How To Install Windows 11 On A MSI Laptop

If your system is compatible, it may be possible to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 through Windows Updates. Simply access the Windows Update section of the settings menu, and look for an option to upgrade to Windows 11.

If the option does not appear, download and install the PC Health Check app from Microsoft’s website
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-11#pchealthcheckhttps://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-11#pchealthcheck

Run the app and select “Check now “ under the Windows 11 section. The app should tell you whether or not your system can run Windows 11. If there are compatibility issues, they will be shown to let you know what part of your system needs upgrading.

Part 1: Download what you’ll need

Step A: Use Microsoft's free Windows 11 Installation Media tool, to create a Windows 11 boot USB (the USB has to be at least 8GB in size). https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows11v

Step B: Once the USB has been created using the tool, make a new folder (Call it “Graphics Drivers” to be simple, you can use other names, as long as it does not clash with any folder name what's already there); this folder is intended to hold the optional drivers for you to install later.

Step C: Download the necessary drivers for your graphics card. For NVIDIA graphics cards, goto NVIDIA's website & download the graphics driver (select the graphics card model; e.g. for an RTX 3060 it would be: GeForce > GeForce RTX 30 Series (Notebooks) > RTX 3060 Laptops GPU.
(Direct link: https://www.nvidia.co.uk/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-uk)

Step D: Download the Wifi & Ethernet driver for your laptop. Search for your system on MSIs website and find the official drivers for your system (The model of your system is commonly found on a sticker underneath your laptop). Your system may not be able to connect to the internet without these drivers, so we highly recommend downloading these.
https://www.msi.com/support/download

Part 2: Backup all your data

As we are performing a clean install of Windows 11, the drive Windows is installed on will be wiped of any data, so make sure to backup any data you wish to keep on either a removable drive or in cloud storage.

Part 3: Check AC Charger, Soft Power Reset, Reset BIOS to default

Remove the AC charger from the Laptop (and where applicable, also remove the battery). Now, press down the power button for 30 seconds. Then, connect the AC charger in without reconnecting the battery.

To enter the BIOS, turn the power on & repeatedly press the Del key when you see the MSI logo. Once in, select "Load Optimized Defaults" in the “Save and Exit” section. Once the computer reboots, the MSI logo should appear. After 20 seconds, switch off the system. Reinsert the battery back in. This sometimes improves the stability of the systems.

Part 4: Configuring BIOS

While previous versions of Windows could run in Legacy, Windows 11 requires your system to be running in UEFI to be compatible

1. Re enter the BIOS by turning on the power & repeatedly pressing 'Del'.

2. Navigate to “Security”
3. Select “Secure Boot”
4. Ensure “Secure Boot Support” is Enabled

5. Navigate to “Save & Exit”
6. Save Changes and reset

Part 5: Install Windows

1. Insert the Windows 11 USB you’ve made into your laptop
2. Shutdown your PC, and while restarting it, repeatedly press F11 until you enter the Startup Menu. Select your Windows 11 USB from this menu
3. Follow the onscreen instructions to install Windows 11 (Make sure to delete the files on the drive containing the previous Windows installation)

Part 6: After Windows has been installed.

Once you're in Windows:

Step A: Install the graphics drivers first. Initially, the system will appear to be less responsive / the internet appears slow.
This is because it is updating the drivers in the background. An idea is to leave the laptop for 10-15 minutes whilst it sets up (depending on your internet speed this could take longer).

Step B: Open "Windows update", select update if it doesn’t automatically do so, and let it find more drivers (restart once it requests).

Step C: Open Windows’ Device Manager (either by searching for Device Manager in the search bar, or by holding the Windows Key and pressing X and choosing Device manager) and check if there are any devices missing under “Other Devices”.

If any devices still do not have drivers, search for the drivers manually on the MSI website. https://www.msi.com/support/download