Trucos y Configuración de Windows

Install Windows 11 for free: steps and settings

DeiviSanzPlay
4 min de lectura

Post actualizado el día octubre 24, 2026 by DeiviSanzPlay

The phrase «download Windows 11 free» hides a reality that is worth clarifying before pressing any button: Microsoft distributes the official image of the system at no cost, but activation depends on a license. That is, you can download the ISO file and use the system with the «activate Windows» watermark in the lower right corner, with limited personalization, until you enter a valid key. If you upgrade from an already activated Windows 10 on the same device, the license is inherited and activation is automatic in most cases.

Requirements that often hinder installation

Before downloading anything, check your hardware with Microsoft’s PC Health Check tool. The three points that generate the most doubts in practice are:

  • TPM 2.0: many 2017-2018 laptops have it disabled in the BIOS/UEFI, not absent. It is enabled in the firmware’s security section, sometimes labeled as «PTT» (Intel) or «fTPM» (AMD).
  • Secure Boot: requires the disk to be in GPT format. If your Windows 10 was installed on MBR, you will have to convert the partition with mbr2gpt before upgrading, a step that most tutorials omit.
  • Disk space: 64 GB minimum, although on devices with little internal storage it is advisable to reserve considerably more for cumulative updates.

Downloading the ISO file from the official website

Go to the Windows 11 download page on Microsoft’s site and choose the option to create installation media. The Media Creation Tool allows two paths:

  1. Upgrade this PC now: downloads and installs in the same process. Convenient, but if something fails halfway through, diagnosis is more complicated.
  2. Create media for another PC: generates a bootable USB or an ISO. Recommended if you are going to install it on a different computer or want to keep the file.

The ISO weighs several gigabytes (around 5-6 GB depending on the version), so use a stable connection. A common mistake: downloading the ISO on a Windows device and then trying to mount it on a Mac to create the USB. Microsoft’s tool only works on Windows; for macOS you need to format the USB in FAT32 and copy the files manually, which does not always boot on devices with strict UEFI.

Creating the bootable USB

You need a flash drive of at least 8 GB. The process erases all its contents, so back it up beforehand. If you use Rufus as an alternative to the official tool, select the GPT partition scheme and UEFI (not CSM) target system; otherwise, the device may not recognize the boot media.

Step-by-step installation

  1. Restart and enter the boot menu (F12, F11 or Esc depending on the manufacturer).
  2. Select the USB. If it does not appear, check that Secure Boot is enabled and the USB was created in GPT.
  3. Choose the language and click «Install now.»
  4. If you have a key, enter it; if not, click «I don’t have a product key» and choose the edition (Home or Pro).
  5. In installation type, select «Custom» for a clean install or «Upgrade» to keep files.
  6. Select the partition. Note: if the disk has several manufacturer recovery partitions, the installation may create a fourth one and fail. In that case, delete the partitions on the system disk and let Windows recreate them.

Initial settings after the first boot

Windows 11 requires setting up a Microsoft account during installation in the Home edition. If you prefer a local account, you can disconnect the network at the connection step (although in recent versions the oobebypassnro trick requires opening the console with Shift+F10). Afterwards:

  • Check Windows Update: install the chipset and graphics drivers before any other program.
  • Enable BitLocker only if you are clear about managing the recovery key; losing it locks the disk permanently.
  • Check the activation status in Settings → System → Activation.

What does not work or is worth knowing

Installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware (without TPM 2.0 or with a CPU outside the list) is possible through registry patches or third-party tools, but Microsoft does not guarantee updates and may block the receipt of major security patches. According to the official documentation, unsupported devices are not entitled to support. Nor is there a «free forever» version outside of the license: the low-cost keys that circulate on third-party websites are usually resold OEM keys, with the risk of later deactivation.

A detail that is only discovered through practice: on laptops with dual disks (NVMe SSD + HDD), the installer sometimes places the boot manager on the wrong disk if you do not disconnect the secondary one during installation. The result is a device that does not boot when the disk where the boot sector ended up is removed. Disconnecting the secondary disk before installing prevents this problem at its root.