Install Windows 11 on Steam Deck Guide for Dual Boot and USB-C SSD

Ready to unlock the full potential of your Steam Deck? Discover how to effortlessly run Windows 11 on this powerful handheld PC, transforming your gaming experience and hardware capabilities with simple steps that anyone can follow. Whether you want to dual-boot or fully switch to Windows, this guide covers everything from installation to driver setup, making your Steam Deck a versatile gaming and productivity powerhouse.

To Valve’s credit, its handheld alone has changed the perception of gaming on Linux. It can run most Steam games pretty well, but you’ll need Windows if you want to play PC Game Pass titles, or take advantage of Epic Games Store’s constant stream of free games. You’ll also need Windows if you play multiplayer games that use anti-cheat software that isn’t compatible with Linux. That includes Destiny 2, Fortnite, Apex Legends, and more.

The simplest way to get Windows 11 on your Steam Deck without altering (and potentially screwing up) its internal file system is to make a portable version of the OS, conveniently stored on a USB-C SSD that you can easily plug into the Deck when you want it, and unplug it when you don’t. I’m going to walk you through the many steps required to get this done. This is a long guide, but try not to feel daunted; although the process is long, each of the steps is still fairly simple.

Buy a new USB-C SSD, or construct your own

When considering expanding your Steam Deck’s storage for running Windows 11, you have two main options: buying a new USB-C SSD or building your own setup. Purchasing a ready-made external SSD, such as the Crucial X6 or X10 Pro, offers a plug-and-play experience with USB-C compatibility, fast read speeds, and ease of use without needing additional adapters. Alternatively, you can construct your own external SSD solution by installing an M.2 NVMe SSD into a USB-C enclosure, which allows customization of drive capacity and potentially better thermal management, but requires careful assembly and formatting to work seamlessly with the Steam Deck. Both methods provide a portable and efficient way to run Windows 11 without modifying the internal storage of your device.

(If you already have the SSD handy that you want to use, skip to the next step.)

I suggest buying the smallest (in terms of form factor, not storage) portable SSD you can afford. As for internal storage, 2 TB should last you a while, but 1 TB or less may be sufficient for your needs. Crucial’s X6 2 TB SSD is a good, relatively small, and affordable option that connects via USB-C. It’s not that small, though.

For something even smaller, prepare to pay more. Genki’s $49.99 SavePoint SSD enclosure is the better route by a wide margin. It’s tiny, fitting a compact M.2 2230-size SSD (not included), and it’s the only enclosure I’ve used that was thoughtful enough to include a second USB-C port in its design, allowing for passthrough charging. Normally, you give up the option to charge your Steam Deck when you connect an SSD – not with this one. It also includes a magnet, letting you secure it to your Steam Deck so it doesn’t dangle. Once you get your M.2 SSD, simply open the enclosure and insert it.

Genki SavePoint

$50 $50

This external M.2 2230 enclosure is a little fancier than others, containing a heatsink to stay cool, plus a second USB-C port that allows for up to 100 W of passthrough charging to keep handhelds charged up.

Download Windows 11

To download Windows 11 for your Steam Deck, start by visiting the official Microsoft Windows 11 downloads page. Choose the “Create Windows 11 installation Media” option and click “Download Now” to get the Media Creation Tool. Launch the tool, accept the terms, and select the edition and language of Windows 11 you want. Then, choose the “ISO file” option and save the ISO file to an easily accessible location like your desktop. This ISO file will be used to create a bootable installation media for your Steam Deck, enabling you to install Windows 11 either alongside SteamOS or as a replacement.

In case you didn’t know, it’s free, legal, and easy to download, install, and use Windows 11 (unregistered copies lack personalization options and feature a persistent watermark on the bottom-right corner of your screen). Microsoft hosts downloads of its latest OS, and grabbing a copy is a necessary part of this process.

Head to this page and scroll down to the section called “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices.”

Select “Windows 11 (multi-edition OS for x64 devices),” then hit the blue “Download Now” button. A page will load, then display another option that asks you to select your desired language. Once you do that, select “Confirm,” then finally click “64-bit download” to initiate the download.

Create a bootable version of Windows 11 on your SSD

To create a bootable version of Windows 11 on your SSD for use with the Steam Deck, start by preparing a USB drive with at least 13GB of free space and download the official Windows 11 ISO file. Use a tool like Rufus or the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool to create a bootable USB installation media. Next, connect the SSD to your PC and install Windows 11 by booting from the USB drive, selecting the SSD as the installation target, and following the on-screen prompts for a clean install. After installation, enter the BIOS to set the SSD as the primary boot drive, ensuring the Steam Deck boots directly from it. This process enables you to run Windows 11 smoothly on your Steam Deck via the SSD, providing faster performance and more storage flexibility.

With your SSD connected to the PC where you downloaded the Windows 11 file, it’s time to turn it into a bootable drive that your Steam Deck can recognize when you boot it up.

