How to install Windows on Steam Deck: Dual booting Windows 11 and SteamOS

The best gaming handheld runs the best operating system.

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Valve’s portable PC gaming handheld has proved to be a roaring success, but theSteam Deckhas a notable limitation. It’s totally reliant on its Linux-based SteamOS operating system, which excludes specific titles from true compatibility, primarily due to reliance on anti-cheat hooks designed for Windows. Dual booting is still not an official option, but that doesn’t mean you can’t boot into Windows on your Steam Deck.

Installing Windows on an external storage device is easier than you might think. All you need is one of thebest SD cards for Steam Deckand some patience. I’ve been tinkering with my 256GB model for a while, and my Samsung EVO Select card has proved more than capable of running my copy ofWindows 11, so I can show you exactly how to set everything up.

Which version of Windows should I install on my Steam Deck?

Windows 11 is the preferred option for the Steam Deck since Valve routinely updates itslist of drivers. Previously, Windows 10 was the stable choice, but improvements to firmware on the handheld meant that either is now viable. For this guide, I’ll be using Windows 11 Home (64-bit.)

How to prepare your SD card in Windows

Installing Windows 11 to an external storage device like a micro SD card is a much safer method for the integrity of your Steam Deck’s internal drive. If you toggle an upcoming option, it won’t affect the default SteamOS installation either. Although there is no official dual-boot solution, you can still switch to Windows when you power up the console by holding thevolume downandpowerbuttons together and accessing the standard boot menu.

Important: It’s critical that you follow this step carefully and choose ‘Windows To Go.’ This is what allows us to run Windows 11 directly from external storage rather than creating a boot drive to install elsewhere.

• If your device doesn’t appear, click ‘Show advanced drive properties’ and check ‘List USB Hard Drives,’ but be careful. This is extremely risky if you select the wrong drive. If your SD card isn’t on the list, it is more likely a defective unit or a type of formatting error. Drives on this advanced list are not intended to be used with Rufus.

Important: The second-most vital option to check is ‘Prevent Windows To Go from accessing internal disks.’ This keeps the integrity of your Steam Deck and SteamOS intact by keeping Windows 11 isolated to your SD card. The larger the card, the more space you’ll have for games.

• This part can take a long time, depending on your device. Creating a Windows To Go drive is a generally lengthy process, taking almost 34 minutes for my Samsung EVO Select 256GB micro SD card to finish. Be patient, and don’t interrupt the process or close Rufus while it’s working.

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• We’ll need these drivers when Windows completes its initial installation. Although most functionality is intact with generic offerings from Microsoft, it’s important to use the packages provided by Valve to ensure compatibility. Be sure to downloadbothaudio drivers and consider saving the Windows Resources page to your bookmarks.

How to boot and install Windows on Steam Deck

Now that you have a micro SD card set up as a portable edition of Windows, you can safely remove it from your computer. Turn off your Steam Deck byholding the power buttonand selecting ‘Shutdown’ from the menu before inserting the SD card.

You’ll be accessing a hidden ‘Boot Manager’ screen to use Windows instead of SteamOS with this method every time, at least until Valve adds proper dual-boot support. TheSteam Deck touchscreen should work fineduring the setup process, or you could connect a mouse via USB-C or with the official docking station or an alternative like theJSAUX Steam Deck dock.

Although the Steam Deck can detect Wi-Fi networks and connect during the setup stage, the default drivers aren’t as capable as the ones provided by Valve. Connecting to a wireless access point now would extend the whole process since your download speeds can be significantly reduced with Microsoft’s drivers. You have better drivers on your SD card, so don’t worry about skipping this.

If you prefer to add a password, you can. However, booting into Windows on your Steam Deck will naturally be slightly slower sinceyou’ll need to enter a password every time. If you only plan to use this SD card to play games otherwise unavailable on SteamOS, I recommend leaving the password blank. Still, a secure password is recommended if you’re storing sensitive files in Windows.

• The default Windows touchscreen drivers should allow you to access the right-click menu by tapping and holding for a moment; then, the context menu will appear.Both audio drivers use .inf files, whose icons resemble a sheet of paper with a cogwheel, rather than a traditional .exe or even .bat file. If you can’t see ‘Install’ on the right-click context menu, first press ‘Show More Options.’

• If you’re unfamiliar with Windows 11, follow our straightforward guide onhow to connect to a Wi-Fi network.  Tapping thenetworking iconin the system tray on the right side of the Start menunext to the clockis usually the fastest way to access a list of nearby networks.

Congratulations, now you can boot into Windows on your Steam Deck! What you install and play is up to you, but downloading theofficial Steam desktop clientis the most obvious recommendation. Besides accessing your usual library, you’ll benefit from launching games through Steam’s Big Picture mode to use the full range of Steam Deck controls.

A few extra tools will make Windows easier to use on Steam Deck, but otherwise, you’re free to use any application or game that isn’t currently compatible with theLinux-based SteamOS. Bear in mind that the Steam Deck wasn’t designed for Windows, but Valve’s commitment to updating its collection of drivers keeps your options open. Either way, proceed with caution since this is still considered experimental territory.

