The best way to install windows (properly)

2025-12-15

The best way to install windows (properly)

After daily driving windows 10 pro for nearly a decade, it was finally time for me to move on to a different version of windows since Windows 10 pro reached it’s end of life in October this year. I know, by now, a big portion of the users have switched to linux and I understand why. I have also been dual booting archlinux along with windows for almost 3 years now. And although, I have been in both worlds, I get why windows is still a daily driver for a lot of you out there. And I have seen a lot of you using different prebuilt isos (tiny11, ghostspectre etc) to get a better windows experience, while that might be a good alternative but due to the security complications it comes with, I’d really steer clear of those. Today , I will try to walk you through the ways I usually install windows and also try to explain along the process why this is probably the best way to install windows out there.

So, while I was researching which windows version to go for, I came to the conclusion that I only had three options available to me -

  1. Windows 10 Iot LTSC 2021
  2. Windows 11 Pro 25H2
  3. Windows 11 Iot ITSC 24H2

Personally, I chose the Windows 11 Iot LTSC Version and I do recommend going for it for a number of reasons.

Why not 10 Iot LTSC 2021?

  • Although, it’s a good and viable option for now but considering win 10 has gone EOL, the latest apps and drivers might be rolled out and made with windows 11 in mind and not 10. So, if you want the best out of both worlds I still think windows 11 iot ltsc makes more sense than 10 IOT LTSC. But, then again, if you have got an older built and low specs, windows 10 IOT LTSC is still the way to go considering platform stability and hardware requirements.

Why not 11 pro?

  • Well , this was an easy decision for me tbh. I don’t want microsoft pushing me all the AI slop after each feature update. And if you want the same, I think it’s best to be away from the regular windows 11 pro version. But, if you’re okay with all of that, feel free to choose 11 pro as it’s the latest and ‘greatest’ OS microsoft officially provides.

Why I went with 11 IOT LTSC?

  • No feature updates. No compatibility issues as it uses the same windows kernel as windows 11 pro. No store apps and NO AI slop. Also, stability and support till 2034.

Well, I have divided the installation process into 3 steps for better understanding.

Disclaimer - I am not responsible if you break your PC. So, please proceed with caution. If you’re familiar with virtual boxes, try it in a VM first and see if it is for you or not!

STEP 1 - Preparing the ISO

  1. You can download the Windows 11 IOT LTSC iso from https://massgrave.dev/windows_ltsc_links
  2. After downloading the ISO, keep it in a folder of your choice for easier navigation.
  3. Launch Powershell in administrative mode. Press Windows + X together and you’ll see the option or you can also search for powershell and right click on run as administrator
  4. Copy and paste this into powershell - irm “https://christitus.com/win” | iex
  5. CTT’s winutil will launch.
  6. Head over to the microwin tab ![[Pasted image 20251216232742.png]]
  7. Click on Get windows ISO and locate the previously downloaded ISO.
  8. Something like this will likely appear. You can check Import driver from your current system and Import virtIO drivers as well if you want to carry over your drivers. But, if you want a fresh install, leave them unchecked. Check, skip first logon animation and hit start the process. It is also recommended to fill up the user name and password forms as well. Usually, this takes about 5-20 minutes depending on your specs. ![[Pasted image 20251216234002.png]]
  9. Here, microwin will basically debloat the iso, remove all the telemetry and tracking that is built into windows and then attempt to remove most bloatwares/apps. This process also applies an unattended.xml file which lets you skip most questions during the windows installation process and also allows you to create an offline account in windows 11.
  10. After the process is complete, save the iso in a easy-to-access location of your choice.

