For some PC buyers, performing a clean install of Windows right out of the box is part of the installation ritual. But for Arm-based PCs, including the Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X Plus and Elite chips inside, this wasn't possible in the same way. Microsoft has not (usually) offered generic installation media that can be used to install Windows from scratch on an Arm PC.
Microsoft fixed this today: the company finally has a download page for the official Arm release of Windows 11, linked to but separate from the ISOs for the x86 versions of Windows. These are useful not only for clean installs because I feel like it, but also for reinstalling Windows after you upgrade your SSD and for setting up Windows virtual machines on Arm-based PCs and Macs.
Previously, Microsoft did offer installation media for some Windows Insider Preview Arm builds, although these are for beta versions of Windows that may or may not be full or stable. Various apps, scripts, and websites also exist to grab files from Microsoft's servers and build “unofficial” ISOs for the Arm version of Windows, although this is obviously more complicated than just downloading a single file directly. file.
