About this release
This is a combined installation image that sets up the professional edition of the current operating system with the perpetual office suite already folded in, so a fresh machine reaches a working desktop with the productivity applications present in one pass rather than two. It is aimed at the person building a new machine who wants to boot once and start working, not run an operating system install and then chase down an office suite afterwards.
The operating system side is the full professional edition, with the disk encryption, remote desktop host, virtualisation, group policy and domain join that the edition carries, and it is prepared to install without a key prompt and arrive activated. The trusted platform requirement is handled so the image installs on hardware that the standard media turns away, which is the usual reason a machine will not take the current release.
The office side is the 2021 perpetual suite, the install once and forget release with the modern Excel functions, integrated so it is ready on first boot. The combined image writes to a USB stick with any of the usual tools, boots on modern firmware, and runs through a standard setup including the partitioning choice. Both the operating system and the suite report as activated once the desktop is up.
What it does
- Professional edition of the current operating system, fully featured
- Perpetual office suite integrated and ready on first boot
- Disk encryption, remote desktop host, virtualisation and domain join
- Group policy and full local security policy control
- Trusted platform requirement handled for wider hardware support
- Modern Excel function set from the 2021 suite including XLOOKUP
- Prepared to install without a key prompt and arrive activated
- Thirty six setup and display languages included
- Full recovery environment intact
- Boots on modern UEFI firmware
Changes in this version
- Rolled up servicing stack so the first update pass is much shorter
- Office suite servicing baseline refreshed in the image
- Updated driver set for current storage controllers
- Improved installer behaviour on machines with mixed NVMe and SATA disks
- Refreshed language pack set
What the package contains
- Bootable combined installation image
- Professional operating system edition with the office suite integrated
- All setup and display languages
- Full recovery environment
- Readme with the install order written out step by step
Installation notes
Follow these in order. Most reports of a failed install come from skipping a step rather than from the package itself.
- Back up anything you care about, a clean install wipes the target partition.
- Write the image to a USB stick of 16 GB or larger with your preferred imaging tool.
- Boot from the stick, choosing the UEFI entry.
- Pick your language, then choose custom install for a clean setup.
- Delete the old system partitions if you are wiping, then select the free space.
- Let setup run through its restarts, the office suite is ready once the desktop loads.
System requirements
| Processor | 1 GHz or faster, 64-bit, 2 or more cores |
| Memory | 4 GB minimum, 8 GB or more recommended |
| Graphics | DirectX 12 capable with a WDDM 2.0 driver |
| Storage | 64 GB minimum, more recommended with the suite installed |
| Firmware | UEFI, the trusted platform requirement is handled by the image |
| Display | 720p or higher, 9 inches or larger |
Things worth knowing
- Disconnect from the network during setup so the out of box experience does not force an account sign in step.
- Let the machine settle for a few minutes after first boot, the servicing stack finishes work in the background.
- Install chipset and graphics drivers from your hardware maker afterwards rather than relying on the generic set.
Questions about this title
Is the office suite really preinstalled?
Will it install on older hardware?
Will both stay activated after updates?
Can I install just the operating system without the suite?
What people are saying
New machine, one image, booted into a desktop with the office suite already there. Exactly the shortcut I wanted.
Installed on a machine the standard media refused over the platform requirement. This one took it.
Both the system and the suite came up activated. Network off during setup skipped the account nagging.
Listing information
This entry is catalogued under Operating Systems and carries the tags below. Language coverage is Multilingual, 36 setup languages, and the supported platform list is Bootable installation image. Version 24H2 build 26100 is the current catalogued build, last checked 1 week ago, and the entry has been in the index since it was added 2 years ago.