Wanted to do this so I could play certain EA games online on deck, and it worked perfectly. Thank you so much for such an easy to use and detailed guide. Bravo!
Very welcome, happy to hear you're all up and running! If you're interested in additional guides for the Steam Deck, there are more here, if needed: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck/#Emulation
So I have a few "unsupported" Steam games that won't run on the Steam Deck, no matter what proton I use etc. Running Windows 10 will allow me to play them??
@@Alexvander10some games are unsupported because the steam deck OS runs on Steam OS and Linux combined. Some games require windows to run them, so yes some games may work and should allow you to play them if you're running Windows, but ide also say some games would be a no go throwing errors on start up, and/or crashes could potentially occur. Running Windows will allow the play of some games but I wouldn't say it could run "all" games. Using windows for gaming on the Steam Deck is really just a gateway to play those games that Steam OS and Linux can't run(some games that are unsupported). Again, some games may not work at all, not all of them will work.
@@nathangibbs5096 Yes you will need a PC with Windows 10 or 11 on it specifically. I had to go to someone else's home and used their computer to create the SD card. Once you create the bootable micro SD, u won't need the PC any longer.
THIS is how you do a step by step tutorial! Great pace and actually went through the process of downloading software needed instead of jumping into the tutorial already having downloaded everything. Thanks for this! I went with Windows 10 because people seem to be having more success with it. Everything seems to be running smoothly so far.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback Jeremy! I also prefer Win10, Microsoft recently updated Win11 which breaks the ability to install one of the audio drivers (audio still works though).
I’ve watched a lot of step-by-step guide and I must say. Your’s by far the best. You thoroughly walk us through with patience and understanding on how to do these installations. Really appreciate it my guy. You just earned a subscriber
I watched many tutorials about doing this and I never could get it, this was absolutely perfect, did it the first time I tried, I even ordered a second card and did it again. Thank you! Very straight forward and easy to follow and understand. Looking forward to watching more of your videos and learning some new stuff.
Fantastic Garry! Try to keep it simple and provide additional information should it be needed. Thank you so much for your feedback! fyi - all my Steam Deck content may be found here, with more coming: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck
1000% I must have gone through 10 different tutorials and none would boot properly from the SD Card. This was the first one I saw that actually had the users selecting "Windows to go" in Rufus when setting up the image. It worked perfectly Great tutorial!!! Thank you so much!!
@@WagnersTechTalk can I ask how you got windows to install to the micro sd card specifically? Do you disable the internal drive first or is there a step somewhere else I missed?
I installed windows 11 with this tutorial. I’d never done this type of thing before, and it worked flawlessly. For some reason my SD and windows 11 pro had functioning wifi without the driver, I installed it anyways and the signal became more stable. Thank you very much!
@@liltnt380 In Windows 10, you won't have Wifi until the drivers are installed. In Windows 11, it will work. I updated the guide a few nights ago to make sure to mention that difference.
Mannn where do I begin!? Amazing. Simply well put and broken down. Like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! I've been anticipating my steam deck arrival for a week and been sifting through guides. Without a doubt THIS IS THE BEST ONE. I had my steam deck with windows dual boot ready to go within 2-3 hours. I unfortunately did not have the accessories for mouse and keyboard so I had to figure out the basics in order to completely install the drivers. If you put the touch pad basics (towards the end of the video) about mouse movement, the left/right click controls and turning on touch screen keyboard with the steam deck earlier in the video, it would be that much better! Nonetheless because of you I have my ideal steam deck. Forever grateful and thank you!
I really appreciate your kind comments, I'm very happy that you found it helpful! YT won't allow moving segments once the video is published. I appreciate that feedback and will keep that in mind for future videos. More interesting Steam Deck stuff definitely coming! Released a new one today (on EmuDeck) and have the next one mostly planned out, just need to get to work on it (totally different, doubt it's ever been done before and not 100% certain it's going to work lol). But need to review a few new products that arrived first, which I'm equally excited about.
@@WagnersTechTalk I saw the new emudeck video! Will be diving into that shortly and cannot wait for your future videos. Thanks for taking the time for us!
I agree, this is the best tutorial out there. Some won't even go step by step and other won't even show or say what is need before starting. Almost gave up until I came along this video.
But you can basically use the touchscreen for like 95% of the process. Even from the first steps when you're on the blue screen and selecting windows stuff like language/keyboard/etc. For any other situations, yeah. track pad with your mind inverted Up/Right is Down/Left or something like that :P But totally worth it for like 2-3 clicks that you have to make.
THANK YOU for being so thorough. There are so many "how-to" videos where the person just rushes through it all and it's annoying. I love this tutorial. Keep up the wonderful work!
You are so welcome Joyce, I'll have much more Steam Deck content coming soon and hope you find those future videos equally helpful! Thank you for watching!
With all Respect THANK YOU VERY MUCH this is the only tutorial that I've watched that went in depth and I've already watched like 20 videos. That you very much now I can finally run cod on my deck. Thank you again.
Simply AMAZING! As an IT tech guy who love tech toys I just ordered a Steam Deck and few SD cards, I don't think I will play actual games on it but damn it it will be so much fun playing and tinkering with the device itself and see what crazy things I can do with it :D.
Thank you for watching Zack! There is so much you can do with it, it really is a PC in a handheld form-factor. A new guide+video I released earlier this week was on the nreal glasses, you may get a kick out of it : wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck/#Emulation . Just barely scratching the surface on these guides and videos, already starting the next one and can't wait to get it done and out there. Exciting times!
@@WagnersTechTalk Exciting times indeed! I have been watching those "PC handhelds" for a while but they all felt the same, however the steam deck is really unique from the price point to how easy it is to order at this moment to how Valve making videos about opening the device itself and change some of the parts like upgrading the storage, and specially now more and more people are getting their hands on one, I can't wait to see where Valve take this :D And yes I did actually watch that video, that is something I'm planning to order sometime in the near future :D.
I did this yesterday and it's amazing! I was curious how games like Tekken would run under windows since it is not officially supported for the Steam Deck. The result was surprisingly good! I could run the game on high settings easily with 60fps. I highly recommend this to anyone who actually wants to be able to play the entire steam library on the Steam Deck. Thank you very much for this amazing tutorial!
After an extremely frustrating uphill battle to get Windows-to-Go, well, Windows-to-Going for my Steam Deck, your video made installation a breeze. I am up and running with no issues. Thank you kindly for the easy to follow video, included links, and troubleshooting guide. Commenting to satisfy the all powerful Algo Rithm.
What were the steps you went through to get windows-to-go working? I seem be having some trouble with Rufus, I seem to be only able to make a standard windows installation
@@FollowJester I had a similar issue at first, I re-downloaded Rufus from another site and it worked. I highly recommend using the link to Rufus in the Wagner's FAQ (link to the FAQ is in the pinned comment). It'll get you an older version of Rufus which works a lot better for making the Windows-to-Go file.
Before watching this my Steam Deck was flickering on the boot screen and I seemed unable to recover it, So I decided to watch this. And Now I have full windows on it and I'm over the moon, Thank you mate genuinely!!
Outstanding video. Truly, truly excellent. Some quick tips that weren't mentioned: Make sure that your Deck has a good charge (at least 50%) and / or is plugged in. This is just a good tip whenever doing any kind of device writing and installing like this. Also, when Windows first attempts to install itself from the SD card, it WILL take several minutes. You'll be looking at "please wait" or "getting ready", that kind of thing, for at least 2-5 minutes. Don't freak out or turn off the device, just be patient. Lastly, since I did NOT use any external devices such as a mouse or keyboard, remember that in addition to using the Deck's trackpads and shoulder buttons, you can also long press (hold your finger on) the screen in order to do right mouse clicks which will be necessary a few times. I can personally confirm that by following this tutorial (which really is pretty simple, it's just lengthy because the author was considerate enough to speak at a gentle pace and be very specific on just about every single step) I was able to get Windows 10 (Home Edition) onto my SD card with absolutely no errors or issues of any kind whatsoever. I was up and installing things like Firefox in no time. Also remember: Once you get Windows onto the Deck, you do not need to attack a separate controller for any of your games, even if they're old. By installing Steam itself (just the program) on the Deck version of Windows, and then using Steam to "Add a Non-Steam Game", the game will be able to utilize Steam's virtual control pad. If absolutely nothing else, you can also look into things like Xpadder or other virtual controllers which allow you to remap any key to any button. As for this video itself, THANK YOU Wagner! I've done some reformatting and modding / hacking and so forth, but I always follow tutorials when I'm working with new tech, just to make sure, and yours was probably the easiest and most straightforward one that I've ever seen. I will absolutely recommend this video to anyone starting out, anyone (like myself) who isn't familiar with and doesn't want to fiddle with Linux, or anyone who doubts that Windows does, in fact, work well on the Deck. Excellent work! :D
Thank you for your kind feedback and additional tips/recommendation. Definitely agree that keeping the power connected during the install is always best, perhaps I should have stressed that a bit more. It really makes me happy to hear that the video and guide were helpful to you. I spent many long hours trying to make sure things would go smoothly. Thank you again for your feedback and I appreciate it!