Start by downloading a copy of Rufus, a free, simple-to-use application that specializes in turning USB devices into bootable drives. Scroll down to the “Latest Releases” section and download the latest standard version for 64-bit systems.

In your downloads folder, find Rufus and open it. The first two steps include hitting the “SELECT” button on the app’s right side, then finding the Windows 11 OS file in your downloads. (The version of the file at the time of publishing is called “Win11_24H2_English_x64.”) Double-click it to mount it within Rufus. A message saying “Scanning image” will appear in its status bar, so hold tight as it verifies the file.

Next, make sure you check the box next to “List USB Hard Drives.” Once you do that, your SSD drive should show up. Select it under the “Device” drop-down menu at the top of the program.

Once your drive is mounted, click the drop-down window under “Image option,” then select “Windows To Go.” Selecting this option instead of “Standard Windows Installation” is what lets Windows run off of your SSD without having to install the whole OS on your Steam Deck, which is what we want in this case.

Under “Volume label” in the “Format Options” section, feel free to name the drive whatever you want.

Hit the “Start” button at the bottom and the process will begin to install Windows onto your SSD. Before it begins, a pop-up window will appear, asking which version of Windows you’d like to install. Just select “Windows 11 Home.” A second pop-up window will appear with more options to specify. You can select the first two, as well as the final option. You’re set with Windows on your SSD once this process finishes, but we’re not done yet.

Download Windows drivers for your Steam Deck

To run Windows 11 smoothly on your Steam Deck, it is essential to download and install the official Windows drivers provided by Valve. These drivers ensure that key hardware components like the AMD custom APU, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, SD card reader, and audio function correctly under Windows. You can find these drivers on Steam’s official support page, where they are organized by Steam Deck model (OLED or LCD). Installation typically involves running setup executables or right-clicking INF files to install, followed by a system restart to apply changes. Using these drivers unlocks the full potential of your Steam Deck as a Windows PC, enabling better game compatibility and hardware performance.

In order for your Steam Deck’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPU, and other components to work properly in Windows, you’ll need to grab Valve’s official drivers for the handheld. Open this page, then scroll to the section about whichever Steam Deck you have (the OLED or the LCD). Download each of the drivers listed under the Deck you’ll be running Windows on, and keep the page open, as it’ll serve as a useful guide later on. (Note: As Valve’s page indicates, the Steam Deck OLED needs to be running beta system software in order for its Bluetooth driver to work properly in Windows. To install the beta, head to settings, click into system, then in the “Beta participation” section, change “Stable” to “Beta” release, then restart your Deck.)

Each driver will download as a .zip file, and you can unzip and extract the contents of each of the six downloads. Make a new folder called “Steam Deck drivers” or something similar, then move all of the extracted folders into it. Then, move this folder full of drivers into the root directory of the SSD you have that now has Windows installed onto it.

Boot into Windows for the first time

To boot into Windows for the first time on your Steam Deck, start by connecting the SSD or microSD card containing the Windows installation and Steam Deck drivers. Then, hold down the volume down button and press the power button, keeping the volume button pressed until you hear the system chime, which signals entry into the boot menu. From there, select the Windows boot device (SSD or microSD card) to start the Windows installation process. You may need to rotate the Steam Deck to portrait mode during setup and can use the touchpad or external keyboard and mouse if needed. After installation, adjust the display orientation to landscape in Windows settings and install the Steam Deck drivers from the storage device to enable full functionality like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and audio.

Unless you have the Genki SavePoint SSD enclosure, which allows for passthrough charging while in use, make sure to fully charge your Steam Deck before booting into Windows for the first time.

Tap the “Steam” button on your Steam Deck, navigate down to “Power,” and select “Shut down.”

Once the system has turned off, connect your SSD that contains Windows and your Steam Deck drivers. Then, hold the volume down button and click the Deck’s power button, without letting go of volume down until you hear the system chime. This should boot into the Steam Deck’s drive selector screen. Use the right touchpad to hover over your drive, then pull the right trigger as you hover over it.

A lengthy loading process will take place as Windows initializes. Answer the questions it displays, but select “I don’t have internet” if it asks for Wi-Fi. Then, you’ll eventually get to the Windows home screen. You’ll notice something odd – that it’s displaying sideways. Fear not. In the next section, I’ll walk through how to fix this seemingly unavoidable quirk.

Make Windows display correctly

To make Windows display correctly on the Steam Deck, first switch to Desktop Mode by holding the power button and selecting “Switch to Desktop.” Then, right-click on the desktop and open “Display Settings” or access it through System Settings under “Display Configuration.” Here, you can adjust resolution, refresh rate, orientation, and scaling to fit the Steam Deck’s screen or any connected external monitor. If using multiple displays, you can choose to duplicate, extend, or disable the Steam Deck screen as needed, and set the primary display accordingly. After applying changes, confirm the settings or revert if the display looks off. For the best experience, ensure you install the official Steam Deck Windows drivers to enable full hardware functionality and optimize display performance.

