• Go through the install as normal for language and keyboard layout
  • If asked for a key, say "I don't have a product key"
  • Follow instructions given by iFlex for disk partioning
• Accept the terms and install

Windows will take a few minutes to install, and then reboot into the setup screen.

3. First-time setup

Because the image is already patched, Windows will handle most of the annoying stuff on its own. You won't need to do any terminal tricks or disconnect from the internet - it's already taken care of.

Just go through the setup normally:

• Choose your region and keyboard layout(s)
• Enter your name

This name will also be your computer's name. If you chose "Ava" the path to your videos folder will be C:\Users\Ava\Videos

• Enter your password
• Fill out the security questions

Windows will load for a minute and then show your desktop. Congratulations! We're in Windows 11!

• Note : Chris Titus's patcher will restart the PC here, wait for it to complete it's patching.

Windows Driver Installation

You're at the desktop now! Windows 11 is currently running on it's built-in drivers which will function but are not recommended for daily usage, so we need to install drivers. Drivers are little bits of code that help your software and hardware communicate effectively. Outdated drivers can cause bugs, graphical glitches, and instability so we'll need to update them as soon as we can.

The tweaks and drivers we'll be installing will be organized in three chapters

• 1. Motherboard Drivers
• 2. Graphics Card (GPU) Drivers
• 3. BIOS Update & Configuration

1. Motherboard Drivers

The motherboard has a few drivers that will need to be installed. These drivers help your motherboard--and all of the things connected to it--work better together. Go to the Gigabyte X870 EAGLE WIFI7 support page and click the download icon for each of the following:

• AMD Chipset Driver
• Realtek HD Audio Driver
• WLAN/Bluetooth Driver
• LAN Driver

These will download in .zip files and will need to extracted; you will need to install the AMD Chipset Driver first so let's start with that one:

• Double click on the downloaded mb_driver_597_chipset_7.12.04.858.zip file
• Once inside, click on "Extract all" towards the top of the window
• in "Select a Destination and Extract files" go down the bottom right and click "Extract"
  • (if needed, check "Show extracted files when complete")
• Double click on the .exe file and continue through the setup

Let the installer work it's magic and when it's finished you will be asked to restart your computer. We'll need to restart a few times throughout this process, skipping restarts can cause weird issues and problems down the line. It's annoying, but once you get all of this set up you will be golden.

Like how you extracted the files from the AMD Chipset .zip file, do the same exact process for the rest of the drivers. Unlike the chipset driver, you can install these in any order but to keep in line with the guide let's start with the Realtek HD Audio Driver. Same process as before:

• Double click on the downloaded mb_driver_612_realtekdch_6.0.9927.1.zip file
• Once inside, click on "Extract all" towards the top of the window
• in "Select a Destination and Extract files" go down the bottom right and click "Extract"
  • (if needed, check "Show extracted files when complete")
• Double click on the .exe file and continue through the setup

Rinse-and-repeat this process for the WLAN/Bluetooth Driver and the LAN Driver and you'll be finished with motherboard drivers.

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2. Graphics Card (GPU) Drivers

NVIDIA App (the GPU driver installer by Nvidia) has a habit of bundling in extra software that is unnecessary and annoying; GeForce Experience, Ansel, and multiple telemetry services that run in the background constantly. To avoid unnecessary bloat and telemetry, we're going to use a free tool called NVCleanstall instead.

• Download NVCleanstall
• Select the American flag icon with "closest to you" underneath it
• Run NVCleanstall
• Click Next on the bottom right

in the "Select Components To Install" screen, enable the following:

• Display Driver (required)
• HD Audio via HDMI
• PhysX

Everything else can be left unselected, click Next to continue.

• In "Installation Tweaks" leave everything unchecked
• click Next to continue
• click Install to begin installing the GPU drivers
• Accept NVIDIA's terms and conditions
• click Next on installation options (the recommended installation is "Express")
  • The screen will turn black a few times as it finishes installing, this is normal and expected
• Once the installation is finished, click Close on the Nvidia Driver Installer
• click Close on NVCleanstall

Now your GPU drivers are up to date!

