Best new install steps for Windows 11 gaming PC?
Hi folks--I am very excited about a gaming PC that I just bought for my family (mainly 13yo son into gaming, coding, and digital art).
I installed the video card (only piece sent separately), went through Windows setup/updates. Installed peripherals. Updated video card drivers. Installed Steam/GIMP/Krita. Made 13yo an adult in my Steam Family. Installed a few of the games so something is ready to run right away. I even have the small Wacom tablet working in GIMP and Inkscape with a good pressure profile!
All that said, I used to set up my own Windows PCs (looooong) ago, and I'm wondering if it's really that simple. It was very easy.
I did small utility things like run Startallback and install PowerToys. I figured MS Visual Code is next?
Anything else you all can suggest?
(P.S. is there a way to move all his Minecraft stuff to his new Microsoft account? He's tired of logging in as me, and I'm tired of sending him auth codes.)
I recommend double checking the display adapter refresh rate is set properly, I found Windows set it to 60Hz each time the monitor config changed.
If the card is Nvidia, ensure the new Nvidia app is closed when running games or just remove it altogether -- the new app has been causing substantial performance hits.
I'd check out the power settings, I dislike the defaults on Windows.
I have these tweaks saved from @ShroudedScribe in the event I set Windows up again.
Group Policy edits (gpedit)
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > OneDrive
Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage
Enabled
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer
“Turn off display of recent search entries in the File Explorer search box”
Enabled
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management > Sleep Settings
"Allow applications to prevent automatic sleep (plugged in)"
Enabled
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar
"Remove Recommended section from Start Menu"
Enabled
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar
"Remove Recommended section from Start Menu"
Enabled
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Copilot > Turn off Windows Copilot
Enabled
registry edits (regedit)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
Create a new key (aka folder) called Explorer
Create a new DWORD (32-bit) registry key and name it DisableSearchBoxSuggestions
Double-click on DisableSearchBoxSuggestions to edit it and set the Value data field to 1 and click OK.
Windows Firewall
Rule to block Edge Webview from making connections
msedgewebview2.exe
Glad my list of tweaks is still helpful! :)
Hey thanks! I would have left that Nvidia app going if you hadn't mentioned it.
It only impacts performance if the in game overlay is enabled. Just having it on in the background does very little.
The performance hit is specifically with the Game Filter option, even if it's not On for the current game.
Disabling the Filter mode in settings fixes it, or disabling Nvidia App (overlay) entirely.
Install Everything for better and faster file searching. Essential program for me now.
Oh hell yeah, seconding. It's one of those things that seems trivial but you later realize completely changes your quality of life and you don't realize how you lived on Windows without it. Totally essential install.
This and Wiztree are always in my essential list.
I'd recommend checking out Chris Titus Win Util that's really come together over the last couple years, lots of inbuilt scrips that are great.
Check it out on GitHub: Windows Utility
If you want to install it for free you'll need to use the command line to spin it up, but it's pretty straightforward, otherwise there is an exe.
Quick bit of feedback. I used Titus' script on my second to last win 11 install. it ended up nerfing the Webcam on my t480. Couldn't figure out why and after a few weeks I gave up and reinstalled without running Titus' script.
I guess if you don't read through the code and understand everything the script does, then you shouldn't run it. Probably pretty obvious, but I was a little too naive. Just wanted to share.
Yeah for sure test after using the tweaks, you can always revert them, I've had no issues with the recommended ones personally. Also handy to install a bunch of programs on a fresh install.
Appreciate it!
I recommend an unattended Windows install that is customized to your preferences:
https://schneegans.de/windows/unattend-generator/
This allows you to remove a lot of cruft while making the install less hands on.
This resource is great! Thanks!!
No WSL installation? This is like one of the first things I install in windows now.
Oh! I fell prey to the misconception that WSL is only available on Windows Pro. I guess it's a portion of the hypervisor, the rest of which is made available on Pro.
Thanks!
Just asking piggybacking on the topic, is it possible to install Win11 without an account or was that entirely removed?
You can install W11 without an account, I actually just did it earlier tonight. When you get to the step to connect to the network, hit Shift+F10 and it’ll restart. Go through the same steps and when you get to the network choose to set up without connecting to the internet and it’ll let you set up a local only account.
More specifically, Shift+F10 will open a terminal, in which you need to run oobe\bypassnro (apparently this stands for "out-of-box-experience\bypass enrollment"). Running it restarts and then you get the option of not selecting an internet connection.
This worked for me just recently.
Whoops, yeah thank you for calling that step out!
Oh right, I didn't explain that. I have a Microsoft account that I've previously used to purchase Minecraft Java Edition, and this is the account I used as the main Windows administrator account for the PC. I made a second administrator user for my son, and I made a new Microsoft account in his name for that user profile and for (hopefully) logging in to Minecraft.
As an update, I've since realized that I would have to repurchase Minecraft using his account to do what I'm wanting, so I think he and I will just have to deal with the login annoyances.
Another (deeper) configuration to check is the BIOS for RAM settings. Motherboards usually work stock but don't enable XMP (aka advanced memory settings).
If you have modern high-speed RAM, it's worth checking profiles and matching the RAM's stock timing. Just get memtest86 to verify no errors, even if Windows runs.
Very minor suggestion, but since you mention GIMP: as a longtime GIMP user myself, I recently switched to just running Photopea installed as a progressive web app. The free version is ad-supported but it's not too annoying, and you have a more familiar Photoshop alternative that still supports Wacom tablets and pen input.
Disregard if you're adroit with, and a fan of, GIMP but enough people often express frustration with it that I feel like it's worth mentioning.
Hey thanks. Photopea is what I used quite a few years ago. My kid started in Photoshop at school, and after trying GIMP at home he started to prefer it. It's more like the way he thinks, he said. But he's very new at it still. I'll definitely ask him to give Photopea a try.
Fair--I actually like GIMP myself for a lot of things, and "more like the way [I] think" is a pretty good way to put it. There are some tasks that I'm so much faster at doing in GIMP, but there's also some things it just can't do all that well that caused me to eventually shift to a PWA of Photopea. I only mentioned it because people complain all the time about GIMP, ha ha.
Me in the corner still using Paint.net because it's what I learned on.
If they have games outside of Steam, Heroic Launcher has access to Epic, GOG and Amazon libraries all in one app.