@@WagnersTechTalk Oh, definitely not a criticism. I've just known a few people who attempted to do something like this when their power wasn't high enough and they wound up losing their system midway through, causing all sorts of issues. Definitely less of a problem when dealing with a memory card as opposed to system hardware (the days of bricked PSPs, ugh) but just something for anyone who happens to see my comment to keep in mind. But yeah absolutely, you're welcome for the feedback, this was a knockout of a tutorial. Cleanly explained, step by step, eliminating just about any chance of error, and even with a written guide to follow too. I wish all tutorials were as good as this one. I've been happily playing on my new Windows Deck for a day now. :D
@@kellyd1910 It depends on the games, some things I'm still figuring out myself. There's a driver you can install that a Steam Deck user made called SWICD, it will make every game that runs think that the Steam Deck is a plugged in Xbox 360 controller. You can map the buttons and should be able to make one of the rear buttons "escape", for example.
Don’t comment on YT often but I had to say thanks for the tutorial. Simple and concise! Currently playing Gundam Evolution and MW2 now. Runs like a dream 😊
I just wanted to thank you. I've had my Deck for about 3 weeks, and I've been seriously unhappy with Linux and everything you can't do that's leagues easier to do on Windows. A lot of other TH-camrs try to praise the Steam OS, but for me, it's complete trash. The thing crashes constantly, the buttons work one minute, then they don't. Sometimes they're completely unresponsive. It feels unpolished and decimates the experience. I wanted to install Windows from the beginning, and went against my better judgement. Thankfully I was fed up, and took my chances. I'm glad I did. With your tutorial, the machine runs like it was made exclusively for windows. My games run flawlessly. I used my mini keyboard from my Mac Mini home theater setup and it worked perfectly. You earned my sub. Keep it up.
Thank you so much, I appreciate your support! I like having options, I have big plans for the Windows side of things. If all goes well, it will be pretty darn impressive, at least to some. Won't be my next video, likely a month away on that one (requires a lot of testing) but it will be fun!
THANK YOU! This video and accompanying text guide are THE BEST!! Easy to follow, thorough, and not rushed + no skipped steps. Well done, good sir, well done!
@@WagnersTechTalk hey can you make a video specifically about inf and the audio drivers for the deck I've ran into this installation issue and not a soul other than yourself Wagner have said anything about it needing to be inf or checking the file ext. To get it to install/become accessible It would be nice for other people if there was a direct search query for it
@@Skhillz_FN I don't think that you necessarily need to see the "inf" file extension in order for it to be accessible, I believe that Wagner was just being thorough to ensure that viewers could verify for themselves that they were installing the correct files. Valve provides two audio drivers (one for the speakers and one for the headphone jack, I'm guessing) and you simply install them both, no more and no less.
@@WagnersTechTalk it's just perfect for me. I'm rarely at home because of my job. This way I can play all my favorite games on the go. Waited for these kinds of handhelds for a long time 😁
Watching the Video right now since i finally got a Steam Deck now and oh boy, this Tutorial Video was one of the easiest i ever saw, no long intro and every small step shown in the video. Will try it out when it arrives! Thanx again for explaining it so easy ^^
Very welcome, thank you for watching and your kind comments! If you have any issues, check out the q&a and troubleshooting sections of the written guide in the video description. Lots more info there.
I only got my steam deck today but I just had to get Windows on it. Those classic RTS games are now going to be played to death on this! Thank you so much for this.
This is an AMAZING guide. I have been dual booting WIN 11 by partitioning the decks harddrive and when Steam uppdated this passed tuesday could no longer boot into steam OS even when selecting it at the boot menu. I have tried redoing the process all week with no success. Just found your video and process today. With this setup windows will never have issues with the steam OS and I can swap my micro sd when I want to run windows and simply swap to my decks main micro sd when I want to use it without windows. You've got a sub from me. Waiting for my new 1TB Microsd and will be running this setup ASAP. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Thank you so much for your kind comments and your support by subscribing! It means a lot to me and helps the channel to grow. From what I understand, Valve will be releasing an official method of dual-booting SteamOS+Windows which I will cover once implemented. I suspected as they move in that direction other dual-boot methods may cease to function. Until then, this method should always work as it's totally independent of the internal SSD. Much more coming to the guide, working on new content as I write this.
@@WagnersTechTalk perfect. Thank you so much for your hard work. I’ll be keeping on eye on your uploads and checking out your channel over the weekend. Again thank you for this. So happy to be able to stop worrying about this.
The new content has grown a bit large and will be linked from the main Steam Deck guide to this new guide page and a companion video to support it. They may not appear on the guide this weekend, we'll have to see how it goes. You can always tell what/when I've changed from the changelog at the bottom of the guide here : wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck/#Change_Log
@@WagnersTechTalk hi amazing video definately subscribed! I'm waiting for my steam deck. My question is do I have to keep the micro SD i used to install windows and drivers in the steam deck as I'm using it to run everything or can I take the install micro SD out after windows is installed and use my 1TB with the games on it it?! Thanks so much! Referring your vids to other friends!
@@tkabdul1464 Thank you TK, definitely appreciate the support! After installing Windows as shown in this video, anytime you want to run Windows you'll need this microSD inserted and boot from it by holding the vol - and press power on boot. Once you do that, you'll boot into Windows. When done with Windows, shut it down/power off, swap the microSD you use for Steam Games, power it on and you're back into SteamOS. You'll have access to either SteamOS or Windows simply by swapping dedicated microSD's for each. Hope that answered your question. Again, thank you for your support it definitely means alot!
You have earned a dedicated subscriber. This has been the most well thought out tutorial. I wish you did every tutorial for everything I ever needed. Please keep up the amazing work!
Thank you for your support! Just drop a comment on things you'd like to see, I can't always deliver but I read and keep track of all requests. If I get enough on a particular topic, I dig in and research/learn/document it. I have a big list of content to create, some take longer than others 😎 Next month will likely see another round of new Steam Deck content. Always interested in hearing what others want to see.
One more thing, if you haven't seen the main Steam Deck page yet, you may find some info. here helpful also: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck . For all the guides (similar to this one) I've created, see here: wagnerstechtalk.com/guides (most have video companions).
Anyone test Win10 vs. Win11 on the Steam Deck? The questions I have for Win11 are: - (Most importantly) Do all the drivers work normally (like in Wagner's Win10 video)? - Is there a difference performance wise? - Is there a difference in size? - Any other benefits/disadvantages (touchscreen, accessibility etc.)?
@@younited8959 Since posting my reply and up until now I have seen several Windows tutorials unrelated to the version of Windows itself, but showcasing other programs and stuff that you can do within both Windows 10 and 11. Basically, all those people said that "this works both on Win 10 and 11" all around the board. I also saw no major difference so I guess my conclusion is that they both work fine, no major difference it's probably more with what you are familiar or what you prefer. I stuck with Win10 to folow Wagner's guide exactly and also because the majority of other tutorials for other programs on TH-cam use Win10, but I have Win11 on an old 2-in-1, 10 inch, tablet that I watch TH-cam on at night in bed (using touchscreen). So I am accustomed to both. Quick Note: Installation process for Windows 11 I think has more steps to go through, but that shouldn't really matter since you're only doing that once and for like 2-3 extra minutes it shouldn't influence the decision.
Just a warning for the latest build of Windows 11 22H2, the audio driver provided by Steam (audio driver 1) appears to blue screen Windows and doesn't install correctly. I suppose we'll have to wait for that to be fixed if you want to use it on the latest version of Windows 11. All the other drivers seemed to work fine. Windows 11 22H2 is the only option available for downloading on Microsoft's Windows 11 page currently as it just released today.
Thank you for the heads up! I installed Windows 11 over the weekend and it was fine, but haven't tried today. You still have audio correct? After installing the APU drivers, the audio worked previously.
@@WagnersTechTalk nope, didn't have audio. The 2nd driver installed alright, but the sound didn't work. I also installed windows 11 over the weekend with no issues, but today's new build seems like it breaks that first driver. Hopefully you'll have more luck than I did.
I never comment on videos but I just want to say thank you😅I was not expecting this to work especially seeing as I used a macbook👀one of the most simple step-by-step tutorials for a new Steam Deck owner, thank you!!!
Awesome news, so happy the guide+video was helpful to you Hannah! I always appreciate hearing success stories, makes my day and you're very welcome! Should see an influx of new Steam Deck guides from me in Nov. Lots of new things to talk about.
@link4566 Haven't had this issue, but this looks like it might be helpful: softwarekeep.com/help-center/how-to-fix-the-windows-created-a-temporary-paging-file-error
This is the guide I ave been looking for - simple and straightforward explanations - thanks - just one question though - do you have to "activate" Windows 10 or 11 on the SteamDeck or can you use the OS "as is" ?
If you want clean screen without "activate windows" or change background, you need to activate it. Its strange, but I had "software connected" activation.