STEP 2 - Making a bootable windows installation USB

  1. For this step, download rufus from https://rufus.ie/en/
  2. Insert your USB drive (preferably 16 gigs or more) and backup anything important as it will be formatted later on.
  3. Open Rufus and allow it to install updates in case anything like that pops up
  4. Click on SELECT in the Boot Selection and locate your modified ISO (the iso you made using microwin)
  5. Rufus should automatically adjust the preferrable options. But, in case it doesn’t here are the recommended options.![[rufus-4.11_UCDQEQjbEu.png]]
  6. [IMPORTANT] If you’re attempting to install Windows 10 IOT LTSC on a Legacy Boot/MBR partition. Select accordingly. (Windows 11 can’t be installed on a MBR partition, so for windows 11 it’s always going to be GPT and UEFI) Otherwise, the USB won’t boot. To check whether your current drive is MBR/GPT, press Windows + X and run powershell in admin mode. and then type Get-Disk and hit enter. Look for the drive you want to install windows in and to the right you’ll be able to see whether it’s a MBR/GPT drive.
  7. After you’re done configuring, hit START and allow rufus to format the USB drive when that warning pops up.
  8. Click Finish after the process is done and close rufus.
  9. At this point, you’re all set up to install windows. So, backup anything important as we’ll be formatting the drive where windows is going to be install (C Drive in most cases)

Step 3 - Windows Installation

  1. Reboot your PC.
  2. Load up the boot options menu. For me it is F11, yours might be different. Alternatively, you can also change the boot order and put usb at 1 and your windows drive at 2 if you want. Both will work. But, I prefer just loading the boot options menu.
  3. Follow the on screen instructions and keep hitting next. Also check ![[chrome_3bMq6mpEJo.png]]
  4. Next, format the partition you want to install windows on. And click next again.
  5. Sit back and relax for now and let windows install. Maybe grab a coffee.

Step 4 - Post Install Tweaks

  1. [IMPORTANT] After windows boots up for the first time, head over to the windows update tab and update your windows.
  2. After you see your windows is up to date. Now, we can finally work on the tweaks.
  3. Now, let’s activate windows. To activate windows, open Powershell and paste - irm https://get.activated.win | iex . Hit enter and the activation window will appear. Press 1 for HWID (recommended) and wait for it to activate and … you’re done.![[Pasted image 20251217011728.png]]
  4. Open Windows Powershell in administrator mode and then run - irm “https://christitus.com/win” | iex
  5. Winutil will appear and now ![[pwsh_bt9qIujK0L.png]]
  6. At this point, you can install most of the applications you want through this menu, just select the ones you want to install and then hit install on the top left. Winutil uses winget to fetch and install the apps, so, it’s totally safe as it acquires each app from their official package repo and also compares the SHA256 checksum for errors as well in case the download gets corrupted or tampered. A fair warning though, you can’t install all of your apps through winget, but for the apps you can install through winget, it’s a safe and reliable way.
  7. Next head over to the tweaks tab. The tweaks you want to install is really upto you. Although, I apply most of the tweaks listed here and a few of my own. But, if you’re doing this for the first time or you don’t completely understand what these are, just select standard up top and then run tweaks down below and you’re good to go.![[Pasted image 20251217002236.png]]
  8. It will take a while to install all the tweaks. After all the tweaks are installed, restart your windows twice (important).
  9. Then you can install other applications like NVIDIA Geforce or AMD Adrenaline , Riot Store etc. and then restart again.

You have now successfully installed a stable, adfree, AI free, store free version of windows. If you have installed a LTSC build like mine, you’ll observe that there is no Photos or Snipping Tool app that you might have used previously. I recommend using ImageGlass Viewer as an alternative for Photos and ShareX for screenshotting.

NB - There might be better ways of installing windows to make it a better experience (idk). This is the way that I have been following for the past 2 years now I think and my system has never broken or acted weird. However, since it’s an LTSC build, I understand it might not be for everyone, so please proceed with caution as it might seem that a lot of things is broken, while in reality it’s actually not. It’s just how LTSC works, you have to tweak and install a lot of things that are usually built into windows pro versions for the convenience of an everyday user. I have been daily driving the win1124h2iotltsc version for 2 months now and so far it’s really stable.