Set up Windows mode
Setting up Windows mode takes about 25 minutes, and you can keep using your computer the whole time. Wild OS downloads Windows 11 from Microsoft, installs it, activates it with your licence and tunes it for speed and privacy.
Start it from the last step of first start, Set up Windows mode, or later from Settings > Windows apps > Windows mode > Set up. Double-clicking a Windows installer before it’s set up offers to set it up too.
1. Check this PC
Section titled “1. Check this PC”Windows mode checks your computer first, and says plainly what’s ready and what isn’t.
| Check | What it needs |
|---|---|
| Virtualisation | Switched on in the PC’s firmware. If it’s off, see virtualisation is switched off. |
| Memory | 8 GB or more. With about 6 GB it works, but your PC may slow down while Windows apps are open. |
| Space | About 26 GB free, or about 30 GB with Microsoft 365. |
| Internet | Windows downloads from Microsoft, about 6 GB. A metered connection is flagged so you can wait for Wi-Fi. |
| Licence | A Windows 11 Pro licence in the PC, or a key. See Windows licences. |
Setup has to be started at the PC itself, not over a remote connection.
2. Choose options
Section titled “2. Choose options”- Install Microsoft 365 apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, installed for you. Pick your plan: Personal or Family, Business, or Work or school. You sign in with your Microsoft account the first time you open one.
- Open Windows files in Windows apps: double-clicking a .docx opens Word, and so on.
- When no Windows app is open: what Windows mode does when you’re not using it. Automatic is right for most people. See Windows mode day to day.
- Memory Windows mode can use: up to 4 GB or more. Memory it isn’t using goes back to Wild OS.
- Folders Windows apps can see: the folders shared with Windows. See your files in Windows mode.
Choose Set up.
3. Set up
Section titled “3. Set up”Setup works through five stages:
- Download Windows 11 from Microsoft, about 6 GB, checked against Microsoft’s signature.
- Install Windows.
- Activate it with your licence.
- Tune for speed and privacy: Windows’ adverts out, data collection down as far as Microsoft allows.
- Install Microsoft 365, if you chose it.
You can close the window and keep working. Pause and Resume stop and restart it. If your PC restarts or sleeps, setup carries on where it left off, and an interrupted download picks up from where it stopped.
Start over begins again from the start, keeping the download.
4. Ready
Section titled “4. Ready”Windows mode is ready. Your Windows apps are in Start. If you installed Microsoft 365, choose Open Word to try it.
Next: install a Windows program.
If setup stops with a problem, it says what happened and what to do. See Windows mode problems.