Installing AtlasOS
This guide will walk you through fully reinstalling Windows, installing Atlas on top of it, and completing other necessary steps. A full Windows reinstall is needed to ensure stability during the initial installation of Atlas.
Before continuing, we recommend reviewing our page to see who Atlas is for.
0. Prerequisites
Atlas requires a full Windows reinstall to uninstall
As of the current versions of Atlas, if you ever need to uninstall it, you'll need to reinstall Windows.
- Meeting the system requirements for Windows 11 or Windows 10
- We don't recommend bypassing Windows 11's requirements due to potential problems with updates and game anti-cheats
- 64-bit CPU (you can check what you have)
- If you have an ARM-based CPU, you can only use Atlas with Windows 11
- Knowledge of general Windows troubleshooting and usage
1. Download an ISO
Before installing Atlas, you need to reinstall Windows. To fully reinstall Windows, you need to download your desired Windows version's ISO file, which will be used later in the guide.
The buttons below download an ISO directly from Microsoft's servers. It gets the latest version of your desired Windows version for Intel and AMD CPUs. ARM ISOs have to be built manually.
Which version should I choose?
If you meet the official requirements, we strongly recommend choosing Windows 11. If not, use Windows 10.
MSDL is currently not working
Please download the ISO from official microsoft sources.
Alternatives
Tip
Even though the downloader we use in our docs use Microsoft's servers (currently broken), you can also download the ISO directly from Microsoft or use the Windows Media Creation Tool.
Windows 11
- Click the link above and scroll down to Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices.
DO NOT use the Installation Assistant or Create Windows 11 Installation Media. - Select Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for x64 devices) and click Download Now.
- Select your desired language and press confirm.
- Click 64-bit Download to begin your download.
Windows 10
- Click the link abvove and select Windows 10 (multi-edition ISO) and click Confirm.
- Select your desired language and press confirm.
- Click 64-bit Download to begin your download.
- Download the Windows 10 or Windows 11 Media Creation Tool, then open it
- Click the Accept button to agree to the Microsoft license terms
- Select Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC, click Next, and choose:
- Language: Your desired language
- Edition: Windows 10 or 11
- Architecture (Windows 10 only): 64-bit (x64)
- Choose the ISO file option, then choose the download location
- After the ISO has completed downloading, click Finish
2. Network Drivers
By default, Windows may not have your computer's network drivers, meaning after reinstalling, your computer could have no internet connection.
For this reason, we strongly recommend that you do one of the following:
- Download your network drivers beforehand and store them on external storage
- Have the ability to download and transfer network drivers from another device later
Where do I get my network drivers?
You can find your computer's network drivers online by searching for your device or motherboard's official support page. If you can't find it, try searching online for your network device's name in Device Manager instead. If multiple of the latest network drivers are available, download them all.
3. Reinstalling Windows
Before continuing, we strongly recommend you back up any valuable data to an external drive or a cloud service.
Only if you have enough free storage, after finishing the Windows reinstall, Windows.old
will be at the start of your Windows drive, containing your old data. You can retrieve data from the folder and delete it afterward, which this guide covers later.
This method only works if you're already on Windows.
-
Disconnect any cables providing internet to your computer, such as an ethernet cable. Do not reconnect any until instructed to do so
-
Right-click the previously downloaded ISO file and select Open With -> File Explorer
-
Open This PC in File Explorer, and remember the ISO's drive letter (e.g.
H
) for the next step. The drive should look similar to CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-GB_DV9 -
Press Win+R to open the Run dialog
-
Inside the Run dialog, type in the previously remembered drive letter, and then without a space, type
:\sources\setup.exe
after it. Example:H:\sources\setup.exe
-
Press Enter on the Run dialog, and accept the User Account Control prompt
- The message "Make sure BitLocker Drive Encryption is suspended" could appear from the Windows Setup when you press Enter. Refer to our BitLocker decrypting instructions to resolve this, then retry from step 5 onwards
-
Select No thanks when prompted for updates, then uncheck the box for I want to help make the Windows installation better
-
If prompted, click I don't have a product key, as Windows should auto-activate later
- If Windows doesn't auto-activate, you can enter a key later within Windows
-
Choose your edition of Windows
- Windows Pro is recommended. Windows Home is not officially supported
- If the Windows Setup did not give a choice of edition and it installs Windows Home anyway, you can always change Windows edition later by changing your Windows product key once Windows has finished reinstalling, without having to reinstall anything
-
Accept the license agreement and click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)
-
Select your Windows drive, click Next, click OK to the warning about
Windows.old
, and let the installation finish
This method works on Linux and Windows.
-
Download the latest release of Ventoy and extract it wherever you feel comfortable.
- Linux users can get it using a package manager
-
Inside the Ventoy folder, run Ventoy2Disk
-
In the opened window, select your USB drive and click Install
- This will destroy all data on the USB drive!
-
Copy your downloaded ISO file into the USB drive (labeled Ventoy)
-
Disconnect any cables providing your computer internet, such as an ethernet cable
- Do not reconnect to the internet until instructed to
-
Restart your computer, boot into your BIOS' boot menu, then select the USB drive
'Security Violation' Error
Video Demonstration
Credit to Ventoy for the video demonstration.
If you get an error screen saying there was a 'Security Violation,' follow the steps below:
1. Press Enter to load MokManager
2. Press any key to begin key management
3. Choose Enroll Key From Disk
- The controls are arrow keys to move and Enter to select
4. Choose
VTOYEFI
5. Choose
ENROLL_THIS_KEY_IN_MOKMANAGER.cer
6. Choose Continue, then Yes, and finally Reboot
7. Boot from the USB again, as the issue should be resolved
If it is still not working, try 'Hash Enrollment,' as detailed in Ventoy's guide.
