{"id":183,"date":"2026-08-10T05:10:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T05:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.125.8\/?p=183"},"modified":"2026-08-10T05:10:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T05:10:07","slug":"how-to-clean-install-windows-11-and-fix-missing-drives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/?p=183","title":{"rendered":"How to Clean Install Windows 11 and Fix Missing Drives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Part 1: Preparation \u2013 USB Drive and Drivers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before you begin, you\u2019ll need a working computer and a USB flash drive that is at least 8GB. This process will erase everything on the USB drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Create the Windows 11 Installation USB<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First, create your bootable USB drive using Microsoft\u2019s official tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • On a working PC, search for \u201cDownload Windows 11<\/strong>\u201d and go to the official Microsoft website.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Find the section titled \u201cCreate Windows 11 Installation Media<\/strong>\u201d and click\u00a0Download Now<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Run the downloaded\u00a0Media Creation Tool<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Accept the license terms, confirm the language, and on the \u201cChoose which media to use\u201d screen, select\u00a0USB flash drive<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Select your USB drive from the list and let the tool download Windows 11 and make the drive bootable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    2. Get the Storage Driver (IRST)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    This is the crucial step to make your NVMe drive visible during installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • On the working PC, go to the support website for your laptop\u2019s manufacturer (e.g., Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Search for your\u00a0exact laptop model number<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Go to the\u00a0Drivers & Downloads<\/strong>\u00a0section.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Look for a category labeled\u00a0Storage<\/strong>,\u00a0SATA<\/strong>, or\u00a0Chipset<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Download the driver named\u00a0Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST)<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0Intel Volume Management Device (VMD)<\/strong>. It will likely be a\u00a0.zip<\/code>\u00a0or\u00a0.exe<\/code>\u00a0file.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Extract the driver files.<\/strong>\u00a0If you downloaded a\u00a0.zip<\/code>\u00a0file, right-click it and select \u201cExtract All\u2026\u201d. If it\u2019s an\u00a0.exe<\/code>\u00a0file, run it, but look carefully for an\u00a0Extract<\/strong>\u00a0option instead of an \u201cInstall\u201d option. You need the raw driver files (.inf<\/code>,\u00a0.sys<\/code>, etc.), not an installed program.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Create a new folder on your Windows 11 installation USB (the one you just made) and name it something simple like\u00a0drivers<\/code><\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Copy the extracted driver files into that new\u00a0drivers<\/code>\u00a0folder on your USB drive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n

      Part 2: Installing Windows 11<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Now you\u2019re ready to install the operating system on the new laptop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Boot from the USB Drive<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Plug the prepared USB drive into the laptop where you want to install Windows 11.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Turn on the laptop and immediately press the key to enter the\u00a0BIOS\/UEFI setup<\/strong>. Common keys are\u00a0F2<\/strong>,\u00a0F10<\/strong>, or\u00a0Delete<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • In the BIOS, find the\u00a0Boot<\/strong>\u00a0menu. Change the boot order to make your\u00a0USB drive the first<\/strong>\u00a0option.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Save your changes and exit the BIOS. The laptop will restart and should now boot from the USB drive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        2. Load the Storage Driver<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • The Windows 11 setup will begin. Choose your language and keyboard layout, then click\u00a0Install now<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Enter your product key or click \u201cI don\u2019t have a product key.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Choose the version of Windows 11 you want to install (usually Home or Pro).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • You will eventually reach the screen titled \u201cWhere do you want to install Windows?<\/strong>\u201c. This is where your drive is likely missing. Don\u2019t worry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Click the\u00a0Load driver<\/strong>\u00a0link at the bottom.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Click\u00a0Browse<\/strong>\u00a0and navigate to the\u00a0drivers<\/code><\/strong>\u00a0folder you created on your USB drive. Select it and click\u00a0OK<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • The setup should find a compatible driver (e.g., \u201cIntel RST VMD Controller\u201d). Select it and click\u00a0Next<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • After a moment, your NVMe drive will appear in the list! Select the unallocated space and click\u00a0Next<\/strong>\u00a0to begin the installation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \n\n\n\n

          Part 3: Bypassing the Network Connection<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          After the main files are installed, your PC will restart to the final setup screens (called the OOBE). This is where you can skip the internet requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Proceed through the setup by selecting your country and keyboard layout.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • You will arrive at the \u201cLet\u2019s connect you to a network<\/strong>\u201d screen, which has no obvious skip button.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Press\u00a0Shift + F10<\/strong>\u00a0on your keyboard. (On some laptops, you might need to press\u00a0Fn + Shift + F10<\/strong>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • A black Command Prompt window will open. Type the following command exactly and press\u00a0Enter<\/strong>:OOBE\\BYPASSNRO<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Your computer will immediately restart and the setup process will begin again.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Select your country and keyboard layout one more time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • When you get back to the \u201cLet\u2019s connect you to a network<\/strong>\u201d screen, you will now see a new option:\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t have internet\u201d<\/strong>. Click it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • On the next screen, click\u00a0\u201cContinue with limited setup\u201d<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Part 1: Preparation \u2013 USB Drive and Drivers Before you begin, you\u2019ll need a working computer and a USB flash drive that is at least 8GB. This process will erase everything on the USB drive. 1. Create the Windows 11 Installation USB First, create your bootable USB drive using Microsoft\u2019s official tool. 2. Get the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tutorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions\/184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}