As CarlBraun mentioned, yes you'll need to activate it. There is a section in the guide about that here: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck/#Windows_License
Just installed Windows 11 using this method. It is only using the 1TB SD card i inserted and not the internal 256gb SSD that came installed with steam OS. Is it alright to run windows and games all from SD or should have I utilized the SSD as well? is it possible to just boot back into steam OS on the fly by going back to the boot launcher and selecting the SSD where steam OS was?
In this video, nothing gets written to the SSD. SD only. Yes, you can install Steam (or whatever) under Windows and run your games there. That's exactly what I was showing in this video. You can then power off the deck, swap SD's (or SD you were using for SteamOS), power it back on and you're back into SteamOS. Whenever you want to boot into Windows again, you'll need to press + hold the volume down then turn on the power to enter the boot menu and select the SD card that has Windows 11 on it. What was done in this video is non-destructive to your Steam Deck, the SSD is unchanged.
@@JohnnyNewport There are no dumb questions when someone is trying to learn something. The quest for knowledge begins with the words "I don't understand".
Glad to hear it was helpful to you Sean! You can find more Steam Deck-related guides here: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck , also working on another one that will be released shortly for the nreal Air glasses on the Steam Deck (video in a few days).
Thanks for the great video! I tried to install using the Windows 11 ISO and ran into a bunch of weirdness. Lots of unknown devices after I loaded the drivers and a weird paging file error on startup. Probably not quite ready for primetime yet. Using the Windows 10 install worked fine.
Very great tutorial. But I have one question. Is windows completly running over the sd Card and is Steam os still on the internal SSD so that i could just have the sd card wirh windows and simply swap it out on the go and steam Os could still runn from the internal ssd?
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ: Most are having excellent results with this video + guide, a few are not. For those that aren't, below are some tips to help: * A Windows 11 Update on 9/20/2022 is causing the cs35I41 audio driver install to blue screen. See here for more information: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting * Full Written Guide (step-by-step guide) may be found here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows * Common Questions and Answers: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Q_A * Problems with Rufus, drivers, Game Pass, etc: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting - all issues/solutions have been documented/added to this section. * Navigating from the Steam Deck controls: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Usage_Tips * Swap between SteamOS and Windows: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Swap_between_SteamOS_and_Windows As shown in the video, most of the testing I've done was with Windows 10. If you have any additional tips/recommendations for improving the guide, please comment below with your suggestions (Viewer tips are being added here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Viewer_Recommendations ). I've done the best I can to document the entire process. Thank you for watching and I hope you find this video and the guide helpful! 😎
Incase you are on windows 11 and want a quick reason to why you get blue screen with the audio driver install - This update doesn’t play well with the current cs35141.inf audio driver (1/2) provided by Valve. Until the driver is updated, skip over this one (for now), if installing Windows 11 to the microSD.
I would also like to add, although the audio drivers don’t work on windows 11 you can still plug an audio device into the 3.5mm jack for working sound, albeit the quality is probably not as good as it can be.
I'm using the SD Card recommended in the FAQ, followed the guide exactly, and the SD Card does not show in the Boot Menu. I can see it fine in Steam OS Desktop mode.
How can i install the games on the ssd of the steam deck? The only Hard disc that shows to me is the micro sd, and every time that i turn on the deck it goes Strait to the steam os
Very good video! Couldn’t you just copy and paste the contents of the 128 gb SD card to the 512 gb SD card, after the first Windows 10 installation? It sounded like you had to reinstall Windows 10 each time you bought a larger SD card?
Thank you and very good question! I absolutely could have cloned the 128GB to the 512GB (clone, but not file copy) and in fact I have instructions on my website on how to do that here: wagnerstechtalk.com/common/#Backup_Clone_a_Drive So, why did I go through the install again? There were two reasons: 1) I wanted to test the written guide to make sure I didn't miss anything that would have made it frustrating for you. 2) I wanted to be able to capture some brief video of the install using the Steam Deck without a keyboard attached. You'll see it appear briefly in the upper-right when the install is being displayed vertically on the Steam Deck (that was during the 512GB SD install). Without that, I'm sure folks would wonder why I didn't show it at all (I would). I did have reasons and I hope this all makes sense.
@@WagnersTechTalk alright thank you very much, I was hoping that there are downsides in performance/comparability in one of them to make the choice easier.
Are you doing something that differs from this: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Create_the_Windows_ISO_file ? If not, please provide more details such the version you're installing, etc. If you're using Windows 10, it should work smoothly. I do have some troubleshooting steps listed here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting . However, the issue you're reporting I've not personally seen nor has been reported as an issue so far.
Hi friend! Thank you very much for preparing this tutorial for us not so experienced users, who use also Windows on our beloved Steam Decks. I have mine now since beginning of march and also thought about having a Windows on my Deck, when needed, and was always afraid to do the process, but your guide looks very promising! I have some additional questions, which you may be able to answer. 1. For Windows versions: Just Win10 and Win11, right? No Windows 8 possible? (I use to play older games, which are running more flawlessly on older Win versions). For the usage, and understanding: As the MicroSD card is inserted, the Steam Deck will automatically boot into the Windows? Or do we have to go always with the BootManager while pressing the button combination, while starting the deck? 3. There is no harm in any point of this installation process to the data, stored on the NVME drive, right? Thank you sooo much for doing this for the Steam Deck community! Subscribed!
Thank you so much Alf for checking out the video+guide and your support by subscribing, means a lot! I'll answer your questions as best I can: 1. I spent the majority of the time testing with Windows 10. Not to say Windows 8 isn't possible, just not something I personally investigated/tried. 2. If the microSD card is inserted with Windows installed, to boot into Windows you will need to hold the volume down when powering on to get into the Boot Manager. If you've already booted into Windows, when you reboot from within Windows you won't have to repeat. 3. Using the method described in the video+guide, the internal SSD drive of the Steam Deck is basically inaccessible. There is no impact to the internal drive or harm that can be caused unless a very intentional method was used to cause harm. Again, I very much appreciate your support and hope I answered your questions thoroughly.
When i click setup on the wifi driver i get the successfully installed screen but nothing pops up in the available networks tab. I checked the device manager and there is no realtek driver under network adapter. Pls help. I followed every step in the video
@@WagnersTechTalk no I installed Windows 10. The steam page said they didn't have the new bios update for Windows 11 yet I did get it to work though, turns out you have to update Windows and install the APU driver first, otherwise when you right click on the INF file it only gives you open in notepad and properties as the options I didn't know you had to install the drivers in a specific order
This guide was very helpful, thank you. i'm having a mouse issue when i open steam. i'm unable to enter my username and password since the mouse and keyboard doesnt pop up. anyone else having this issue? i'm doing this in undocked mode btw.
Very welcome, thank you for watching! Please see this section in the guide, specifically the Virtual Keyboard row: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck/#Usage_Tips
@@julienrichard1581 The games are installed on my SD card. Most everything has run well, but I do occasionally have an issue with getting Yakuza: Like A Dragon to run.
This is awesome. Started hearing how booting windows and playing from an sd card is viable, so definitely going to give it a go. I've got the 512gb version so I'll keep steam os on the ssd and convert my 512gb micro sd to a windows gaming boot with overwatch and new world 😁
Seamless tutorial! No issues on my end following this which was a godsend! Love that I can now switch between the steam os n now windows! Allllll the possibilities now!! Thanks again man!
External M.2 SSD units with a USB C at one end and USB A in the other works well. It will be faster than an SD card and can plug into a HUB or the SDeck directly. The NEXDOCK is an interesting choice for the SDeck that provides an LT and Dock experience it can work with other Handhekds and Phonrs and has a battery. I think you should review it for on the go users it is very versatile.
This has been really helpful. Personally I would like to just stick with Steam OS. But my girlfriend wants to play games like Dead by Daylight on multiplayer. So sadly, I need to use windows for the pesky EAC. Being able to have windows on a SD I can just pop in and out for those few games that are an issue is great! Will be a little bit before I try it myself, but your guide has been really straight forward and understandable.
Thank you for your kind comments! I had a very specific reason for running Windows on my unit, for Virtual Pinball with a dual-screen configuration. So I fully understand. Hope the guide makes it easy for you, if you run into any difficulty I keep this section updated with the latest issues/solutions that are encountered: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting
Amazing tutorial, so clear and troubleshooting on the guide helped when I ran into any errors - thank you so much! Just made the stream deck even better 😄
Added to my best list. As a professional game mod developer for many games like Dark Souls 1 , 2 ,3, Sekiro, Sd Gundam, ps3, psp, ps4 titltes i am to have fun with windows and mod games using Cheat Engine on the GO! Thank you so much for this wonderful video! We from Modding Realms wish you all the best!
I cannot thank you enough for this, I was nervous about trying to use SteamOS (Linux) and now I have the ability to use Windows to play all the games that aren't compatible on SteamOS Bless you Wagner!
Most welcome, please do check out the guide that has lots of Q&A and all the latest updates that I'm aware of since this video was created. A good starting point is here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Q_A . It will help prepare you for the installation/setup overall. The video is still quite relevant, but the guide expands a bit more in some areas.
