Using the media creation tool
Windows 11 Pro can be reinstalled using a USB flash drive and a tool from Microsoft. This guide will walk you through creating the flash drive and performing the installation. *If you are installing Windows 11 onto a RAID array on the K800, you will want to follow the specific steps available here:
An 8GB or larger flash drive (USB 3.0 model recommended for speed)
A PC running Windows 10 or 11
The Media Creation Tool,
Download and run the Media Creation Tool, linked above
Accept the license agreement
Click Next
Choose the “USB flash drive” option and click Next
Choose your flash drive from the list and click Next
If the drive does not show, ensure it is formatted as FAT32 or try a different drive.
The Windows 11 installer will now download from the Internet and make the flash drive bootable. This will take several minutes depending on the speed of your flash drive and Internet connection.
When the tool finishes, click Finish to close it.
Safely eject the flash drive and unplug it from the PC.
Connect your newly created flash drive to the OnLogic PC and boot to it.
Press F2 or Delete to access the BIOS. Under the Boot tab, make it the first boot device.
Exact boot instructions vary by model. If you need assistance, contact support@onlogic.com.
When the flash drive boots, you will be presented with this screen.
Click Install now
Enter the product key from the bottom of your OnLogic PC and click Next.
If prompted (typically when you don’t enter a product key), select your version of Windows.
Accept the license agreement and click Next
Choose the option for Custom installation
Delete all partitions from the drive you will be installing Windows 11 to, typically Drive 0.
With all partitions deleted, the Window should look like this. Click Next. New partitions will be created automatically.
Take a break while the installation proceeds
After a few minutes, the installation will complete and the PC will reboot.
Depending on the boot settings, the system may boot to the flash drive again. If that happens, click the X to reboot and immediately remove the flash drive.
When booting to your new Windows installation for the first time, you will be presented with this screen
Confirm your region and click “Yes”
Confirm your keyboard layout and click “Yes”
Click “Skip”
The PC may restart once more at this stage.
Provide a computer name or choose “skip for now” to automatically assign one. This mostly matters for networking.
Choose “Set up for work or school”. This will allow you to avoid needing a Microsoft account.
You may log in with your Microsoft account if desired.
In many business use cases, that is not desired. You can create a normal account with the “Sign-in options” button.
Choose “Domain join instead”
Enter a username and click next.
DO NOT set a password yet. Click Next.
This will help avoid additional nag screens.
Disable all of the options at the next screen. This helps enhance system security, especially if “modern” apps from the Microsoft Store will not be used. They can be enabled later if needed.
This loading screen will appear for a few minutes while the user settings are applied.
When completed, you will go straight to the Windows 11 desktop.
Your installation is complete!
If you are missing any drivers, start by running Windows update. It tends to find most of them. Otherwise, use the search box at the top of this page to find the “Technical Resources” page for your model. It will have a link to the drivers.
Open the start menu and search for “Activation“
The activation settings option will come up. Click on it.
The activation state is shown
Click the “Change” button
Enter the product key from the bottom of your OnLogic PC.
The key may be obscured by a square patch of silver security foil.
Very gently, scratch the foil off with your fingernail as you would a lottery ticket. The key is underneath.
Enter the product key in this window, press Next, and Windows will activate online automatically.
Windows 11 moved the taskbar icons to the middle, which is not ideal for experienced Windows users. Fortunately, this is easy to change back.
Right click on the taskbar and choose “Taskbar Settings.
Scroll down and click on “Taskbar Behaviors”
Change “Taskbar Alignment” to “Left”
The Windows 11 Pro start menu includes a few suggested apps from the Microsoft store. These recommendations are geared towards consumers and may not be wanted on a business machine. Right click on each undesired app and choose “uninstall”.
Using the media creation tool
Windows 10 Pro and Home can be reinstalled using a USB flash drive and a tool from Microsoft. This guide will walk you through creating the flash drive and performing the installation.
An 8GB or larger flash drive (USB 3.0 model recommended for speed)
A PC running Windows 10
The Media Creation Tool, downloadable from here.
Download and run the Media Creation Tool, linked above
Accept the license agreement
Choose the 2nd option and click Next
Specify the architecture. In almost all cases, the default of 64bit is correct.
Select USB flash drive and click Next
Choose your flash drive from the list and click Next
If the drive does not show, ensure it is formatted as FAT32 or try a different drive.
The Windows 10 installer will now download from the Internet and make the flash drive bootable. This will take several minutes depending on the speed of your flash drive and Internet connection.
When the tool finishes, click Finish to close it.
Safely eject the flash drive and unplug it from the PC.
Connect your newly created flash drive to the OnLogic PC and boot to it.
Press F2 or Delete to access the BIOS. Under the Boot tab, make it the first boot device.
Exact boot instructions vary by model. If you need assistance, contact support@onlogic.com.
When the flash drive boots, you will be presented with this screen. Select Next.
