Download: Microsoft Windows 11 Available Now

Windows 11 will officially appear on October 5th, but this evening Microsoft made the Windows 11 ISO file, Windows 11 Media Creation Tool and Installation Assistant available for download. Anyone who wants to use it can download and install the latest version of Windows 11 (22000.194) with immediate effect. But beware.

As update, ISO or by tool

Windows 11 is now available in four different ways. One of them is Windows Update, as at the moment only a few systems should view the update in a manual update search. Microsoft offers three other options:

1. Install via ISO file
2. Installing with Windows 11 Installation Assistant
3. Installing via Windows 11 Media Creation Tool (also creates bootable USB disks)

This is version 22000.194, i.e. the state of the last insider preview in the release preview channel.

Getting there early is risky

In light of the issues that major version updates of Windows 10 and the switch from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 can cause, users should think carefully about whether their system needs to run the update as soon as possible.

With Windows Update, Microsoft will be distributing Windows 11 again in batches over the coming months for a reason: first, it’s the turn of already internally tested complete systems, and above all well-known laptops. Despite internal testing and a public Windows Insider Program, Windows 11 is likely to cause unknown usage issues on millions of PCs, which aren’t always isolated.

More information about Windows 11

The editors have published extensive reports and tests on Windows 11 over the past few weeks. They provide a lot of background knowledge of Windows 11, such as system requirements including TPM and CPU compatibility lists, and its connection to technologies like virtualization-based security and new system performance.

On Tuesday, just in time for the announced launch date, a more comprehensive reference article about Windows 11 will be published on ComputerBase.