Thank you so much for this guide! I had one small issue in which the APU driver folder had a different name than the one in the video, but it correlated in the end. Otherwise very easy to follow and install.
I found something great and want to stress it: The SWICD driver. It's a new driver that makes the copy of Windows that you've installed onto the Deck treat the Deck as an actual gaming controller without any need for Steam or other third-party programs. I'll explain: Say you want you play RE7 but have a Windows copy (legit or otherwise), not a copy purchased through, and thus recognized by, Steam. Normally, if you've followed this excellent tutorial and installed Windows onto your Deck or Micro SD card, what you'd have to do (which is also demonstrated in this video) is install the Windows version of Steam, tell it to add your RE7 executable as a "non-Steam game", then run it THROUGH Steam to play it. That's because Windows does not natively recognize that it's being run on the Steam Deck, it doesn't know what a Steam Deck is. Windows thinks it's being run on a physical computer, so unless you've plugged a controller into this "computer" Windows will just assume that anything you play will be operated through mouse and keyboard. Steam tries to take care of that with its built-in (if somewhat confusing) virtual controller overlay which tells Windows that the buttons on your Steam Deck are actually the keyboard keys needed to operate the game. SWICD does away with all of that. Once you've installed Windows, you then download and install the SWICD driver msi here: github.com/mKenfenheuer/steam-deck-windows-usermode-driver/releases/tag/v0.2.7-beta2. While it's running, Windows will be tricked into thinking that you've physically plugged an actual Xbox 360 controller into the "computer" that it's running on. Now, you just launch your Windows copy of RE7. No adding to Steam, no playing through Steam, no need to even install Steam. You just launch the game. The game, like Windows, now recognizes the Deck in your hand as an actual gaming controller. Instead of saying something like "press ESC to exit", the game will now say "press the B button to exit". SWICD can be turned on or off at any time, and you can customize its layout to whatever you want (including saving specific layouts for specific games, if you want). You can switch the L and R triggers, assign functionality to the STEAM and back buttons (for example I have the STEAM button act as the Windows key, meaning that if a game freezes or something I can always hit a physical button to go back to the Windows desktop rather than restarting the device). Whatever you want. The config is saved in your documents folder. Just make sure to switch "disable lizard mode" (look it up if you like) to TRUE in order to avoid virtual keyboard conflicts, and you shouldn't have much trouble. ========== TL;DR: If you install Windows on your Steam Deck, you can then install the SWICD driver to make Windows treat your Deck as a game controller without the need to use Steam at all. ==========
Hi Mike, this is VERY GOOD Information! I would like to add a section to the Windows Install guide for "Viewer Recommendations" and start it off with yours here. Is it ok to to repost portions of what you have above, along with a link to your YT ID for credit? I've not tried this (will when I get a chance), but think others may find it helpful! I appreciate your detailed explanation and if you're ok with me re-posting, I'll add it to the guide. Not sure how many are going to see your post here in the comments and it's too good not to share on the guide page.
@@WagnersTechTalk Oh absolutely, sure! I made that post because I figured that others would benefit from it just like I did. I didn't make the driver of course but have had good luck with it so far. You should definitely look into it yourself and see what you think, determine if you want to add anything I said about it, and if so, definitely feel free! I'm happy to help.
Thank you so much Mike! I didn't change much at all, your write-up was perfect! I took your comment above and just added direct links to a few areas for SWICD. You can find the new section here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Viewer_Recommendations . Again, I want to thank you for your contribution to the community, I and I'm sure many others appreciate it!
@@WagnersTechTalk Very cool, thanks! Have you tried the driver yet? If not, give it a spin. It's great to be able to play PC games on the Deck without having to go through the whole "add non-Steam game" process. Glad the info is able to be of some service!
Just a heads up that sometimes you have to click the "list USB hard drives" box under "show advanced drive properties" when you are in Rufus. If your USB drive/drive your installing windows to doesn't show up in "Device"
Very informational video and very clear in speaking! One of the best informational videos out there! I just subbed and clicked Like for yah! Well deserved!
I'm stuck on the Boot Manager stage. My microSD didn't show so I tried to reinsert it and am getting this error: 'SdCardSendOpCond fails with Time out 0cr FF800000, S18r 1, Xpc 1'. Has anyone else had this issue?
It might be a defective microSD card or dust in the microSD slot. If you have a can of air, try blowing out the microSD slot (it would have to have a lot of dust for it to be an issue). It's most likely a defective card, what brand is it?
at 6:32 I cannot find the microsd card in the booter list. Are only certain sd card brands compatible? Using a SanDisk Extreme and everything goes smoothly until this point. (Thank you for the well explained tutorial. Hope that others are having more luck!)
I've only tried Lexar and Samsung microSD's personally, it hasn't been mentioned to me that SanDisk microSD's don't work. I would think the instructions here should work on any microSD: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Create_the_Windows_ISO_file
Have you run into the boot menu not recognizing an SD card? I'm trying to run a Samsung 512GB Pro Plus U3 A2 V30, and following the guide up until the point where I boot to it from the Steam Deck, but for some reason it isn't listed in the boot menu. The Steam Deck previously recognized the card fine when formatting it to be used as extra storage for Steam OS. I then formatted it to be used with windows, followed the guide and Rufus read it fine, installed the ISO, copied the drivers, but for some reason the boot menu just won't read it. I've tried swapping to Beta/Preview updates with developer mode enabled (some links I found on the internet suggested that)... Otherwise is the best option to just try a different MicroSD card or two?
I've not had an issue with the card, I bought 3 of them - all worked. Try powering the Steam Deck off, then re-seat the card, power it back on while holding the volume down button. Can't imagine why it wouldn't see your card, unless it's defective.
@@WagnersTechTalk Neither can I, it’s odd. But the card seems fully functional otherwise. I’m currently running Rufus again with a few settings tweaked. If it works, I’ll reply so you know in case others ask the question in the future.
@@WagnersTechTalk The second time I reset the ISO with Rufus, it seems to have worked. Mine did auto update to Rufus 3.20 from 3.19, so not sure if thats why... but I swapped the partition scheme, and then checked a box saying "Use Rufus MBR with BIOS ID" and that seems to have fixed it!
Hi, First of, I want to give you a big thank you. With your guide, I'm able to use my steam deck with windows while attending engineering school. I was wondering, with the release of the OLED model, will you revisit your guide to see what need to be done to make it work on the OLED model?
Awesome to hear you got it all setup, you're very welcome. I'm not planning, at this point, to purchase the OLED model. The guide should work the same but if not I'll find a way to keep it updated. I wish you the best in Engineering School!
So just to understand, once you set up the windows using that SD you can just shut off the deck and swap cards then it will be in steam OS and just as easily you can turn it off again and put the windows sd in and it will boot into windows?
For the most part. The only difference is when in booting in to Windows you'll need to Press+HOLD the volume down and select the microSD card from the boot manager. Quick instructions detailed here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Swap_between_SteamOS_and_Windows
@@WagnersTechTalk also is there a way to have both steam os and windows os on the same deck/micro SD? I want to use a 1tb card and have windows on it and have steam on the deck like normal. But then also have the card be usable for storage on both operating systems to access games and things.
There is not a way, that I'm aware of to easily have SteamOS and Windows accessible from a single microSD card. Is it possible, perhaps. However, it was not within the scope of this guide/video. A better solution will be once Valve supports dual-boot with SteamOS which according to this: help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6121-ECCD-D643-BAA8 is being worked on. Once that happens, I'll investigate and likely create a separate guide+video to explain it.
@@WagnersTechTalk that sounds great! But just to clarify, the windows OS would be on the SD and the steam OS would be on the deck (basically stock deck). The idea is to be able to swap between the two when turning on the deck. The issue at hand would be if the data on the SD card is accessable by the windows and steam operating systems so that I don't have to swap SD cards ever since eim trying to use a 1tb card for everything.
I already had windows on my SD but then one day it says preparing automatic repair and now it doesn't boot. I reimaged a micro sd but now it doesn't boot to the windows setup. any help? not sure what's going wrong. thanks
Sounds like something may have gotten corrupted or perhaps Windows wasn't shutdown properly before removing the SD card. May need to re-install in this case.
You're most welcome! If you run into any issues, there is a troubleshooting section with everything I'm aware of so far. As issue are found in the comments here (and get resolved), I try to keep it updated.
Great video I was wondering accouple things that i hope you could answer first is it still running smooth I heard alot of people say that it will basically burn out the card rather quick like with in a year have you come across any issues? two are your games also saved on the same sd card if so what size do you recommend for the process? and last I don't really follow a lot of the news has there been an update in regards to official dual booting that you mentioned?
Thank you for watching and your kind comment! You'll find the answer to your first question on the last point here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Q_A . Also, in this section I discuss the card I used in the video. I've since purchased several. One I use for Windows 10, x2 for Windows 11 (one with just steam games, the other for Virtual Pinball), one for Batocera, etc. Obviously, testing the longevity of a single card isn't possible in this setup. However, if it was an issue we should be seeing posts regularly about that by now as the guide was released a year ago. It's very rare that such a comment appears and backs up the point mentioned above. If you're using a U3 A2 card, it will be faster and time will tell how long it will last. As far as dual-booting, you'll find that same comment still on their site: help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6121-ECCD-D643-BAA8 . Hope I've answered your questions, again thank you for checking out the video and guide!
