How to become rid of Windows xi (and roll dorsum to Windows 10)

If you've tried Windows eleven and for some reason want to go dorsum to its predecessor, timing is primal. The clock begins ticking as soon equally y'all move to Windows xi. Here's what to do.

windows 11 laptop
Microsoft

Then, you've installed Windows 11, kicked the proverbial tires and taken it for spin — and now you desire to become back to tried and trusty Windows 10 until the new-OS dust settles. Can you uninstall it without having to reinstall your old operating system from scratch?

The answer depends on how long agone you installed Windows 11 and how yous did so.

Let'southward assume first that you didn't use the Insider programme to get Windows 11. (And you didn't adjust your registry to manually go around whatever hardware block.) Instead, y'all were offered the upgrade considering your PC had the right processor, TPM scrap, and other necessary items. If so, and it's not been more than 10 days since you installed Windows xi, you tin go to Settings>System>Recovery and choose "Go Back." This will revert your computer to the Windows 10 version you had before installing Windows 11. You'll be asked if you want to bank check outset for updates to Windows eleven; turn down that and follow the sorcerer to return to Windows 10.

Reboot and y'all're all set.

What if you didn't intend to install Windows 11 and paused information technology mid-installation? If you're at the point where the operating organization is prompting you lot to reboot to stop the move to Windows eleven, it'southward safer to reboot, complete the installation, then follow the guidance in a higher place to roll back to Windows x.

Note: Windows xi should merely offer y'all the new feature release, it should not automatically install; you have to specifically choose to install it. That said, I've heard of at least one person who said they but clicked on "check for updates" and the installation started. I've seen this sometimes happen when third-party security software made selections a user didn't intend. In my ain experience, I've not had this happen. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend that yous never click on "cheque for updates" on an unmanaged computer when you're unsure whether you've taken whatever action to defer or cake updates. "Unmanaged" is defined past Microsoft every bit non existence managed by a patching tool such as WSUS, SCCM, Intune, or other tertiary-party patching platforms. (If yous somehow wound upward with Windows 11 without agreeing to install information technology, I'd love to hear well-nigh it in the Askwoody forums.)

To avoid inadvertently updating to Windows 11, remember that if you lot've installed the September cumulative updates (or later), the TargetReleaseVersion setting now offers a new manner to define which OS version you want. If you have grouping policy on Windows x Professional, drill downward to Estimator Configuration>Administrative Templates>Windows Components>Windows Update>Windows update for business. Look for "Select the target Feature Update Version." Click to enable it and enter Windows 10 in the box, "Which Windows production would yous like to receive characteristic updates for? E.g. Windows 10." (If you are on Windows 10 Home version, you can employ the registry key method to exercise likewise.)

Windows group policy Microsoft

User can define which Bone version they want using the TargetReleaseVersion setting.

If you've been using Windows eleven for less than 10 days, you can review how long yous yet take to uninstall it by querying the value. From an elevated command prompt (type in cmd, correct-mouse click and click on run every bit administrator), yous can and so check the value of the uninstall window setting by using this DISM command:

DISM /Online /Get-OSUninstallWindow

If y'all've not made any changes to the defaults this value volition be 10. If you'd similar this to exist longer, utilise the following command and set the value to be longer than 2 days and less than 60 days.

DISM /Online /Ready-OSUninstallWindow /Value:[days]

Extending that number by ten days gives you more than time to evaluate Windows 11. Just take notation of when the flow ends so you can roll back to Windows 10 easily. It's as well important to remember that the prior version will be saved in a file called windows.old, and so don't delete that file. Because it'due south usually a large file, it will be flagged by any file-size plan.

If information technology'due south been longer than the default of 10 days and you no longer have the option to coil back to Windows 10, you lot have two choices: You can stay on Windows 11 or reinstall Windows 10. If you lot remain with Windows 11, you might want to install the optional end-of-the-month not-security updates, every bit Microsoft will exist sliding in fixes in an accelerated manner for a few weeks.

If y'all find at that place is some consequence that you cannot live with — and you lot accept no idea when it will be stock-still — your just other option is to practise a clean install of Windows 10. (Because you still have a digital license for either Windows ten or Windows xi you don't need to worry about finding a product key that you can't probably find anymore.)

Beginning make sure you lot have a full fill-in of your data since will be installing on meridian of the existing information. You can download the Windows 10 media from the Windows x .iso download site and then set the figurer to boot from the wink bulldoze. Typically, I detect this is ofttimes the hardest office of the process — finding the combination of keys that allows you into the bios to strength the system to kick from the flash drive.

In one case it finds the Windows 10 .iso file, your PC will install Windows 10. Y'all'll side by side want to go into Device Managing director (click on search and type "device managing director" to call it upwards). Look for any hardware that has assertion marks — a sign that something is missing a driver. If you are missing drivers, I recommend that you lot avoid random searches online for missing drivers; go to the manufacturer'southward site and observe drivers there. Most vendors allow you lot to scan the computer system or search for your verbal model to allow y'all to install the drivers you demand.

More oft than not, any missing device drivers will be added after installing motherboard or firmware updates. If you built your own figurer years ago, hopefully you placed the drivers you needed on a saved drive or flash bulldoze for simply this purpose.

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