Windows 11

See rufus/ on how to create a "Windows 11 Setup" bootable USB Drive that does not require a TPM chip, UEFI motherboard firmware or a Microsoft Account sign-in.

Installation

Plug the USB Drive into your PC and boot it using the PC Firmware (BIOS or UEFI) UI.
Select "Windows 11 Pro" for installation, not "N".
Follow the onscreen installation instructions, and complete the setup.
un/install the apps you like, with winget.exe
- winget.exe install debian.debian to setup WSL
- winget.exe uninstall xbox etc.
- winget.exe --help for help

What's new

The new Windows 11 is basically the same as version 10, ~~like version 9~~, and 8, and carries almost all utilities and apps from previous Windows versions. As always, the system is fully backwards-compatiable and all previous Apps should work.

The Taskbar and Windows 10 Settings are redesigned.
Window Layouts and multiple Desktops. (10 years late but finally, laughs in mad Linux user voice)
It does include the epic new Windows Terminal as the default terminal App.
File Explorer now has Tabs. There is a new (right click) context menu.
The Notifications menu and quicksettings got split up.
Cortona is off by default. (good choice, Alexa already dead)
Every Network is treated as Public by default (again, good choice).
Apps for Drivers, NVIDIA Control Panel (graphics card), or HP Smart (printer) are installed by ms-settings:windowsupdate-optionalupdates automatically.

System requirements

complete system requirements

PC, Monitor and Keyboard
PC Should not be older then 10 years
A SSD is, practically required, at this point.
x64 (x86-64, amd64, 64-Bit PC) CPU chip is required, x86 (i386, 32-Bit PC) is not supported.

Old devices can basically be brought back to life by replacing the device primary disk, with an SSD. However Windows-NT (like Windows-DOS) is still trash, and Ubuntu (recommended), or Linux Mint should be used on weak old Laptops.

With a normal "Windows 11 Setup" bootable USB Drive (created using the Microsoft mediacreationtool.exe), these addiotional requirements would apply.

A Microsoft Account, account.microsoft.com sign-in
Firmware needs to be UEFI not BIOS
The PC needs to have something called TPM 2.0 or newer
- It's like 30 bucks if not already on the Motherboard. (I already had it on the board)
- tpm.msc should be "ready for use"
- Documentation

Editions

Just install "Windows 11 Pro".

Windows Pro has some technical features Home is lacking. Even though only a developer would really notice the difference. However you can install Windows Home on your moms old laptop if you want to.

They share the same system requirements, but Windows 11 Pro does support more cores and memory. So in theory Pro is build and optimized against higher compute power. Which again, in theory would mean Home requires weaker Hardware to run smoothly. The following is missing from Windows 11 Home.

Bitlocker and Remote Desktop Hosting (server)
Microsoft Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, and Windows Information Protection
Can not be used in Active Directory or similar Endpoint Management services.

Windows 11 Education should only be installed in schools and universities by IT admins, and Windows 11 Enterprise should only be installed by Enterprise Administrators, both should use Endpoint Management services, Microsoft has like 10 of those.

I would not recommend installing either the Windows 11 "S" or "N" Editions anywhere.

"S" Editions

Windows 11 S does not allow program installations outside the Microsoft Store, or the usage of another browser besides Microsoft Edge. It's just a locked down Box. However Windows S Editions can be downgraded anytime into a normal system.

"N" Editions

In 2004 European lawmakers forced Microsoft, after fining them 800 Million dollars, to release future Windows distributions, without some of the preinstalled in-house apps from Microsoft. Windows Media Player or Skype would not be on the desktop by default to weaken Microsofts desktop software dominance. The plan never really worked out, and modern Apps like Microsoft Teams could malfunction, because some other software like DRM or Codecs would also be missing on the system. This can be fixed by installing the Media Feature Pack on Windows 10/11 N Edition systems through the Windows Update settings menu.