See the Troubleshooting section here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting . Specifically the "Difficulty with Rufus" point for some possible solutions.
I have a problem with the APU Driver. The Deck just reboots during the installation and then steam os starts automatically. When I turn the deck off and reboot windows the APU driver installation doesn't continue
I think this is a result of their latest 3.3 update (after this video was released). Prior to that update, the driver install was fine. After the reboot, the driver does appear to have been installed so it shouldn't be an issue. Just install the remaining drivers and you should be in good shape. Hopefully they'll update the APU drivers for Windows soon. I'll add a notice about this issue to the guide page this evening.
fyi - Added an orange notice at the top of the page and in the troubleshooting section of the guide here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting
I just made Valve aware of the driver issues here: steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/3464976518718621603 If more users reply to that thread, it would likely improve the priority in getting the issues resolved. They worked prior to the SteamOS 3.3 update, it's up to Valve to fix the issues with the drivers.
Wanted to do this so I could play certain EA games online on deck, and it worked perfectly. Thank you so much for such an easy to use and detailed guide. Bravo!
Very welcome, happy to hear you're all up and running! If you're interested in additional guides for the Steam Deck, there are more here, if needed: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck/#Emulation
A viable way to play those games that Steam OS won't run. All without touching the main drive with steam OS installed. Yes I'll be doing this!
So I have a few "unsupported" Steam games that won't run on the Steam Deck, no matter what proton I use etc. Running Windows 10 will allow me to play them??
@@Alexvander10some games are unsupported because the steam deck OS runs on Steam OS and Linux combined. Some games require windows to run them, so yes some games may work and should allow you to play them if you're running Windows, but ide also say some games would be a no go throwing errors on start up, and/or crashes could potentially occur. Running Windows will allow the play of some games but I wouldn't say it could run "all" games. Using windows for gaming on the Steam Deck is really just a gateway to play those games that Steam OS and Linux can't run(some games that are unsupported). Again, some games may not work at all, not all of them will work.
Yeah, me too. I would like to play Gears4 and Gears5 horde on the SD.
Do you need a pc for this anyone as my Mac atm isn’t functioning :(
I want to play MW2 thanks in advance.
@@nathangibbs5096 Yes you will need a PC with Windows 10 or 11 on it specifically. I had to go to someone else's home and used their computer to create the SD card.
Once you create the bootable micro SD, u won't need the PC any longer.
THIS is how you do a step by step tutorial! Great pace and actually went through the process of downloading software needed instead of jumping into the tutorial already having downloaded everything. Thanks for this! I went with Windows 10 because people seem to be having more success with it. Everything seems to be running smoothly so far.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback Jeremy! I also prefer Win10, Microsoft recently updated Win11 which breaks the ability to install one of the audio drivers (audio still works though).
I’ve watched a lot of step-by-step guide and I must say. Your’s by far the best. You thoroughly walk us through with patience and understanding on how to do these installations. Really appreciate it my guy. You just earned a subscriber
Wow, thank you so much for your kind words and support!
I watched many tutorials about doing this and I never could get it, this was absolutely perfect, did it the first time I tried, I even ordered a second card and did it again. Thank you! Very straight forward and easy to follow and understand. Looking forward to watching more of your videos and learning some new stuff.
Fantastic Garry! Try to keep it simple and provide additional information should it be needed. Thank you so much for your feedback! fyi - all my Steam Deck content may be found here, with more coming: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck
1000% I must have gone through 10 different tutorials and none would boot properly from the SD Card. This was the first one I saw that actually had the users selecting "Windows to go" in Rufus when setting up the image. It worked perfectly Great tutorial!!! Thank you so much!!
@@dwt1228 Happy it helped, thank you for watching!
@@WagnersTechTalk can I ask how you got windows to install to the micro sd card specifically? Do you disable the internal drive first or is there a step somewhere else I missed?
@@iBlendrYaBollocks All (or at least most) of your questions answered right here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows . Step-by-step guide.
I installed windows 11 with this tutorial. I’d never done this type of thing before, and it worked flawlessly. For some reason my SD and windows 11 pro had functioning wifi without the driver, I installed it anyways and the signal became more stable. Thank you very much!
Awesome to hear! Very welcome, happy it was helpful to you.
Thank YOU was wondering myself
@@liltnt380 In Windows 10, you won't have Wifi until the drivers are installed. In Windows 11, it will work. I updated the guide a few nights ago to make sure to mention that difference.
Excellent guide! The first guide I've ever used that truly gets you from start to finish without having to look up anything else.
Awesome, I love to hear that!!
Mannn where do I begin!? Amazing. Simply well put and broken down. Like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! I've been anticipating my steam deck arrival for a week and been sifting through guides. Without a doubt THIS IS THE BEST ONE. I had my steam deck with windows dual boot ready to go within 2-3 hours. I unfortunately did not have the accessories for mouse and keyboard so I had to figure out the basics in order to completely install the drivers. If you put the touch pad basics (towards the end of the video) about mouse movement, the left/right click controls and turning on touch screen keyboard with the steam deck earlier in the video, it would be that much better!
Nonetheless because of you I have my ideal steam deck. Forever grateful and thank you!
I really appreciate your kind comments, I'm very happy that you found it helpful! YT won't allow moving segments once the video is published. I appreciate that feedback and will keep that in mind for future videos. More interesting Steam Deck stuff definitely coming! Released a new one today (on EmuDeck) and have the next one mostly planned out, just need to get to work on it (totally different, doubt it's ever been done before and not 100% certain it's going to work lol). But need to review a few new products that arrived first, which I'm equally excited about.
@@WagnersTechTalk I saw the new emudeck video! Will be diving into that shortly and cannot wait for your future videos.
Thanks for taking the time for us!
I agree, this is the best tutorial out there. Some won't even go step by step and other won't even show or say what is need before starting. Almost gave up until I came along this video.
@@leeandrada4731 Thank you Lee!
But you can basically use the touchscreen for like 95% of the process. Even from the first steps when you're on the blue screen and selecting windows stuff like language/keyboard/etc.
For any other situations, yeah. track pad with your mind inverted Up/Right is Down/Left or something like that :P But totally worth it for like 2-3 clicks that you have to make.
THANK YOU for being so thorough. There are so many "how-to" videos where the person just rushes through it all and it's annoying. I love this tutorial. Keep up the wonderful work!
You are so welcome Joyce, I'll have much more Steam Deck content coming soon and hope you find those future videos equally helpful! Thank you for watching!
With all Respect THANK YOU VERY MUCH this is the only tutorial that I've watched that went in depth and I've already watched like 20 videos. That you very much now I can finally run cod on my deck. Thank you again.
Awesome Raymond, so happy to hear the guide was helpful to you - thank you for your kind words and support! A lot of work went into creating it 😎
I did the same thing lolol. So awesome tutorial
Simply AMAZING! As an IT tech guy who love tech toys I just ordered a Steam Deck and few SD cards, I don't think I will play actual games on it but damn it it will be so much fun playing and tinkering with the device itself and see what crazy things I can do with it :D.
Thank you for watching Zack! There is so much you can do with it, it really is a PC in a handheld form-factor. A new guide+video I released earlier this week was on the nreal glasses, you may get a kick out of it : wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck/#Emulation . Just barely scratching the surface on these guides and videos, already starting the next one and can't wait to get it done and out there. Exciting times!
@@WagnersTechTalk Exciting times indeed! I have been watching those "PC handhelds" for a while but they all felt the same, however the steam deck is really unique from the price point to how easy it is to order at this moment to how Valve making videos about opening the device itself and change some of the parts like upgrading the storage, and specially now more and more people are getting their hands on one, I can't wait to see where Valve take this :D
And yes I did actually watch that video, that is something I'm planning to order sometime in the near future :D.
I did this yesterday and it's amazing! I was curious how games like Tekken would run under windows since it is not officially supported for the Steam Deck. The result was surprisingly good! I could run the game on high settings easily with 60fps. I highly recommend this to anyone who actually wants to be able to play the entire steam library on the Steam Deck.
Thank you very much for this amazing tutorial!
Very welcome and thank you for your feedback!
how did u install cs35l41.inf?? When I right click it doesn't show install option?? Also how do u get keyboard to show up? I'm using win 10
After an extremely frustrating uphill battle to get Windows-to-Go, well, Windows-to-Going for my Steam Deck, your video made installation a breeze.
I am up and running with no issues. Thank you kindly for the easy to follow video, included links, and troubleshooting guide.
Commenting to satisfy the all powerful Algo Rithm.
Great news and thank you for letting me know!
What were the steps you went through to get windows-to-go working? I seem be having some trouble with Rufus, I seem to be only able to make a standard windows installation
@@FollowJester
I had a similar issue at first, I re-downloaded Rufus from another site and it worked.
