Depending on the situation, you may find yourself looking to do a fresh reinstall of Windows.  A few common reasons include:

• Windows no longer booting due to a corrupted updated or damaged system file
• Performance or log in issues due to a malware or virus
• Looking to reset Windows to clean, either to resell the computer or start from a clean slate

No matter the reason, the process of reinstalling Windows is incredibly easily and only requires the following:

• A Windows PC with a working internet connection
• An 8GB or larger USB Flash Drive (for this process, we do recommend a 16GB or larger drive)

Using the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool

For creating your bootable USB drive, we recommend using the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool.  This is a freely provided application from Microsoft which will format and prepare the USB drive with the necessary files to install Windows 11.

With the tool downloaded, launch the program and follow the on-screen prompts.

Click Accept the Microsoft Software License Terms

If you are using the same PC that you will be installing Windows 11 to for the Media Creation tool, make sure that the Use the recommended options checkbox is clicked.  Otherwise, untick this checkbox and click Next.

Select the USB flash drive option, then click Next.

Select the target drive, then click the Next button.  Please note, this will delete all data on the target USB drive.  If you have any important files on the USB drive, please save them to another source before clicking Next.

The Media Creation tool will download the necessary files and prepare the USB drive.  Feel free to use your PC during this time until the tool completes.  Depending on your internet connection this process can take between 10-60 minutes.   Once the tool completes you can safely eject the USB drive and plug it in to the target PC.

Booting from the USB Flash Drive

Make sure the PC is fully shut down and the flash drive is inserted into an open USB port before pressing the power button.  Once the PC has started, you will want to enter either the UEFI BIOS or Boot Menu depending on the motherboard.

• For most motherboards, the F2 or Delete key can be used to enter the UEFI BIOS.
• Some motherboards will feature a dedicated Boot Menu.  For the correct prompt please check the Boot Splash Screen.

If your motherboard features a Boot Menu, select the appropriate USB drive from the list.  This will usually be listed as UEFI followed by the drive model name.

If your motherboard does not feature a Boot Menu, you may instead find a Boot Override located in the UEFI's Exit menu as shown above.  From the Boot Override, select the appropriate USB drive from the list.  This will usually be listed as UEFI followed by the drive model name.

Using the Windows 11 Installer

Once loaded from the USB drive, a window will appear on the screen titled Windows Setup.  Confirm your Language and Time/Currency Format, then click Next.

At the Select setup option screen, choose the Install Windows 11 option and tick the I agree everything will be deleted including files, apps, and settings checkbox, then click Next.

If you have your Windows Product Key, enter your key at the Product key page and click Next.  If you have an NZXT Gaming PC, your product key will be digitally embedded to the motherboard that shipped with your system so you can instead click I don't have a product key to continue.

If you selected I don't have a product key, select the appropriate Windows version for your install.  Most NZXT Gaming PCs will use Windows 11 Home.  Once your version is selected, click the Next button.

At the Applicable notices and license terms page, click the Accept button to continue.

At the Select location to install Windows 11 list you may get a list of pre-existing partitions including the USB drive used for the install.  For most systems the drive listed as Disk 0 will be the first SSD installed in the PC, however if you have any SATA based drives (i.e. 3.5" or 2.5" HDDs/SSDs) the drive may be moved to another index like Disk 1.  The Windows install drive may also be listed as ESD-USB in this list.

If you are doing a fresh install of Windows, your primary drive should appear as Unallocated Space.  If you are reinstalling Windows, you will first need to select each partition in the list for your primary storage disk and choose Delete until there is only a single Unallocated Space on the target disk.  For example, if your primary storage is Disk 0 your target disk you may have 3-4 partitions.  With the Unallocated Space partition selected, click Next to continue.

Lastly at the Ready to install screen click the Install button to begin the install process.  The installer will copy the necessary files to your primary storage and will restart once the system is ready.  Upon restarting, you'll be taken to the Windows Out-of-Box Experience which will guide you through account setup and walk you through the final steps.