Click Install now
Enter the product key from the bottom of your OnLogic PC and click Next.
If prompted (typically when you don’t enter a product key), select your version of Windows.
Accept the license agreement and click Next
Choose the option for Custom installation
Delete all partitions from the drive you will be installing Windows 10, typically Drive 0.
Double check that you are deleting the correct partitions and click OK.
With all partitions deleted, the Window should look like this. Click Next. New partitions will be created automatically.
Take a break while the installation proceeds
Depending on the boot settings, the system may boot to the flash drive again. If that happens, click the X to reboot and immediately remove the flash drive.
When booting to your new Windows installation for the first time, you will be presented with this screen
Choose :set up for an organization
You may log in with your Microsoft account if desired.
In many business use cases, that is not desired. You can create a normal account with the “Domain join instead” button.
Enter a username and click next. Set a password if desired.
The options on the next screen primarily affect apps from the Microsoft Store. Disabling all options will minimize intrusions if those apps are not used. This can be changed later.
Unless you signed in with a Microsoft account, click NO on this screen.
Cortana is a web search assistant on the desktop. Generally this should be disabled.
This loading screen will appear for a few minutes while the user settings are applied.
When completed, you will go straight to the Windows 10 desktop.
Your installation is complete!
If you’re missing any drivers, start by running Windows update. It tends to find most of them. Otherwise, use the search box at the top of this page to find the “Technical Resources” page for your model. It will have a link to the drivers.
Open any file explorer window. Right click on “This PC” and choose “Properties”
The activation status is shown at the bottom.
Click the “Activate Windows” button
Click “Change product key”\
Note: Some systems will display an error indicating that a “hardware change” has occurred. This can be ignored, and will go away once the OS is activated.
Enter the product key from the bottom of your OnLogic PC.
The key may be obscured by a square patch of silver security foil.
Very gently, scratch the foil off with your fingernail as you would a lottery ticket. The key is underneath.
Enter the product key in this window, press Next, and Windows will activate online automatically.
How to format secondary storage drives
OnLogic currently does not initialize storage drives unless an operating system was installed on them. This means that additional storage drives will not show up out of the box. They need to be initialized and formatted in disk management first. This guide will show you how.
Open the start menu and type in “management”
Open Computer Management
Click on Disk Management
In most cases, this popup will appear automatically.
Choose GPT and click OK
If the popup above does not appear, scroll down and locate the “Not Initialized” disk. Right click on the disk number and Initialize it. The popup will now appear.
Now that the disk has been initialized, you can create a volume and format it.
Right click anywhere in the black “unallocated” space.
Choose “New Simple Volume…”
Click Next on the window that appears.
Leave the number at the default and click next.
This will create one partition that fills the entire disk – the most common configuration.
Select a drive letter from the dropdown if desired. The default is fine.
Click Next
Format the drive
File System: NTFS
Enter a volume label if desired
quick format
Click Finish. The drive will start formatting and will show up under “This PC” within a few seconds.
The drive is now ready for use.
Manually update drivers via Device Manager, especially for those without installers.
Some drivers do not come with an installer and need to be installed manually. This can be done via Device Manager. This guide will show you how.
Copy the driver files to a USB flash drive.
If the drivers are contained inside a .zip file, extract them first.
In this example, we use the same flash drive we installed Windows 10 from
Eject the flash drive and connect it to the OnLogic PC. Type “Device Manager” into the start menu and launch Device Manager.
Expand the Display adapters menu. If you see “Microsoft Basic Display Adapter”, that means you are missing the driver. Right click and choose “Update driver”.
Select the “Browse my computer for drivers” option
Click on “Browse…”
Locate the folder on your flash drive with the drivers inside it. Click on the folder and click OK.
Now that the location shows where your driver folder is, click Next
Windows will now search that folder for the correct drivers and install them automatically.
Success! If you get a failure message, go back and make sure you copied all of the drivers to the flash drive and that they are not still inside a zip file. You need to extract them.
Repeat this process for all other devices marked with the yellow exclamation point. Typically, they will all be found under the “Other devices” heading.
When you no longer have any marked devices the process is complete. A reboot of the system is recommended.
Copy the driver package to a flash drive and plug it into the Windows machine
Open Command Prompt and navigate to the flash drive (e.g. >D:)
Run the command “pnputil /add-driver *.inf /subdirs /install“
You can also create a batch file and place it at the root of the .zip file that contains the line:
pnputil /add-driver *.inf /subdirs /install
How to send the system event logs to OnLogic for analysis
The Windows Event Logs contain a variety of information that can help diagnose crashes and other issues. In some instances, it is helpful to send us a copy of the logs so that we can examine them. This article covers how to do so.
Type “event” into the start menu
Open the Event Viewer
Expand the “Windows Logs” section
Right click on “System” and choose “Save all Events As…”
Enter a file name and save the file somewhere you can find it, such as the downloads folder.