I highly recommend using the link to Rufus in the Wagner's FAQ (link to the FAQ is in the pinned comment). It'll get you an older version of Rufus which works a lot better for making the Windows-to-Go file.
Youre such a life saver. Idk why you arent the first video when i looked for guides
Before watching this my Steam Deck was flickering on the boot screen and I seemed unable to recover it, So I decided to watch this.
And Now I have full windows on it and I'm over the moon, Thank you mate genuinely!!
Sweet! Very welcome Marco and happy to help.
Outstanding video. Truly, truly excellent. Some quick tips that weren't mentioned: Make sure that your Deck has a good charge (at least 50%) and / or is plugged in. This is just a good tip whenever doing any kind of device writing and installing like this. Also, when Windows first attempts to install itself from the SD card, it WILL take several minutes. You'll be looking at "please wait" or "getting ready", that kind of thing, for at least 2-5 minutes. Don't freak out or turn off the device, just be patient. Lastly, since I did NOT use any external devices such as a mouse or keyboard, remember that in addition to using the Deck's trackpads and shoulder buttons, you can also long press (hold your finger on) the screen in order to do right mouse clicks which will be necessary a few times.
I can personally confirm that by following this tutorial (which really is pretty simple, it's just lengthy because the author was considerate enough to speak at a gentle pace and be very specific on just about every single step) I was able to get Windows 10 (Home Edition) onto my SD card with absolutely no errors or issues of any kind whatsoever. I was up and installing things like Firefox in no time.
Also remember: Once you get Windows onto the Deck, you do not need to attack a separate controller for any of your games, even if they're old. By installing Steam itself (just the program) on the Deck version of Windows, and then using Steam to "Add a Non-Steam Game", the game will be able to utilize Steam's virtual control pad. If absolutely nothing else, you can also look into things like Xpadder or other virtual controllers which allow you to remap any key to any button.
As for this video itself, THANK YOU Wagner! I've done some reformatting and modding / hacking and so forth, but I always follow tutorials when I'm working with new tech, just to make sure, and yours was probably the easiest and most straightforward one that I've ever seen. I will absolutely recommend this video to anyone starting out, anyone (like myself) who isn't familiar with and doesn't want to fiddle with Linux, or anyone who doubts that Windows does, in fact, work well on the Deck. Excellent work! :D
Thank you for your kind feedback and additional tips/recommendation. Definitely agree that keeping the power connected during the install is always best, perhaps I should have stressed that a bit more. It really makes me happy to hear that the video and guide were helpful to you. I spent many long hours trying to make sure things would go smoothly. Thank you again for your feedback and I appreciate it!
@@WagnersTechTalk Oh, definitely not a criticism. I've just known a few people who attempted to do something like this when their power wasn't high enough and they wound up losing their system midway through, causing all sorts of issues. Definitely less of a problem when dealing with a memory card as opposed to system hardware (the days of bricked PSPs, ugh) but just something for anyone who happens to see my comment to keep in mind.
But yeah absolutely, you're welcome for the feedback, this was a knockout of a tutorial. Cleanly explained, step by step, eliminating just about any chance of error, and even with a written guide to follow too. I wish all tutorials were as good as this one. I've been happily playing on my new Windows Deck for a day now. :D
How do you exit games though
@@kellyd1910 It depends on the games, some things I'm still figuring out myself. There's a driver you can install that a Steam Deck user made called SWICD, it will make every game that runs think that the Steam Deck is a plugged in Xbox 360 controller. You can map the buttons and should be able to make one of the rear buttons "escape", for example.
@@MiketheratguyMultimedia if you're running a game via Steam then you should be able to macro a set of buttons to be "alt+F4" or "alt+tab" right?
perfect guide. i followed along pausing as needed and it worked perfect.
Happy to hear you found it helpful, thank you for watching!
Don’t comment on YT often but I had to say thanks for the tutorial. Simple and concise! Currently playing Gundam Evolution and MW2 now. Runs like a dream 😊
Thank you for taking the time to let me know it's working for you! You're very welcome!
Took away all the anxiety from this. Cheers!
Awesome, happy it was helpful!
This guide is wonderful, thank you for providing both a video demo and written text!
Very welcome, happy to hear you found them helpful and I appreciate your comment very much!
I just wanted to thank you. I've had my Deck for about 3 weeks, and I've been seriously unhappy with Linux and everything you can't do that's leagues easier to do on Windows.
A lot of other TH-camrs try to praise the Steam OS, but for me, it's complete trash. The thing crashes constantly, the buttons work one minute, then they don't. Sometimes they're completely unresponsive. It feels unpolished and decimates the experience. I wanted to install Windows from the beginning, and went against my better judgement.
Thankfully I was fed up, and took my chances. I'm glad I did. With your tutorial, the machine runs like it was made exclusively for windows. My games run flawlessly. I used my mini keyboard from my Mac Mini home theater setup and it worked perfectly. You earned my sub. Keep it up.
You're very welcome and I appreciate you taking the time to say thank you, more coming! Working on the next Steam Deck video right now 😎👍
@@WagnersTechTalk They should just rename the thing to the X-Deck. 🤣🤣🤣
I look forward to your next video brother.
Thank you so much, I appreciate your support! I like having options, I have big plans for the Windows side of things. If all goes well, it will be pretty darn impressive, at least to some. Won't be my next video, likely a month away on that one (requires a lot of testing) but it will be fun!
THANK YOU! This video and accompanying text guide are THE BEST!! Easy to follow, thorough, and not rushed + no skipped steps. Well done, good sir, well done!
Very welcome, great to hear you found it helpful! I'll have more Steam Deck guides coming in the near future.
@@WagnersTechTalk hey can you make a video specifically about inf and the audio drivers for the deck I've ran into this installation issue and not a soul other than yourself Wagner have said anything about it needing to be inf or checking the file ext. To get it to install/become accessible
It would be nice for other people if there was a direct search query for it
@@Skhillz_FN I don't think that you necessarily need to see the "inf" file extension in order for it to be accessible, I believe that Wagner was just being thorough to ensure that viewers could verify for themselves that they were installing the correct files. Valve provides two audio drivers (one for the speakers and one for the headphone jack, I'm guessing) and you simply install them both, no more and no less.
This is awesome! I will do this next week when I got my steam deck delivered.
Exciting times! Loving my Steam Deck, I'm obsessed with it 😎
@@WagnersTechTalk it's just perfect for me. I'm rarely at home because of my job. This way I can play all my favorite games on the go. Waited for these kinds of handhelds for a long time 😁
Watching the Video right now since i finally got a Steam Deck now and oh boy, this Tutorial Video was one of the easiest i ever saw, no long intro and every small step shown in the video. Will try it out when it arrives! Thanx again for explaining it so easy ^^
Very welcome, thank you for watching and your kind comments! If you have any issues, check out the q&a and troubleshooting sections of the written guide in the video description. Lots more info there.
I only got my steam deck today but I just had to get Windows on it. Those classic RTS games are now going to be played to death on this! Thank you so much for this.
Most welcome Mersey, happy to be of assistance!
Used this to play modded skyrim and fallout 4. Worked like a charm. Thx bro
My pleasure, happy it helped!
Superb guide. Simple, well thought out and worked a treat. Many thanks!
Super happy to hear that! Very welcome Sir!
This is an AMAZING guide. I have been dual booting WIN 11 by partitioning the decks harddrive and when Steam uppdated this passed tuesday could no longer boot into steam OS even when selecting it at the boot menu. I have tried redoing the process all week with no success. Just found your video and process today. With this setup windows will never have issues with the steam OS and I can swap my micro sd when I want to run windows and simply swap to my decks main micro sd when I want to use it without windows.
You've got a sub from me.
Waiting for my new 1TB Microsd and will be running this setup ASAP.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Thank you so much for your kind comments and your support by subscribing! It means a lot to me and helps the channel to grow. From what I understand, Valve will be releasing an official method of dual-booting SteamOS+Windows which I will cover once implemented. I suspected as they move in that direction other dual-boot methods may cease to function. Until then, this method should always work as it's totally independent of the internal SSD. Much more coming to the guide, working on new content as I write this.
@@WagnersTechTalk perfect. Thank you so much for your hard work. I’ll be keeping on eye on your uploads and checking out your channel over the weekend.
Again thank you for this. So happy to be able to stop worrying about this.
The new content has grown a bit large and will be linked from the main Steam Deck guide to this new guide page and a companion video to support it. They may not appear on the guide this weekend, we'll have to see how it goes. You can always tell what/when I've changed from the changelog at the bottom of the guide here : wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck/#Change_Log
@@WagnersTechTalk hi amazing video definately subscribed! I'm waiting for my steam deck. My question is do I have to keep the micro SD i used to install windows and drivers in the steam deck as I'm using it to run everything or can I take the install micro SD out after windows is installed and use my 1TB with the games on it it?!
Thanks so much! Referring your vids to other friends!
@@tkabdul1464 Thank you TK, definitely appreciate the support! After installing Windows as shown in this video, anytime you want to run Windows you'll need this microSD inserted and boot from it by holding the vol - and press power on boot. Once you do that, you'll boot into Windows. When done with Windows, shut it down/power off, swap the microSD you use for Steam Games, power it on and you're back into SteamOS. You'll have access to either SteamOS or Windows simply by swapping dedicated microSD's for each. Hope that answered your question. Again, thank you for your support it definitely means alot!
