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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 on who Atlas is for.

Prerequisites

  • Meeting the system requirements for Windows 11 or Windows 10
    • We don't recommend bypassing Windows 11's requirements due to potential incompatibilities with updates and anticheats
  • 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

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.

Alternatives
  1. Download the Windows 10 or Windows 11 Media Creation Tool and open it
  2. Click the Accept button to agree to the Microsoft license terms
  3. Select Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC, click Next, and choose:
    • Language: Desired language
    • Edition: Windows 10 or 11
    • Architecture (Windows 10 only): 64-bit (x64)
  4. Select the ISO file option and choose the download location
  5. After the ISO has completed downloading, click Finish

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Downloader based upon: Microsoft Software Download Listing

Network Drivers

By default, Windows may not have your computer's network drivers, meaning your computer would be left without a network connection.

For this reason, we strongly recommend that you either:

  • Download your network drivers beforehand and store them on external storage
  • Have the ability to download and transfer network drivers from another device later

You can find your network driver online by searching for your device/motherboard's official support page or your network device's name in Device Manager instead. If multiple of the latest network drivers are available on your device, download all of them.

Reinstalling Windows

Which method should I pick?

Using a USB drive or not will practically have the same result. We recommend reinstalling Windows using the "No USB Drive" method, although this does not work if you're not on Windows.

Your current Windows installation should be moved to a Windows.old folder after reinstalling. You can delete this after reinstalling Windows, which will be covered later. However, you should still externally backup files before proceeding.

  1. Disconnect any cables providing internet to your computer, such as an ethernet cable. Do not reconnect it until instructed to do so

  2. Right-click the previously downloaded ISO file and select Open With -> File Explorer to mount it

  3. Open This PC, and note down the mounted ISO's drive letter (e.g. H:) for the next step. The drive should look similar to Windows Setup icon CCCOMA_X64FRE_EN-GB_DV9

  4. Press Win+R to open the Run dialog

  5. Type in your noted-down drive letter, including the colon, and then without a space, type \sources\setup.exe after it. Example: H:\sources\setup.exe

  6. Press Enter on the Run dialog, and accept the User Account Control prompt

  7. Select No thanks when prompted for updates and uncheck the box for I want to help make the Windows installation better

  8. Click I don't have a product key, as Windows will activate automatically later, presuming that Windows is legitimately activated beforehand

  9. Choose your edition of Windows. We strongly recommend and officially support Windows Pro, with Windows Home not being officially supported. See our page on Windows Editions for more information

  10. Accept the license agreement and click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)

  11. Select your Windows drive, click next, click OK to the warning about Windows.old, and let the installation finish

Data loss

Following this guide will destroy all data on the USB drive, as well as data on your drives. Remember to use a USB drive with a higher capacity than the Windows ISO file size.

This guide presumes you have some experience installing operating systems. If you get stuck and it's possible to use the "No USB Drive" method, we recommend that instead.

  1. Download the latest release of Ventoy and extract it wherever you feel comfortable. Alternatively, get it using a package manager.

  2. Inside the Ventoy folder, run Ventoy2Disk

  3. In the opened window, select your USB drive and click Install

  4. Copy your downloaded ISO file into the USB drive (labeled Ventoy)

  5. Disconnect any cables providing your computer internet, such as an ethernet cable

    • Do not reconnect to the internet until instructed to

  6. Using the BIOS menu, boot from the USB drive

    'Security Violation' Error
    Video Demonstration

    Credit to Ventoy for the video demonstration.

    vtoy-verification-error-0x1A

    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

    4. Choose VTOYEFI

    • The controls are arrow keys to move and Enter to select

    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.

  7. At the Ventoy menu, select the Windows ISO using the arrow keys, press Enter, click Boot in normal mode, and press Enter again

  8. Follow Microsoft's guide for a clean installation from step 4 (clicking Install now)

Initial setup (OOBE)

After completing this step, you should be on your desktop without an internet connection.

Written Instructions
  1. Once the setup starts, select your language and then your keyboard layout.
  2. Press Shift+F10 to open the Command Prompt.
  3. Type in oobe\bypassnro and press Enter. Your computer will restart.
    • This step is not needed when using Ventoy
  4. Continue through with setup as normal, but make sure to:
    • 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
  • Don't accept Cortana

Driver Updates

Drivers are essential software components that enable the OS to communicate with hardware devices. While Windows comes with basic drivers pre-installed, some devices, such as Bluetooth devices, printers, or speakers, likely require additional drivers to function correctly. On Atlas, there are two options for driver installation:

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 potential bloat/annoyances
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.'

  1. Connect your device to the internet

  2. Move on to the next section

Don't connect to the internet yet, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings -> Windows Update

  2. Temporarily Pause Updates for at least 1 week

  3. Connect your device to the internet

  4. Move on to the next section

Installing AtlasOS

AME Wizard suddenly closing or being deleted?

Add AME Wizard as an exclusion or disable Real-time protection in the Windows Security settings. This is usually necessary when a new version of AME Wizard is released, which has not been used much yet.

To read more about this, view our AME Wizard Deleted page.

  1. Open Microsoft Edge, search atlasos.net, then download the Atlas Playbook and AME Wizard

  2. Extract both downloads to your desktop

  3. If you have chosen Manual Driver Installation, run Disable Drivers Installation in Windows Update.reg from the extracted Atlas Playbook download and restart

  4. Open Settings and update Windows, including optional updates, until no more updates are available. If paused, un-pause Windows 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

  5. Open the Microsoft Store and update all apps that have pending updates

  6. Restart after all updates are complete. After restarting, check again for updates repeatedly until there are no more updates that pop up

  7. Open AME Wizard Beta.exe from the AME Wizard folder

    1. If there is a warning from SmartScreen that AME Wizard is an unrecognized application, bypass this warning by clicking More info and Run anyway
    2. Click on Updates at the top and make sure AME Wizard is up to date

  8. Drag Atlas Playbook.apbx from the Atlas Playbook folder into AME Wizard

  9. Follow the on-screen instructions from AME Wizard to successfully install AtlasOS

Your old Windows installation

If you reinstalled Windows using the method in the documentation, your previous Windows installation should be in Windows.old. When you're sure that you've retrieved any valuable data from it, follow these steps:

  1. Open Windows Settings -> System -> Storage
  2. Click Temporary files, and wait for it to scan your files
  3. Select Previous version of Windows, and then click Remove files

Getting your drivers

You're almost finished with setting up Atlas. Before you start setting up software, follow the option you chose earlier to get your drivers:

  • Manual Driver Installation: If this is you, we recommend seeing our post-installation driver guide to help set up the needed drivers.

  • Driver Installation & Updates from Windows Update: If this is you, get drivers by manually checking for Windows Updates. To get them automatically, enable automatic Windows Updates.

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! 😄