7 reasons to clean install (not upgrade) Windows 11

With the Windows 10 end of support date arriving on October 14, upgrading to Windows 11 is now a matter of “when,” not “if.” But it may be better still to clean install Windows 11 on your PCs, rather than taking the upgrade path.

For those who value maximum performance, security, and feature fidelity, a clean install of Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2 is helpful. Using Windows Update to upgrade to a new Windows version is convenient, but it can carry forward quirks, clutter, and compatibility issues that can block or degrade new functionality. Or new features may not appear at all.

I’ve identified seven reasons why it may be worthwhile to clean install Windows 11, especially on systems running Windows 10:

Take full advantage of Recall and Copilot+ features on properly configured PCs.

Degunk the system state, apps, and leftover elements.

Ensure Windows 11 security features get properly installed and provisioned.

Take advantage of new, more efficient power management models.

Ensure complete and effective 25H2 enablement package activation.

Create a cleaner app environment.

Obtain better compatibility with the new Windows 11 Settings UI.

Let’s explore each of these reasons further.

Reason 1: Fully unlock advanced AI features

A clean install of Windows 11 on a Copilot+ PC enables users to unlock advanced AI features such as Recall, Live Captions, and Auto Super Resolution. Upgrading from older Windows 11 versions, especially 22H2 or 21H2, preserves old registry entries, deprecated drivers, and app configurations that may conflict with new features. In turn, this might contribute to system instability or keep Recall from indexing properly.

Simply put, a clean install wipes the PC clean and sets up Copilot+ features on a pristine footing.

Copilot+ PCs employ neural processing units (NPUs) to accelerate AI, and can use DirectStorage to load related assets (code, data sets, LLMs, and so forth) more quickly. Copilot+ PCs also support the modern standby sleep state and a new form of memory compression. A clean install helps make sure that Windows 11 configures these features correctly, and won’t carry over legacy power plans or drivers that might otherwise come along for the ride during an upgrade from earlier versions of Windows 11.

Reason 2: A clean install degunks systems

For the earliest Windows versions, a clean install was the only option to move from an older version to a newer one. Only since Windows 95 made its debut have in-place upgrades been available. Ever since then, though, IT pros and Windows power users have touted starting with a tabula rasa as a primary benefit of performing a clean install rather than an upgrade.

Indeed, clean installing Windows 11 confers the following benefits:

Avoids preloaded software, often called “bloatware.” OEM PCs often include trialware, vendor utilities, and unwanted apps as part of their factory-fresh Windows images. A clean install skips all that stuff, sans pop-ups, nag screens, and so forth.

Resets the registry and System Services: As a Windows image ages, it accumulates debris from app installs and prior upgrades, including obsolete or broken registry keys, disabled services, and conflicting or incompatible Group Policy Objects (GPOs). A clean install rebuilds the registry from the ground up and installs only default services and policies.

Removes legacy drivers: Upgrades will typically retain outdated drivers for storage, graphics, and peripherals. A clean install loads fresh, new hardware-optimized drivers that improve boot time, boost system stability, and work well with AI features.

Clean up startup clutter and background processes: Older installs accumulate autostart entries, scheduled tasks, and obscure services over time. A clean install produces a leaner startup profile and lowers RAM and CPU loads.

Reason 3: Make security current and more capable

Although Windows continues to gain new security features and functions with time (even for newer versus older Windows 11 versions, and more so for Windows 10 versions), only a clean install enables certain security features and functions. Likewise, a clean install clears the deck to help other security features work better.

As I explained in my Computerworld story about Windows 11 Smart App Control (SAC), if that feature shows up turned off in Windows Security > App & browser control > Smart App Control, the only way to turn it on is to clean install Windows 11. Why might this be good? Because SAC blocks malicious or untrusted apps it sees, drawing on AI insights and information from the entire Windows user base.

Other security capabilities that benefit from a clean install include the following:

Core Isolation and Memory Integrity: These features make sure that kernel-mode drives are signed and secured, which protects against rootkits and firmware level exploits. This avoids pitfalls posed by legacy drivers, which may obviate such protection.

Secure boot and TPM 2.0 enforcement: Clean Windows 11 installs validate and enforce UEFI Secure Boot, to ensure system integrity from power-on through boot-up. TPM 2.0 is required for Windows 11, but clean install ensures it’s properly and fully used to support BitLocker, Windows Hello, and credential protection.

Virtualization-Based Security (VBS): This provides sandboxing capabilities to support built-in Windows 11 features including Credential Guard, Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity (HVCI), and Windows Defender Application Guard.

Boost protection in Windows Defender: On a clean Windows 11 install, Defender benefits from cloud-based protection, automatic sample submission, and tamper protection. This helps sidestep conflicts with third-party antivirus leftovers or disabled telemetry settings carried over from earlier Windows installs. A clean install also resets telemetry, app permissions, and diagnostic settings (that’s what makes AI-based features such as Recall, Live Captions, and so forth work more reliably).

