How to carry out a totally clean Windows 11 reinstall - no ifs, no buts, just totally clean


Sigurd said:
Just got this back from Chillblast -
If you try right clicking MSI centre and running as admin, pressing okay on the pop up then restart to see if that worked, if not then I would recommend a clean install of it found here:
https://www.msi.com/faq/faq-4147

But to do that means re-installing MSI. I assume that is the clean instal they refer to.
Click to expand...

Ian,

Yes, I also think they mean a clean install of MSI centre.
Despite reading the link and its Clean Install MSI Center download file, I'm still not sure what MSI centre is but think it is probably a control centre of some sort for MSI hardware drivers.

Denis
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3447
If you have a PC / laptop from MSI (or a PC with an MSI motherboard in it) then it will have this software.

It doesn't really do a whole lot that you cannot do yourself, but there are a few parts to it, and part of it is from the Microsoft Store, so rather than using Control Panel, you'll want to go to Windows Settings --> Apps --> Installed Apps and then search for MSI and see if anything else is there.

MSI Center is a hub for all things MSI hardware related, including (but not limited to) addressing hardware like LEDs, fan speeds, etc., allowing for overclocking, updating hardware firmware (not the UEFI firmware, other pieces of hardware that have their own firmware - like he motherboard LEDs), and such.

I built a desktop PC using an MSI motherboard, and I've installed that MSI center exactly twice.

The first time when I built the machine, to evaluate it (prognosis: worthless).

The second time was early Jan when a new firmware for the motherboard's onboard LED light system was released - I installed, updated it, and then uninstalled it again.

It has all sorts of extra modules that it can install too, but it requires elevated privileges (so normally a UAC prompt), for almost ever single module it can install. One of the (many) reasons why I don't use it at all.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 RGB + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge , Arc
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Thanks Johnigalt. You have just confirmed what I discovered yesterday but hadn't had time to post.
I had a look at the MSI site to see if I could find anything useful and pose the question there. However I found I had to register.
When I tried to register I found that I already was. No recollection of this but then you know my age! Once registered and logged in I found why I had MSI, though not necessarily why it keeps reappearing.

Two years or so my PC wouldn't start. For various reasons, apart from checking the obvious, I wasn't inclined to investigate it myself so took it a local PC repair shop. They confirmed the mobo had died. Since I therefore needed a new one, I told them to upgrade it, CPU and memory. According to MSI registration the mobo was on their books because I or the repairer had registered it. This is the first time I have done a clean Windows install on this PC. That still doesn't explain why it appeared on my list of programs after that instal and before I installed any apps.
I tried to reinstall MSI, as a way to eventually remove via some other route, but that failed. But later when I switched my PC on in the evening, the MSI install started automatically! Johnigalt has explained what it does and that is what my copy does.
As it no longer keeps displaying the irritating privacy notice I will just ignore it.

But as I said on my OP, "The standard "clean" reinstall routine provided by Windows 11 Recovery routines must retain somethings as when it is finally done it "knows" things from before". Looks as if something from MSI was retained!

Oh what fun!!!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 - Updated automatically
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Updated Chillblast
    CPU
    Intel i7 12700K Twelve Core 3.6Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 Motherboard
    Memory
    Corsair 32Gb Vengeance RAM
    Cooling
    Air cooled
    Internet Speed
    72Mb down, 18Mb up
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast
it is probably installed as part of one of the drivers that Window installed during Windows installation.

Denis
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3447
Must be. Anyway thank you all for your help. MSI lurks in the background but it does no harm and does not irritate any more!
Sound like one of my medical diagnosis!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 - Updated automatically
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Updated Chillblast
    CPU
    Intel i7 12700K Twelve Core 3.6Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 Motherboard
    Memory
    Corsair 32Gb Vengeance RAM
    Cooling
    Air cooled
    Internet Speed
    72Mb down, 18Mb up
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast
If you have no real need for it, you can leave it installed, and just prevent it from running in the background by going to Windows Settings --> Apps --> Startup, then find the MSI Control center app and simply uncheck it. From that point on it should not automatically run every time you log in / reboot your machine.

Screenshot 2023-08-02 140947.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 RGB + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge , Arc
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 - Updated automatically
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Updated Chillblast
    CPU
    Intel i7 12700K Twelve Core 3.6Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 Motherboard
    Memory
    Corsair 32Gb Vengeance RAM
    Cooling
    Air cooled
    Internet Speed
    72Mb down, 18Mb up
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast
I went through a similar situation recently with setting up a clean install on Windows 11. I used a fresh Windows 11 install disk and formatted my system drive just like before. For the license code, you can usually find it in your Microsoft account if it’s linked or use a tool that retrieves it from your current installation.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Clean installation of Windows 11
Replies
16
Views
739
Winuser
Winuser
So, I got obsessed with achieving the perfect clean install and it took me a week and many many attempts. Feel free to comment what can be improved.
2 3 4
Replies
63
Views
5K
pparks1
P
Solved How can I do a clean install (updating to) Windows 11 23H2 without losing Office 2021
Replies
17
Views
2K
Brink
Brink
Unable to access encrypted files after a clean Windows 11 install
Replies
4
Views
815
MMZWHAT
MMZWHAT
  • Article Article
Devices Clean Disk to Erase and Remove All Data and Partitions in Windows 11
Replies
3
Views
5K
Brink
Brink

Latest Support Threads

Latest Tutorials

Back
Top Bottom