This is the most detailed and easy to follow guide on how to install Windows on a microSD for Steam Deck.
Much appreciated, thank you for our support!
Followed this guide step by step and got Windows installed on my deck without any issues. Thanks for this helpful tutorial.
Awesome, very welcome! I appreciate you watching and for your kind feedback.
You have earned a dedicated subscriber. This has been the most well thought out tutorial. I wish you did every tutorial for everything I ever needed. Please keep up the amazing work!
Thank you for your support! Just drop a comment on things you'd like to see, I can't always deliver but I read and keep track of all requests. If I get enough on a particular topic, I dig in and research/learn/document it. I have a big list of content to create, some take longer than others 😎 Next month will likely see another round of new Steam Deck content. Always interested in hearing what others want to see.
One more thing, if you haven't seen the main Steam Deck page yet, you may find some info. here helpful also: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck . For all the guides (similar to this one) I've created, see here: wagnerstechtalk.com/guides (most have video companions).
Anyone test Win10 vs. Win11 on the Steam Deck? The questions I have for Win11 are:
- (Most importantly) Do all the drivers work normally (like in Wagner's Win10 video)?
- Is there a difference performance wise?
- Is there a difference in size?
- Any other benefits/disadvantages (touchscreen, accessibility etc.)?
Up
@@younited8959 Since posting my reply and up until now I have seen several Windows tutorials unrelated to the version of Windows itself, but showcasing other programs and stuff that you can do within both Windows 10 and 11. Basically, all those people said that "this works both on Win 10 and 11" all around the board. I also saw no major difference so I guess my conclusion is that they both work fine, no major difference it's probably more with what you are familiar or what you prefer.
I stuck with Win10 to folow Wagner's guide exactly and also because the majority of other tutorials for other programs on TH-cam use Win10, but I have Win11 on an old 2-in-1, 10 inch, tablet that I watch TH-cam on at night in bed (using touchscreen). So I am accustomed to both.
Quick Note: Installation process for Windows 11 I think has more steps to go through, but that shouldn't really matter since you're only doing that once and for like 2-3 extra minutes it shouldn't influence the decision.
@@ToastedSynapseGaming thank u ❤️
Just a warning for the latest build of Windows 11 22H2, the audio driver provided by Steam (audio driver 1) appears to blue screen Windows and doesn't install correctly. I suppose we'll have to wait for that to be fixed if you want to use it on the latest version of Windows 11. All the other drivers seemed to work fine. Windows 11 22H2 is the only option available for downloading on Microsoft's Windows 11 page currently as it just released today.
Thanks for that update I was fixing to try it with 11 22/h2 😅
Thank you for the heads up! I installed Windows 11 over the weekend and it was fine, but haven't tried today. You still have audio correct? After installing the APU drivers, the audio worked previously.
@@WagnersTechTalk nope, didn't have audio. The 2nd driver installed alright, but the sound didn't work. I also installed windows 11 over the weekend with no issues, but today's new build seems like it breaks that first driver. Hopefully you'll have more luck than I did.
All updates applied, still have audio here.
@@WagnersTechTalk sweet, I'll give mine another install today to see if that fixes my problem.
Your voice is so calm! I thought that if you have internet the drivers will be installe automatically by the windows.
Thank you brother. You'll need to download and install these drivers for optimal operation on the steam deck.
I never comment on videos but I just want to say thank you😅I was not expecting this to work especially seeing as I used a macbook👀one of the most simple step-by-step tutorials for a new Steam Deck owner, thank you!!!
Awesome news, so happy the guide+video was helpful to you Hannah! I always appreciate hearing success stories, makes my day and you're very welcome! Should see an influx of new Steam Deck guides from me in Nov. Lots of new things to talk about.
The best guide, other guides didn't think to include the drivers on the Micro SD and told me to get a separate USB C thumb drive. Thank you!
Thank you James, I appreciate your kind comment and hope it made the install process much easier.
@link4566 Haven't had this issue, but this looks like it might be helpful: softwarekeep.com/help-center/how-to-fix-the-windows-created-a-temporary-paging-file-error
This is the guide I ave been looking for - simple and straightforward explanations - thanks - just one question though - do you have to "activate" Windows 10 or 11 on the SteamDeck or can you use the OS "as is" ?
If you want clean screen without "activate windows" or change background, you need to activate it. Its strange, but I had "software connected" activation.
@@CarlBraun3 THANKS :)
As CarlBraun mentioned, yes you'll need to activate it. There is a section in the guide about that here: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck/#Windows_License
@@WagnersTechTalk much appreciated, thank you
Just installed Windows 11 using this method. It is only using the 1TB SD card i inserted and not the internal 256gb SSD that came installed with steam OS. Is it alright to run windows and games all from SD or should have I utilized the SSD as well? is it possible to just boot back into steam OS on the fly by going back to the boot launcher and selecting the SSD where steam OS was?
In this video, nothing gets written to the SSD. SD only. Yes, you can install Steam (or whatever) under Windows and run your games there. That's exactly what I was showing in this video. You can then power off the deck, swap SD's (or SD you were using for SteamOS), power it back on and you're back into SteamOS. Whenever you want to boot into Windows again, you'll need to press + hold the volume down then turn on the power to enter the boot menu and select the SD card that has Windows 11 on it. What was done in this video is non-destructive to your Steam Deck, the SSD is unchanged.
This question was pretty dumb lmao
@@JohnnyNewport There are no dumb questions when someone is trying to learn something. The quest for knowledge begins with the words "I don't understand".
just installed windows 11 using your guide! worked great and not a much hassle as i thought it would be.many thanks
Glad it helped!
This guide may have just helped make my mind up on buying a Steam Deck in the near future
Glad to hear it was helpful to you Sean! You can find more Steam Deck-related guides here: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck , also working on another one that will be released shortly for the nreal Air glasses on the Steam Deck (video in a few days).
By far the best guide out there thank you!
I very much appreciate your comment, thank you for checking it out. Many more here, if needed: wagnerstechtalk.com/guides
Indeed 👍🏽
Dude, thank you so much for this guide. I seriously appreciate it!
Very welcome, thank you for checking it out!
Thanks for the great video! I tried to install using the Windows 11 ISO and ran into a bunch of weirdness. Lots of unknown devices after I loaded the drivers and a weird paging file error on startup. Probably not quite ready for primetime yet. Using the Windows 10 install worked fine.
Thank you Bill! I've had good results with Windows 10, it's mainly why I focused on Win 10 in this video.
Super easy guide to follow!! Got my steam deck and in less than 20 min had windows working on it. Thanks Again!!!
Great to hear, thank you for letting me know how it went! Tried to make it as easy as possible and appreciate success stories like yours!
Very great tutorial.
But I have one question.
Is windows completly running over the sd Card and is Steam os still on the internal SSD so that i could just have the sd card wirh windows and simply swap it out on the go and steam Os could still runn from the internal ssd?
Please see the Q&A section here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Q_A It goes into more detail about this question.
@@WagnersTechTalk Thank you very much.
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ: Most are having excellent results with this video + guide, a few are not. For those that aren't, below are some tips to help:
* A Windows 11 Update on 9/20/2022 is causing the cs35I41 audio driver install to blue screen. See here for more information: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting
* Full Written Guide (step-by-step guide) may be found here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows
* Common Questions and Answers: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Q_A
* Problems with Rufus, drivers, Game Pass, etc: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting - all issues/solutions have been documented/added to this section.
* Navigating from the Steam Deck controls: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Usage_Tips
* Swap between SteamOS and Windows: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Swap_between_SteamOS_and_Windows
As shown in the video, most of the testing I've done was with Windows 10. If you have any additional tips/recommendations for improving the guide, please comment below with your suggestions (Viewer tips are being added here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Viewer_Recommendations ). I've done the best I can to document the entire process. Thank you for watching and I hope you find this video and the guide helpful! 😎
Incase you are on windows 11 and want a quick reason to why you get blue screen with the audio driver install
- This update doesn’t play well with the current cs35141.inf audio driver (1/2) provided by Valve. Until the driver is updated, skip over this one (for now), if installing Windows 11 to the microSD.
I would also like to add, although the audio drivers don’t work on windows 11 you can still plug an audio device into the 3.5mm jack for working sound, albeit the quality is probably not as good as it can be.
The audio drivers don't seem to be working. Any suggestions? The video was very informative.
I'm using the SD Card recommended in the FAQ, followed the guide exactly, and the SD Card does not show in the Boot Menu. I can see it fine in Steam OS Desktop mode.
How can i install the games on the ssd of the steam deck? The only Hard disc that shows to me is the micro sd, and every time that i turn on the deck it goes Strait to the steam os
Very good video! Couldn’t you just copy and paste the contents of the 128 gb SD card to the 512 gb SD card, after the first Windows 10 installation? It sounded like you had to reinstall Windows 10 each time you bought a larger SD card?