Reason 4: Use new power plans

A clean Windows 11 install provides a power management environment that’s correctly aligned with modern hardware and OS capabilities. This is especially helpful on newer systems with Copilot+ capability or advanced standby modes (e.g., S0 Low Power Idle). Indeed, S0 is needed for instant wake, background sync, and efficient sleep transition (wake to sleep and vice-versa). Upgraded systems disable Modern Standby (S0) and can break advanced features such as Wake on Voice or Recall indexing during idle.

Figure 1 shows the powercfg output from an Intel-based Copilot+ PC that supports network-connected S0 modern standby.

Figure 1: Modern PCs, including Copilot+ units, support S0 Low Power Idle (a.k.a. Modern Standby).
Ed Tittel / Foundry

Windows 11 also introduces new Power Mode settings such as Best Power Efficiency and Best Performance atop basic power modes. You can see these options under Settings > System > Power & battery > Power Mode, as shown in Figure 2. They do not, however, appear in the older Control Panel Power Options widget.

Figure 2: New Windows 11 power modes include Best Power Efficiency and Best Performance.
Ed Tittel / Foundry

A clean Windows 11 install ensures that these new modes appear. It also resets conflicting registry settings or OEM power plans that might be factory-installed. In fact, two of my newest review laptops eschew these new “best” modes for their own OEM defaults. (A clean install does away with them.)

For higher-end systems where performance scaling and advanced thermal management come into play, a clean install ensures improved and more predictable responses to  app-triggered power mode changes, game mode optimizations, and battery saver thresholds.

Reason 5: Proper Windows 11 25H2 enablement

It’s legitimate to see this item as a consequence of reason 2 (degunking). Indeed, recent Windows 11 24H2 update cycles have displayed problems with DHCP failures, Recall indexing glitches, and broken app provisioning. A clean install bypasses such things because it starts from a clean, working baseline so that the enablement package can’t inherit nonworking dependencies or misconfigured services.

A clean install also improves outcomes for GPO-based app removals, and it cleans out deprecated legacy components such as PowerShell 2.0 or the Windows Management Instrumentation Command (aka WMIC). With dangling or legacy bits and pieces around to pose potential problems, getting the 25H2 enablement package to install successfully becomes much more likely.

Reason 6: A cleaner, leaner app environment

Bypassing the burden of history — which for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 includes a GPO named “Remove Default Microsoft Store Packages” — means that admins can deploy Windows images without necessarily including default apps they don’t want or need. That includes items such as Windows Media Player, Sound Recorder, and the Xbox app, which users may never touch, but also standard apps such as Terminal, Camera, Notepad, and Clipchamp.

Previous versions of Windows required serious PowerShell contortions to remove these items. A clean install makes them trivial to strip out during OS deployment.

Reason 7: Boost Settings UI compatibility

Microsoft has been on a long, slow track to shift system controls over from Control Panel to the Settings app for a decade or more. This is especially important for newer Copilot+ PCs, where AI-based features are slowly but surely working their way into the Settings environment.

Where upgraded systems may retain Control Panel settings or registry keys that conflict with the Settings app, a clean install helps ensure that Settings serves as a single, authoritative control interface. This eliminates fallback or duplicated facilities from older Windows versions. The net result is a smoother transition from one Settings pane to the next, fewer broken links, and proper, complete access to new categories that include Recall, Copilot, and Privacy Dashboard.

In particular, Copilot-related settingsmay not appear on otherwise compatible and capable systems if they include mismatched or improper provisioning. This includes the Customize Copilot key on the keyboard (Settings > Personalization > Text input) item, automatic pin of Copilot on the taskbar, plus access to Recall, Live Captions, and Settings > System > AI Components. Indeed, the 25H2 version of Windows 11, released on October 1, 2025, adds to Copilot’s capabilities, boosts File Explorer’s AI chops, brings “agentic help” to the Settings app, and much, much more.

Likewise, enterprise or OEM upgrades could interfere with full visibility and functionality of the Settings UI because of disabled panes or specific toggles (e.g., SAC or Recall turned off). Here again, a clean install will address such things, with a pristine image that uses only documented — and expected — Windows defaults.

Do it right, make it clean

For users and admins seeking to make the most of their Windows 11 experience, be it when updating a PC running Windows 10 or an older version of Windows 11, a clean install offers a strong, lean, and clean foundation from which to venture forth. For many users, starting fresh and clean will boost the odds of a subsequent and successful Windows 11 computing experience.

For instructions, see my story “How to perform a clean install in Windows 10 and 11.” If you’re moving from Windows 10 to 11, skip to the “Alternate clean install methods” section of the story for details on downloading and installing Windows 11.

Just in case, make a complete image backup before you start down the clean install road. Then, you can always get back to where you started if things don’t turn out as planned.7 reasons to clean install (not upgrade) Windows 11 – ComputerworldRead More