Boot your PC from the installation media. This is usually done automatically, however, sometimes it might not.

To force your PC to boot to the installation media, you may need to hit a specific key during startup. This is usually a key like F2, F6, F8, F10, F11, F12, ESC or Del. The key will differ from PC to PC. It is usually specified in the PCs manual or the Motherboard Manual. We are looking for the boot menu key. Once in the boot menu, select your installation media. Here Windows is installed in a VM from a virtual CD drive, however for you it is most likely a USB device.

The boot menu should look something like this:

NOTE: This is not necessary if your device automatically boots to the installation media like most PCs do.

Should the PC prompt you to hit any key, hit any key on the keyboard:

After that, windows setup should start loading:

Once the setup has started, you are greeted with a welcome screen.

Select your keyboard and language and click next.

Click "Install now".

Wait until setup has started.

It will prompt you for a product key. Select "I don't have a product key".

Select the previously installed version of Windows and click next.

Accept the license terms and click next.

Select custom.

NOTE: The next step will delete any data currently present on the PC! Make sure you have a backup of your files!

If there are any partitions currently present on the target drive, delete them.

After deleting the partitions, select the unallocated space and click next.

Once Windows is ready, you will end up at this screen you know from setting up a new PC.

Select your region, then hit next.

Select your keyboard layout.

If you want, add another keyboard layout. Otherwise, hit skip.

Windows will now set up your network connection. If you are connecting via Wifi, select your network and type your password. If you connect via LAN, it will pick up the network automatically.

Windows will now ask you to name your device. Type your desired name and click next. If you select "Skip for now", you will get a random name. The rules for names are stated below.

After this step, and if you are installing Windows 11 Pro or above, windows will ask you to select whether you are setting this PC up for an organization or for personal use. Select personal use.

Starting with Windows 11, it will be a requirement to sign in with a Microsoft account. Pro editions and above currently still support signing in with a local account, however Microsoft is cutting out that feature right now. If you would like to use an offline account, the option can be found in supported Windows editions under "sign in options".

Please sign in with your microsoft account.

If you signed in to your Microsoft account, Windows will ask you about some questions regarding cloud storage. Select your choices and click next if needed.

Windows will now ask you about your privacy settings. Select the options you would like to use. Click next after each one.

After that, Windows will set itself up.

After that, you will reach your brand new and clean Windows desktop.

From the start menu, select settings.

Select "Windows update".