Windows 11 repair install checklist (tech bench)

Bench checklist for getting a customer Windows 11 machine healthy without surprising them. Before you touch the OS - Confirm the hardware fault is fixed (or ruled out): power, display, storage detected in BIOS, RAM seating. - Note edition (Home/Pro), BitLocker state, and whether they use a Microsoft account or local account. - Export or image user data if the volume still mounts. Repair options (least destructive first) 1) Startup Repair / Safe Mode / DISM + SFC from WinRE when the volume is intact. 2) In-place repair install (same edition ISO) when apps/settings should stay. 3) Clean install only when the volume is damaged, malware is entrenched, or the customer agrees. After install - Drivers: chipset, storage, GPU, NIC, then OEM utilities as needed — avoid junk bundles. - Windows Update once, reboot, Update again. - Re-check BitLocker / recovery key escrow if you re-enabled encryption. Document what you did in the ticket so the next tech (or the customer) knows the baseline.