Important – Be sure to select display information and check the English box. Without this, much of the log will be missing data.
Click OK. The export will take 5-30 seconds.
Attach the log files to an email and send them to us for analysis. Be sure to note the ticket number if we provided one, or your serial number if this is a newly reported issue.
Different methods of recovering a Windows IoT Enterprise operating system
Our systems with Windows 11 and 10 IoT include a recovery option that restores the device to its original factory state using the Windows Component Store. This includes drivers vital to the functionality of the system.
This recovery option works well when windows can still start up or reach recovery mode, and needs system files repaired.
This recovery option won't work for cases when the OS is completely missing, since the process depends on the Windows Component Store files which are stored on the OS.
Below are several methods to enter the Windows Recovery Environment:
Follow official Microsoft documentation for.
While inside the OS, press and hold the Shift key while you select Power > Restart.
In a Windows terminal window, type `shutdown /r /o /t 00` or `reagentc /boottore` .
If you are unable to access your OS, turn the system on and then force a shutdown by holding the power button as soon as you see the Windows logo or spinning dots. Repeating this process 2-3 times triggers the Automatic Repair feature and will boot into the Advanced Startup menu.
Follow these steps once inside the Windows Recovery Environment.
Choose the troubleshoot option.
Select "Reset this PC".
Select "Local reinstall". This is the option that uses the Windows Component Store files to restore the system.
Windows 10 IoT can be reinstalled using a USB flash drive. This guide will walk you through creating the flash drive and performing the installation. Please note that while Windows 11 IoT can be reinstalled through this method, it will erase the embedded activation key and so using the Recovery partition is the recommended way to restore Windows 11 IoT to a default installation.
An 16GB or larger flash drive (USB 3.0 model recommended for speed)
A PC running Windows 10
A copy of the OnLogic ISO file ( to obtain, only available to existing customers)
Rufus,
Download the ISO file and Rufus tool, linked above.
Install Rufus to your local computer
Insert your flash drive and run Rufus
Click Select and choose the ISO file you just downloaded.
Most systems will use the “GPT” Partition Scheme. Some older units will need “MBR” for older (Legacy bootable) systems.
Click START
Click OK. This will erase your flash drive and turn it into an IoT installer.
Wait for Rufus to complete.
Safely eject the flash drive and unplug it from the PC.
Connect your newly created flash drive to the OnLogic PC and boot to it.
Press F2 or Delete to access the BIOS. Under the Boot tab, make it the first boot device.
Exact boot instructions vary by model. If you need assistance, contact support@onlogic.com.
When the flash drive boots, you will be presented with this screen. Select Next.
Click Install now
Accept the license agreement and click Next
Choose the option for Custom installation
*** If installing Windows 11 IoT instead of Windows 10, this window will appear. Select “Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC” to proceed***
Delete all partitions from the drive you will be installing Windows 10, typically Drive 0.\
Note: If you have multiple drives in your system, you only need to delete the partitions on the primary SSD (i.e. the one Windows is installed to). Typically this is Drive 0.
Double check that you are deleting the correct partitions and click OK.
With all partitions deleted, the Window should look like this. Click Next. New partitions will be created automatically.
Take a break while the installation proceeds
Depending on the boot settings, the system may boot to the flash drive again. If that happens, click the X to reboot and immediately remove the flash drive.
Select “I don’t have a product key”. Windows will activate automatically using the embedded key, after the OS installation is complete.
You may log in with your Microsoft account if desired.
In many business use cases, that is not desired. You can create a normal account with the “Domain join instead” button.
Enter a username and click next. Set a password if desired.
Unless you signed in with a Microsoft account, click NO on this screen.
The options on the next screen primarily affect apps from the Microsoft Store. Disabling all options will minimize intrusions if those apps are not used. This can be changed later.
This loading screen will appear for a few minutes while the user settings are applied.
When completed, you will go straight to the Windows 10 desktop.
Your installation is complete!
If you are missing any drivers, start by running Windows Update. It tends to find most of them. Otherwise, use the search box at the top of this page to find the “Technical Resources” page for your model. It will have a link to the drivers.
Windows will automatically activate when connected to the Internet. This normally happens after a few minutes in the background, but to force immediate activation, open CMD and type “slmgr /ato“
Select either option based on your preference:
Keep my files: This option reinstalls the Windows operating system and all of the original drivers and software that were configured in our facility. It removes applications you have installed (like Microsoft Office, web browsers, etc.) and resets most settings, but it preserves your personal files, such as those on your Desktop and in your Documents, Downloads, and Pictures folders.
Remove everything: This option performs a complete factory reset. It erases all of your personal files, applications, and settings before reinstalling a fresh copy of the original system.
Select "Reset".
An active internet connection to the system getting Windows 10 IoT reinstalled (needed for OS activation)
