I'm trying to do a clean install of Windows 11 on a laptop I recently got. It already had Windows 11 Pro installed, but I want to make sure it's secure by starting fresh. I've turned off encryption and used the Windows Creation Tool on a USB to install. I deleted all the existing partitions on the hard drive so it seemed empty. However, when I attempt the clean install, it gets to the end and says, "Looks like you started an upgrade and booted from installation media. If you want to continue with the upgrade, remove the media from your PC and click YES. If you want to perform a clean installation instead, click NO." I click NO, but then it just restarts the process all over again. I've tried this multiple times, even using diskpart to clean the disk, but I keep getting the same issue. Am I stuck in a loop?
2 Answers
First, make sure that the disk you're installing Windows on is the only drive connected. Sometimes, laptops have hidden recovery partitions that need to be removed. You should erase everything and set up just one big partition on your drive before trying to install again.
It sounds like your USB might be set as the first boot device permanently. Try changing the boot order so that your hard drive is the primary boot option. Alternatively, you can remove the USB drive during the first reboot after starting the installation, which should force it to boot from the hard drive instead.
That makes sense! But I noticed in my BIOS options I can only enable or disable the hard drive, LAN, and USB without changing their order. If I enable only the USB while installing and disable the others, will it not just go straight to BIOS if I remove it after the first reboot?