On an open section of the home screen, pull the left trigger to “right click,” which displays a bunch of options. Select “Display Settings.”

Scroll down (either with your finger or the left touchpad) until you find “Display orientation” under the “Scale & layout” section. Change it from “Portrait” to “Landscape.” That solves that.

Install your Steam Deck drivers

After successfully installing Windows 11 on your Steam Deck, the next crucial step is to install the Steam Deck drivers to ensure all hardware components work properly. Since Windows does not natively support key Steam Deck features like Wi-Fi, audio, Bluetooth, and the SD card reader, you need to download the official drivers from Valve’s website using a secondary PC. Extract all driver files, copy them onto a USB drive or microSD card, and then transfer them to your Steam Deck. From there, install each driver individually-running setup executables or right-clicking and selecting “Install” on the driver files as needed. Once all drivers are installed, restart your Steam Deck to complete the setup, enabling full functionality of your device under Windows 11.

It might be tempting to click around in Windows to initialize apps and install some games, but let’s continue on with the Steam Deck driver installation first. Open the folder where you opted to store them, and with Valve’s driver page open on your phone or PC, install them on the Deck according to its instructions. Use the left trigger to open up each file’s options, letting you easily select the correct option to install them.

In case the Steam Deck hasn’t displayed a “your system must restart for changes to take effect” pop-up by the time you’ve finished installing the six drivers, go ahead and restart Windows 11 in order for the hardware changes to be reflected. The device should automatically reboot back into Windows without you having to hold down your Deck’s volume down button. But if not, at least you know how to get back to the Windows OS.

Have fun!

Running Windows 11 on your Steam Deck opens up a whole new world of gaming possibilities and software options beyond SteamOS. Once you’ve installed Windows and set up the necessary drivers, you can customize your experience, install your favorite PC games, and enjoy the flexibility of a full desktop operating system on a handheld device. Whether you’re diving into game libraries like Game Pass or using productivity apps, the Steam Deck with Windows 11 is ready to deliver hours of fun and versatility on the go. Just make sure to keep your drivers updated and explore the settings to tailor everything to your liking!

From here on out, it’s all about customizing your experience to the way you want it to be. The Xbox app is preinstalled with Windows, so signing in there will let you stream or download PC Game Pass games to the same SSD that Windows is installed on. Same goes for any other PC game store you may download.

Want to discover how to run Windows 11 seamlessly on your Steam Deck without sacrificing gaming performance

Want to discover how to run Windows 11 seamlessly on your Steam Deck without sacrificing gaming performance? Many users report that Windows 11 runs smoothly on the Steam Deck, with native support for touch and controllers, and offers better compatibility for all your favorite game launchers without the need for Proton or other compatibility layers. With official Windows drivers now available, you can enjoy stable performance and intuitive controller layouts while unlocking the full versatility of your handheld PC. Whether you install Windows directly or run it from a microSD card, this setup allows you to switch between SteamOS and Windows effortlessly, giving you the best of both worlds for gaming and productivity.

How can I optimize Windows 11 for better gaming performance on my Steam Deck

To optimize Windows 11 for better gaming performance on your Steam Deck, follow these key steps:

Adjust Windows Settings for Performance: Disable unnecessary background apps via Settings > Privacy > Background apps. Set your power plan to “High Performance” in Settings > System > Power & Sleep > Additional power settings. Reduce visual effects by selecting “Adjust for best performance” in System Properties > Performance Options.
Optimize In-Game Settings: Lower graphics settings such as resolution, texture quality, and shadows. Limit frame rate to match the Steam Deck’s refresh rate and disable V-Sync to reduce input lag and improve FPS.
Update Drivers and Windows: Ensure you have the latest AMD GPU drivers optimized for Steam Deck and keep Windows updated with the latest patches.
Disable Unnecessary Services and Startup Programs: Turn off Xbox Game Bar and other non-essential startup programs via Task Manager to free up resources.
Enable Windows Gaming Features: Turn on Game Mode and hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling in Windows 11 settings to prioritize gaming performance and reduce bottlenecks.
Use Performance-Enhancing Software: Utilize AMD Radeon Software tools like Radeon Chill to balance performance and power usage.
Thermal Management: Improve cooling with external pads or fans and consider undervolting the CPU/GPU to reduce heat and maintain performance.
Optional Storage Upgrade: Upgrading to a faster SSD can improve load times and system responsiveness.
Advanced Tweaks: Consider overclocking cautiously with tools like MSI Afterburner if comfortable, and use lossless scaling and frame generation techniques on Windows 11 for higher FPS without quality loss, especially on Steam Deck OLED models.

Implementing these optimizations can significantly boost your Steam Deck’s gaming performance on Windows 11 while maintaining smooth gameplay and system stability.