Introduction
Note that unlike other versions of the Framework Laptop 13, AMD Ryzen 7040 Series uses an AMD RZ616 WiFi card that the Windows 11 installer doesn't currently include drivers for. To avoid getting stuck during installation, we recommend using Rufus to create the installer, which allows you to bypass the network requirement. This guide takes you through the steps to use Rufus to create a Windows 11 installer.
Tools
Parts
No parts specified.
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On a different computer, download the Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices from https://www.microsoft.com/software-downl...
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In the dropdown select Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for x64 devices) as pictured, and click Download Now.
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Download the latest version of Rufus from here.
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If you are on Windows you will typically need the Standard version outlined here in red or the Portable version if you prefer to run Rufus without installation.
Without the operating system the computer starts by opening the BIOS (?). It is not clear from your instructions how to get to the USB drive (with the Windows 11 ISO image and Rufus) from this screen. So, I am completely stuck. I feel like saying something nasty.
Would propose Ventoy to prepare USB-storage. Easy-to-use for many different ISO-files. Has GUI for Linux and Windows - very easy to use. Much more comfortable and faster than writing ISO content to USB-storage. Just copy ISO-files like regular files and Ventoy makes boot menu of ISO files found on USB-storage. Much easier also keep ISO-files up-to-date. Has also tweaking for MS Windows 11 installation, in future might contain similar hacks.
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Plug in a USB thumb drive of at least 8GB in size (note that this will be wiped during installation, so use a blank drive or one with data you don’t need to preserve) into the computer you have Rufus and the Windows 11 ISO on.
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A Storage Expansion Card can also work for this if you have one.
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Once the USB drive is connected launch Rufus.
"Once the USB drive is connected launch Rufus."
How, when it automatically goes to setup first, even when I move everything but rufus to a sub folder.
This is on the other laptop, not the framework laptop, right? If so, why are you mentioning the storage expansion card? Can that expansion piece be used with other computers?!
omg, I'm just now realizing it's a USB/jump drive in and of itself, just with a different insert. So, had I bought the storage expansion card, I could have downloaded the Windows installation and Rufus onto it beforehand and not have had to do all this ahead of time?? How are you not selling that option already??
No, wait, it says I plug the USB into the computer with Windows OS and Rufus already installed and I can't get (as far as I know) to that point of installing programs like Rufus if I can't "boot up" at all.... You need a separate how-to guide for dummies...
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Under Device, choose the USB thumb drive.
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Note that if you’re using a very large thumb drive and no drives appear, you may need to click Show advanced drive properties and select List USB Hard Drives
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Click SELECT next to Boot selection and choose the Win11_22H2_English_x64v2.iso that you downloaded earlier.
The "show advanced drive properties" "List USB Hard Drives" selection didn't work. It showed one of my SSDs but not the 120GB jump drive. Stuck.
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You can keep the rest of the settings as the defaults. Click START. You’ll get a screen that says “Windows User Experience”. You can keep those settings as the defaults also, and click OK. You can also adjust the settings if you’d like at this screen, but make sure Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account remains selected.
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After you click OK you'll see a warning that the USB Thumb Drive will be erased during, click OK on this and Rufus will create your install Media
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Once the Green Status Bar is complete you can remove the USB Thumb Drive, plug it into your Framework Laptop 13, and proceed to install Windows by following this Guide from Step 3 onwards!
This step did not work for me as described: the "Windows User Experience" screen never showed up, on several attempts. Tested on a Windows 10 install (inside VirtualBox VM on a Linux host), using both Rufus V4.2.2074 as shown, as well as with the most recent V4.3.2090. The iso I am flashing is Win11_23H2_French_x64.iso.
Otherwise, the USB stick is written correctly and usable. I successfully used the workaround recommended by @Forissier in their comment below to install Windows without network access.
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16 Comments
I'm on a FW13 Ryzen 7040 running Linux and would like to create a Windows 11 USB stick for another FW13 Ryzen 7040. Unfortunately, Rufus is only available for Windows and I do not have access to a Windows device currently.