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3. BIOS Update & Configuration

Updating the BIOS

Back on the Gigabyte X870 EAGLE WIFI7 support page on the left side, click on the BIOS tab to see if there is a newer version than what's on the board. Updating it isn't required but its worth doing at some point; it usually improves memory compatibility and fixes things that the manufacturer--Gigabyte--caught after launch. There will be instructions on how to update your BIOS from a USB drive if you need to do it.

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Enabling your RAM's EXPO profile

Your RAM (G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB) has a profile called 'AMD EXPO' that needs to be enabled manually to run at the speed it was built for. Out of the box it will run slower than advertised but the fix is quite simple and it involves going back into the BIOS.

Here's how to enter the BIOS and enable EXPO

• Shut down the computer and press the power button
• As soon as the Gigabyte logo pops up, press the Delete key repeatedly until the BIOS opens
• The BIOS will open in Easy Mode by default - press F2 on your keyboard to switch to Advanced Mode
• At the top of the screen you'll see a row of tabs. Click on Tweaker (second tab from the left)
• Scroll down until you find XMP/EXPO Profile - it'll show as Disabled
• Click it and select EXPO I from the dropdown
• Press F10 on your keyboard to save and exit

The computer will restart itself and boot back into Windows 11, now your RAM will run at it's advertised speed and you won't have to think about it again.

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Corsair iCUE

The AIO (the LINK TITAN 360) and all the fans - the three LX120 reverse fans on the front intake, the three LX120s on the bottom intake, the LX140 exhausting out the back, and the three RX radiator fans on the AIO pushing out the top - are all managed through Corsair's iCUE software. Without it they'll run at a fixed speed with no curve and no way to adjust them.

• Download and install Corsair iCUE
• It should pick up the AIO and fans automatically when it opens
• Head into Cooling to set up a fan curve. For a PC that's mostly sitting at a desk being used for work, something that holds around 30-40% until temperatures hit 60°C and ramps from there keeps things quiet without sacrificing cooling when it matters.
• Lighting is in there too if you want to set colors or just turn it all off

All the fans and the AIO connect through the iCUE LINK hub inside the case so they show up together as one group in iCUE rather than individually. Should be pretty intuitive from there.

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Native NVMe Driver

Windows has a newer, faster driver for NVMe SSDs sitting inside it that it doesn't turn on by default. Enabling it skips a layer of old translation code that Windows has been using since before NVMe even existed, which means faster random read/write speeds and lower CPU overhead when the drive is working hard. Worth enabling.

This one I'll walk you through when we're setting up together, but here's what the process looks like so you know what to expect:

• We'll download ViVeTool from github.com/thebookisclosed/ViVe and extract it somewhere easy to find, like your Desktop
• Open Windows Terminal as Administrator (right-click the Start button, click "Terminal (Admin)")
• Navigate to where ViVeTool is extracted - type cd followed by the folder path, for example cd C:\Users\Ava\Desktop\ViVeTool
• Run the following command:

.\vivetool /enable /id:60786016,48433719

• Once it confirms, close the window and restart the PC

After the restart, if you open Device Manager (right-click Start > Device Manager) your SSD should now appear under "Storage disks" instead of "Disk drives" - that means the new driver is active.

If anything looks off after the restart, let me know and we can undo it just as easily.

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WinUtil

Now that the drivers are sorted, this is where we make the actual cleanup happen. WinUtil is a tool made by the same guy who built the Win11 Creator we used to make your installer. It has a bulk app installer, privacy tweaks, and a bunch of other stuff baked into one window.

To open it:

• Right-click the Start button and click "Terminal (Admin)"
• Paste the following and press Enter:

irm https://christitus.com/win | iex

• A window will pop up after a few seconds

Install tab

This is the easiest way to get a bunch of apps installed at once without hunting for installers or dealing with bundled junk. Check off everything you want and hit Install at the bottom - it handles the rest.

Some things to look for:

• Discord
• Blender
• 7-Zip
• Your browser of choice (Firefox, Brave, etc.)
• VLC (for video files)

Tweaks tab Follow instructions given by iFlex

Done ?