linuxmemes

You can bypass the network and MS account requirement using a registry entry. Thankfully, they included a handy script that will do it for you, located at C:\Windows\System32\OOBE\bypassnro.bat. The easiest way to run it is

1. Press Shift+F10 during the OOBE. This should bring up Command Prompt.
2. Type oobe\bypassnro (no spaces, case insensitive).
3. The computer should now restart.
4. Unplug any network cables.
5. When prompted to connect to a network, you will now see “Not now”. Click it and proceed.

Bonus tips:

1. When creating a local account, use a short name without spaces, ideally one that won’t doxx you if leaked. I use cnc. You can change the displayed name (but not Users folder name) later. Read more about this in the last paragraph.
2. Once you’re on the desktop, copy winutil-main.zip you get from this GitHub repo’s ZIP download onto your new PC. You can now eject and use your installation/recovery flash drive to transfer the file, it won’t interfere with its functionality. Follow instructions on the repo’s page for running it.
3. Uninstall bloat like Spotify; disable telemetry, Microsoft Edge etc. using Winutil’s GUI while you're still offline.
4. Only now connect the network cable or Wi-Fi.
5. Use Winutil to quickly install some handy programs like a web browser, Classic Shell, VS Codium, Notepad++, Git, Krita, GIMP, Steam etc. (your choice) from official repos.
6. Use Explorer Patcher to restore Explorer’s (mainly taskbar) functionality that got removed after 8.1 (clicked clock shows seconds, semitransparent non-blurring taskbar that can be enabled in Classic Shell).

Bonus trick for installation, which comes in handy before you start OOBE: Unlike Linux, when asked to select partition to install to, you cannot repartition your disk in the GUI. But you can do that from another OS, or even right there: press Shift+F10 to bring up Command Prompt, run diskpart and follow guides online on how to use it. What you want is the following partitions:

• At least 120 GiB (122882 “MB”) for Windows (C:, NTFS), more if you want to install modern games, on an SSD
• A big round number of GiB for storage (to convert to “MB” (actually MiB), multiply by 1024 and add 2 to avoid Explorer showing an unsatisfying number like 499.99 “GB”) (D:, NTFS) next to the system partition or to an HDD
• At least 50 GiB (51202 “MiB”) for installing Linux to later (don’t format), on an SSD
• Maybe a backup partition on the HDD?

You can change your username later but not paths like C:\Users\cnc\AppData\Local\Temp, spaces in which cause headaches. Also, move Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Videos to D: (look up how to do that).

This is about how I go about doing a somewhat clean, safe install of Windows 11. No sus binaries involved. Yes, Linux is better and you should install it on its partition right away; then you can symlink your home folders to D:.