It would be awesome if someone could please write a guide target for creating this special Windows 11 USB stick on a Linux or maybe even macOS host. This would make the transition to a Framework laptop or setting up a Framework laptop for someone at lot easier.
no need for rufus! save yourself a lot of trouble by finding the comment by 'Forissier - Oct 25, 2023' in this thread below.
I have a Laptop 13 DIY with AMD. It arrived with BIOS 3.03. The Windows 11 23H2 installer doesn't include drivers for the included RZ616 Wi-Fi adapter. Using Rufus I found I could install Windows 11 with no Internet connection, but the result seemed somewhat unstable, even after I later installed the AMD driver bundle. I tried again right from the beginning with a wired Internet connection using the Ethernet "expansion card" and the result seemed much better. Presumably, you could also use any USB to Ethernet adapter that doesn't need drivers in Windows 11. Since then, I have updated everything, including all optional driver updates under advanced options in Windows update. The result has always been good and stable, especially once I upgraded beyond BIOS 3.03 (3.03b and now 3.05). Take all this only at its face value — one user's experience setting up one laptop one time.
I can't thank you enough. I used Win32DiskImager and it looked fine, except the SSD would never appear. Rufus 4.4.2103 saved me.
I built a DIY FW13 Ryzen 7040 and I’ve followed the instructions regarding the Rufus/Windows download etc. I’m setting up windows and I’m now at the screen that says, “Lets connect you to a network” but the next button is greyed out. I followed the instruction on this page line by line.
How do I get past this screen? Also, from here there are no instructions how to install the driver package and update BIOS.
Thank you.
Where to get missing drivers after finish of the windows installation? I can not find the driver pack everyone is talking about.
You can find the latest BIOS and Drivers here, this is the final step of the Windows installation guide we link to at the end of this guide, however based on feedback we will consider consolidating these steps into one guide for Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen™ 7040 Series) in future.
Is there a Rufus alternative for Mac that works well in this case? I have balenaEtcher, that I have used to make Raspberry Pi images. There's a lot of other choices too.
[SOLVED]
This thread addresses the problem of the Win11 install asking for drivers. You need to create the thumb drive with the Microsoft media creation tool or Rufus.
I had to drag out an old Win7 machine that could only use an older version of Rufus; the Microsoft tool didn't run on Win7. Eventually I got it all working with the command line tip above.
I think it is possible to use the command prompt to bypass the "let's connect" screen. You can download the ISO and flash it to your USB stick (no need for Rufus in particular), this is possible on a any OS (step 1). Boot from the USB key (the guide presented in the step 6). When you are on the Internet connection screen, you can press Shift + F10 to open the command prompt. In the command prompt , type OOBE\BYPASSNRO. The PC will restart and a new option should appear in the setup screen "I don't have Internet"...
This article is really interesting if you want to know other methods to achieve the bypass.
If the command prompt does not come after pressing Shift + F10 then hit fn + esc first. Then it worked for me with the rufus-version for Win7. Thank you.
Is this required if you have the Ethernet expansion card?
I can confirm: the ethernet expansion card drivers are recognized by Windows 11 so no need for Rufus if plugged in to ethernet during installation.
BAK -
I have the same question, did you ever get an answer? Rufus only runs on Windows and I don't have easy access to a Windows machine.
BAK -
I cant get the ISO to download in chrome or edge
Error
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I have starlink internet
I am not using a VPN (no extentions instaled)
What is the other way this can be done?
Thanks
Andrew McNeish - Reply
skip the rest of this guide - ie no need for rufus. just find the comment by 'Forissier - Oct 25, 2023' in the thread at the bottom that explains how to avoid windows needing network
henry widd - Reply
I found the ISO wouldn't download in Firefox. I used Edge with no problem. I guess Chrome would be okay too.
Brian Gregory - Reply