Installing Windows 11 on the internal Steam Deck SSD

Installing Windows 11 to an SD Card on the Steam Deck is fine and dandy, but there are some downsides. Even with the fastest SD card that Steam Deck supports, many games, particularly 3D ones with high world streaming speed requirements, may run into problems. The internal SSD on the Steam Deck is much faster and may offer a smoother experience than running some games from the SD card. The downside of course is that in order to do this, you will have to completely wipe Steam OS from the system. It’s relatively easy to go back to Steam OS though, if you want to. Valve has a guide on how to recover Steam OS on the Steam Deckhere.

In any case, if you fancy turning your Steam Deck into a full Windeck, the steps are quite similar to the above with a few exceptions.

The next part, as before, is preparing an SD card or a USB-C flash drive with at least 64GB memory as a Windows boot device. The primary difference between these steps and the regular steps is now,we don’t want to select Windows To Go, but instead,we want to set up a standard Windows 11 installation.

Next, we want to prepare your shiny new Windows 11 boot device with some data for the Steam Deck. Out of the box, the Steam Deck will be missing drivers for running its hardware properly. Below is some details on what you need to bring over with your boot device.

Note:As a reminder, if you want to go back to Steam OS at any time, considerValve’s official Steam recovery guide. Also, I strongly recommend reading the below sections on must-have tools and tips and tricks for running Windows 11 on the Deck.

Must-have tools for running Windows on Steam Deck

Switching to Windows on Steam Deck has its share of benefits. Still, there are a few downsides, including the lack of a proper performance overlay and questionable controller compatibility in some of thebest PC gamesdesigned for Windows. Luckily, the PC gaming community already has a handful of ready-made solutions to some roadblocks you might discover while running Windows.

Steam Deck Tools

Headlined by Kamil Trzciński, also known as ayufan, the open-source (Windows)Steam Deck Toolsproject includes a collection of valuable extras to bring your external Windows drive almost on par with its native SteamOS. It contains an alternative to Valve’s performance overlay to show stats like battery life, power consumption, component usage and temperatures, and more.

Steam Deck Tools is particularly useful if you plan to playgames from PC Game Passsince it enables full gamepad support with some helpful extra hotkeys. Power and fan control apps are also included, which can extend battery life by throttling the internal components for less demanding games. Highly recommended.

You candownload the latest version from GitHuband see a complete list of applications and conditions for running the tools.

Once you’ve run Steam Deck tools, some will have red icons initially. That’s because you also need to download a RTSS dependency. Right-click on the icons and click on “RTSS not running” to instantly go to the download page to install it from your Steam Deck, or download theRTSS statistics server here.

If you’re planning to use your Steam Deck for Xbox Game Pass for PC titles, once you’ve installed RTSS, you can right-click on the monitor-looking icon and go to settings to change the default gamepad to X360. This will remove your ability to use the triggers as right and left click for browsing the OS, but the Steam Deck touchpads work just as well for that anyway.

Consider donating to ayufanfor his work on this project.

UWPHook

It might seem minor, butUWPHookoffers the invaluable ability to add games from the Microsoft or Xbox Store to the desktop Steam app. If you install any UWP games, you can find them in UWPHook and export them to Steam.

Controller support isn’t guaranteed, but developer Brian Lima reports some users found success with the desktop mode if Big Picture mode doesn’t do the trick. Alternatively, the officialUWPHook Reddit communityis a good place for troubleshooting.

Download the latest version from theofficial UWPHook GitHub pageand check out the latest bug fixes.

Steam Deck on Windows: Tips and Tricks

Since Steam Deck on Windows is only sort of semi-supported, some of the features require work arounds or more intimate knowledge of Windows to fix and improve. Over time, we’ll list some important tricks here you need to know as you get stuck in.

Settings you need to absolutely change using Steam Deck on Windows 11

There’s a range of settings that, by default, make using the Steam Deck on Windows 11 quite annoying. Thankfully, they’re easy to change and configure.

Fix slow download speeds on Steam Deck with Windows

One annoying thing about Windows on Steam Deck out of the gate is slow download speeds, in some circumstances. This can be caused by a low-quality SD card, which may have bottle necks for read/write speeds, however, it can also be caused by the RealTek Wi-Fi card drivers preventing 5 GHz Wi-Fi connections. Thankfully, it’s relatively easy to fix.

Reconnect to your home Wi-Fi as usual, and now it should try to attach to the 5 GHz band instead. You can check whether or not it worked by going to your Network & Internet properties in the Windows 11 settings menu. At the top, it should say either “Properties, public network, 5 GHz.”

At a basic level, 5 GHz is faster than 2.4 GHz, but the signal strength is often less penetrative in some environments. 2.4 GHz may work better if you’re far away from your router, otherwise 5 GHz is almost always best.

More resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Steam Deck and Windows 11, visit the following resources:

Ben is a Senior Editor at Windows Central, covering everything related to technology hardware and software. He regularly goes hands-on with the latest Windows laptops, components inside custom gaming desktops, and any accessory compatible with PC and Xbox. His lifelong obsession with dismantling gadgets to see how they work led him to pursue a career in tech-centric journalism after a decade of experience in electronics retail and tech support.