Comment by InsideOutSanta
4 days ago
I have a little AMD AliExpress PC where the Windows installer recognizes neither the wifi card nor the Ethernet port. I guess there's a way to download the drivers on another computer and load them during installation, but instead of figuring out how to do that or what the latest option for circumventing the online requirement is, it now runs Pop OS.
Nothing wrong with Pop OS, but I assume you could still install Windows without activating it, install the drivers, then activate online.
The trouble is you need network access to end up at the desktop to install the network drivers in the expected manner. Both of the ways I am aware of resolving the issue involve dropping to a command prompt. One method is to run the device driver installer from the command prompt. The other method is to run the bypassnro script from the OOBE directory, to get to the desktop to install the driver. There are probably other ways, but given that most search results talk about non-official ways (which I place less faith in, frequently don't work, and are more complex anyhow) I don't see how most people would get around the problem.
In contrast, most desktop oriented Linux distributions have a simpler installer and provide at least enough hardware support to leave you at a functional desktop. (There may be issues with more esoteric hardware, but chances are that hardware wouldn't work under Windows until vendor supplied drivers are installed anyhow.)
That won't work. Windows won't let you finish the installation process unless you connect to the internet so you can't get the PC to a point where you could install the drivers.
The official solution[1] is to slipstream network drivers onto the Windows image before installation.
The official solution for non-technical users is to buy a PC with Windows preinstalled.
[1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufactu...
1 reply →
Really?
When did this come up?
I know tons of people who run Windows unactivated. The key difference is there's a watermark. Otherwise, it seems to work fine.
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Without unofficial bypasses of MS online account requirements you would not come to a point where activation is a concern. No internet access is not enough of a reason for MS let you use your device.
A few years back I bought win 11 pro retail on usb flash drive.
I just install and type in the key. no network.
I use it for VMs no network necessary.
Just go find the PCI IDs (lspci) and download the appropriate cabs from the Software Update Catalog. Extract them and throw them on a USB stick. Really effing simple.