-
Once booted into the Ventoy menu, select the Windows ISO using the arrow keys, press Enter, click Boot in normal mode, and press Enter again
-
If you're installing Windows 11, once booted into the Windows Setup, click 'Next' twice, then click 'Previous version of setup' in the bottom left corner of the window
-
Select your preferred language preferences, click Next, then click Install Now
-
If prompted, click I don't have a product key, as Windows will activate automatically later (as long as you have previously activated Windows legitimately)
-
Choose your Windows edition
- Windows Pro is recommended. Windows Home is not officially supported
- If the Windows Setup did not give a choice of edition and it installs Windows Home anyway, you can always change Windows edition later by changing your Windows product key once Windows has finished reinstalling, without having to reinstall anything
-
Accept the license agreement and click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)
-
At the 'Where do you want to install Windows?' screen, choose one of the following:
Previous Windows data
Only if you have enough free storage, after finishing the Windows reinstall,
Windows.old
will be at the start of your Windows drive, containing your old data. You can retrieve data from the folder and delete it afterward, which this guide covers later.- Identify the disk partition you want to install Windows to by looking at the total sizes, then select it
- Click Next, then click OK to the warning about
Windows.old
This permanently deletes data!
Make sure to follow the instructions carefully to ensure you don't delete the wrong partitions.
- Identify the drive number you want to install Windows to
- You can identify your drives by their total sizes
- One by one, carefully delete your drive number's disk partitions
- Select the unallocated space of your drive number
- Click Next
This permanently deletes data on all drives!
- One by one, delete each disk partition in the window
- Select the unallocated space of the drive you want to install Windows to
- You can identify your drives by their total sizes
- Click Next
-
Wait for Windows to install
3.1. Initial setup (OOBE)
You can either watch the video or use the 'Written Instructions' for this section.
Written Instructions
- Once the setup starts, select your language and then your keyboard layout
- Press Shift+F10 to open Command Prompt
- Type in
oobe\bypassnro
, press Enter, and wait for your computer to restart- This step is not necessary if you are using Ventoy
- Continue through with setup, but:
- Do not connect to the internet
- Deny each option in the Privacy section
Written Instructions
Go through the setup, but make sure to:
- Click I don't have internet when prompted to connect to the internet
- Click Continue with limited setup or Domain join after the 'Internet' page
- Deny each option in the Privacy section
- Deny Cortana
4. Driver Updates
Drivers are essential software components that enable the OS to communicate with hardware devices. While Windows has fundamental drivers, some devices need external drivers to function correctly. On Atlas, there are two options for external drivers:
Installation & Updates from Windows Update | Manual Installation & Updates |
---|---|
Easiest if you don't know how to get drivers | Potentially less system resource usage |
Best compatibility, especially with OEM apps | Less potentially unwanted applications |
Latest security & feature updates automatically | Full control over your driver versions |
Almost never having to manually get drivers | You will likely need to get drivers for new devices |
Choose the option you wish to install with and follow the instructions.
If you don't know, choose 'Driver Installation & Updates from Windows Update.'
-
Connect your device to the internet
-
Move on to the next section
Don't connect to the internet yet, follow these steps:
-
Open Settings -> Windows Update
-
Temporarily Pause Updates for at least one week
-
Connect your device to the internet
-
Move on to the next section
5. Installing AtlasOS
AME Wizard suddenly closing or being deleted?
Especially when a new version of AME Wizard is released, you might need to add AME Wizard as an exclusion or turn off Real-time protection in Windows Security.
To read more about this, view our AME Wizard Deleted page.
-
Open Microsoft Edge, search
atlasos.net
-
On the website, click 'Get started', then click -> Already following the guide? at the bottom of the pop-up, and download the Atlas Playbook and AME Wizard
-
Extract both downloads to your desktop
-
If you have chosen Manual Driver Installation, run
Disable Drivers Installation in Windows Update.reg
from the extracted Atlas Playbook download and restart -
Open Settings and update Windows, including optional updates, until no more updates are available. If paused, click Resume Updates to follow this step
- If there's an error updating on Windows 10, see our page on Windows Update Errors for a fix, retry updating, and continue with the rest of the installation guide
-
Open the Microsoft Store and update all apps
- There might be a prompt to update the Microsoft Store first
-
Restart after all updates are complete. After restarting, check again for updates repeatedly until there are no more available updates
-
Open
AME Wizard Beta.exe
from the AME Wizard folder- If there is a warning from SmartScreen that AME Wizard is an unrecognized application, bypass this warning by clicking More info and Run anyway
- Click on Updates at the top and make sure AME Wizard is up to date
-
Drag
Atlas Playbook.apbx
from the Atlas Playbook folder into AME Wizard -
Follow the on-screen instructions from AME Wizard to install the Atlas Playbook
5.1. Your old Windows installation
If you previously followed steps that mentioned a Windows.old
folder, you can find your previous Windows data at the start of your Windows drive in Windows.old
.
When you're sure that you've retrieved any valuable data from it, follow these steps:
- Open Windows Settings -> System -> Storage
- Click Temporary files, and wait for it to scan your files
- Select Previous version of Windows, and then click Remove files
6. Getting your drivers
You've almost finished setting up Atlas!
-
Manual Driver Installation: If you previously chose this, we recommend seeing our post-installation driver guide to help set up the needed drivers.
-
Driver Installation & Updates from Windows Update: If you previously chose this, get drivers by manually checking for Windows Updates. To get them automatically, enable automatic Windows Updates.
7. All done!
If you need any help, you can find links below to a large community of individuals who are dedicated to helping others, as well as a few other areas of the documentation.
We hope you enjoy using AtlasOS!