2nd this question!
Thank you and very good question! I absolutely could have cloned the 128GB to the 512GB (clone, but not file copy) and in fact I have instructions on my website on how to do that here: wagnerstechtalk.com/common/#Backup_Clone_a_Drive
So, why did I go through the install again? There were two reasons:
1) I wanted to test the written guide to make sure I didn't miss anything that would have made it frustrating for you.
2) I wanted to be able to capture some brief video of the install using the Steam Deck without a keyboard attached. You'll see it appear briefly in the upper-right when the install is being displayed vertically on the Steam Deck (that was during the 512GB SD install). Without that, I'm sure folks would wonder why I didn't show it at all (I would).
I did have reasons and I hope this all makes sense.
Please see below.
Is W10 better than W11 on the deck? Not sure which to get, people like both.
As you said, some like both. I still use Win10 mostly myself. It's subjective really.
@@WagnersTechTalk alright thank you very much, I was hoping that there are downsides in performance/comparability in one of them to make the choice easier.
When I try to install Wi-Fi driver it’s says sorry we don’t support this operating system
Are you doing something that differs from this: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Create_the_Windows_ISO_file ? If not, please provide more details such the version you're installing, etc. If you're using Windows 10, it should work smoothly. I do have some troubleshooting steps listed here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting . However, the issue you're reporting I've not personally seen nor has been reported as an issue so far.
Yes, fully install tutorial.Thumb up.
Thank you Charles, I appreciate your support!
Hi friend! Thank you very much for preparing this tutorial for us not so experienced users, who use also Windows on our beloved Steam Decks. I have mine now since beginning of march and also thought about having a Windows on my Deck, when needed, and was always afraid to do the process, but your guide looks very promising! I have some additional questions, which you may be able to answer. 1. For Windows versions: Just Win10 and Win11, right? No Windows 8 possible? (I use to play older games, which are running more flawlessly on older Win versions). For the usage, and understanding: As the MicroSD card is inserted, the Steam Deck will automatically boot into the Windows? Or do we have to go always with the BootManager while pressing the button combination, while starting the deck? 3. There is no harm in any point of this installation process to the data, stored on the NVME drive, right? Thank you sooo much for doing this for the Steam Deck community! Subscribed!
Thank you so much Alf for checking out the video+guide and your support by subscribing, means a lot! I'll answer your questions as best I can:
1. I spent the majority of the time testing with Windows 10. Not to say Windows 8 isn't possible, just not something I personally investigated/tried.
2. If the microSD card is inserted with Windows installed, to boot into Windows you will need to hold the volume down when powering on to get into the Boot Manager. If you've already booted into Windows, when you reboot from within Windows you won't have to repeat.
3. Using the method described in the video+guide, the internal SSD drive of the Steam Deck is basically inaccessible. There is no impact to the internal drive or harm that can be caused unless a very intentional method was used to cause harm.
Again, I very much appreciate your support and hope I answered your questions thoroughly.
That's brilliant, I'm waiting to see a native GamePass on the Deck
That would be cool!
@@WagnersTechTalk have you tried that with the windows deck?
I don't have GamePass but I'd love it if Steam had an equivalent. Though, I have heard from others that GP will work with this setup.
Phenomenal tutorial! Thank you so much! I just finished the setup of Windows 10 on my Deck, super excited to try out Game Pass.
Glad it helped!
@@WagnersTechTalk what is the size of Windows 10 on sscard
@@tlon5431 29gb before windows update, about 32gb after.
Hello! I'm thinking of doing this for game pass. Have you tried any games yet? How is it working for you?
@@JuanGomezYT Hi Juan, I don't have game pass, but it should work.
When i click setup on the wifi driver i get the successfully installed screen but nothing pops up in the available networks tab. I checked the device manager and there is no realtek driver under network adapter. Pls help. I followed every step in the video
There haven't been any reports of the WiFi driver installation not working, until a few days ago. Curious, are you using the new OLED Steam Deck?
When I right click the audio INF file all it does is give me an option to open it, and it opens it in a notepad. There's no install button
Windows 11 right? Click the "More" option, then you'll see it.
@@WagnersTechTalk no I installed Windows 10. The steam page said they didn't have the new bios update for Windows 11 yet
I did get it to work though, turns out you have to update Windows and install the APU driver first, otherwise when you right click on the INF file it only gives you open in notepad and properties as the options
I didn't know you had to install the drivers in a specific order
Great info., thank you!
This guide was very helpful, thank you. i'm having a mouse issue when i open steam. i'm unable to enter my username and password since the mouse and keyboard doesnt pop up. anyone else having this issue? i'm doing this in undocked mode btw.
Very welcome, thank you for watching! Please see this section in the guide, specifically the Virtual Keyboard row: wagnerstechtalk.com/steamdeck/#Usage_Tips
Thank you for the guide! It was concise and easy to follow. Thanks to you I now am enjoying all that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has to offer on the go.
Very welcome, thank you for your support and kind comments! More content on the Steam Deck is forthcoming 😎👍
Do you stream or install games from game pass to steam deck
@@julienrichard1581 The games are installed on my SD card. Most everything has run well, but I do occasionally have an issue with getting Yakuza: Like A Dragon to run.
This is awesome. Started hearing how booting windows and playing from an sd card is viable, so definitely going to give it a go. I've got the 512gb version so I'll keep steam os on the ssd and convert my 512gb micro sd to a windows gaming boot with overwatch and new world 😁
How is new world on the steam deck? Is it stable?
Seamless tutorial! No issues on my end following this which was a godsend! Love that I can now switch between the steam os n now windows! Allllll the possibilities now!! Thanks again man!
^^^ This is what I love to hear! Appreciate you!
Hi. Just wondering, when you want to switch back and forth between windows and steam os, do you hold down the power and volume button again?
Definitely is the best step by step video i ever see.Thank you!
Wow, thank you very much for your kind comment and support!
Great guide but do you have to install the drivers in the exact order?
Nope, you can install in any order you want.
External M.2 SSD units with a USB C at one end and USB A in the other works well. It will be faster than an SD card and can plug into a HUB or the SDeck directly. The NEXDOCK is an interesting choice for the SDeck that provides an LT and Dock experience it can work with other Handhekds and Phonrs and has a battery. I think you should review it for on the go users it is very versatile.
Thank you, I appreciate your suggestion! I'll look into this.
This has been really helpful. Personally I would like to just stick with Steam OS. But my girlfriend wants to play games like Dead by Daylight on multiplayer. So sadly, I need to use windows for the pesky EAC.
Being able to have windows on a SD I can just pop in and out for those few games that are an issue is great!
Will be a little bit before I try it myself, but your guide has been really straight forward and understandable.
Thank you for your kind comments! I had a very specific reason for running Windows on my unit, for Virtual Pinball with a dual-screen configuration. So I fully understand. Hope the guide makes it easy for you, if you run into any difficulty I keep this section updated with the latest issues/solutions that are encountered: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting
@@WagnersTechTalk Thanks! You've really gone above and beyond with all the info. Very much appreciated ^^.
Amazing tutorial, so clear and troubleshooting on the guide helped when I ran into any errors - thank you so much! Just made the stream deck even better 😄
Great to hear it was helpful to you, more guides are coming soon!
Added to my best list. As a professional game mod developer for many games like Dark Souls 1 , 2 ,3, Sekiro, Sd Gundam, ps3, psp, ps4 titltes i am to have fun with windows and mod games using Cheat Engine on the GO! Thank you so much for this wonderful video! We from Modding Realms wish you all the best!
Very welcome, it's an honor to be able to assist and thank you for all the great work on those games!
It's been said a lot already, but this was a masterpiece. Thank you!
Wow, thank you so much!
I cannot thank you enough for this, I was nervous about trying to use SteamOS (Linux) and now I have the ability to use Windows to play all the games that aren't compatible on SteamOS Bless you Wagner!
You are very welcome Ben, happy to help!
Thank you for your video. I was almost worried that I needed to dual boot. This makes more sense to use my upcoming steamdeck for work hahahahaha.
Most welcome, please do check out the guide that has lots of Q&A and all the latest updates that I'm aware of since this video was created. A good starting point is here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Q_A . It will help prepare you for the installation/setup overall. The video is still quite relevant, but the guide expands a bit more in some areas.
Thank you so much for this guide! I had one small issue in which the APU driver folder had a different name than the one in the video, but it correlated in the end. Otherwise very easy to follow and install.
Glad it was helpful to you Max, I appreciate you watching!
the best tutorial i have ever witnessed to be honest,keep it up,new suscriber
I really appreciate that, thank you so much for your support!
Is there a way to do this process on a Mac? I'm able to get the ISO from Windows but I don't have a windows machine so I can't use Rufus
Please see this, it may help: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Mac_Setup
I found something great and want to stress it: The SWICD driver. It's a new driver that makes the copy of Windows that you've installed onto the Deck treat the Deck as an actual gaming controller without any need for Steam or other third-party programs. I'll explain:
Say you want you play RE7 but have a Windows copy (legit or otherwise), not a copy purchased through, and thus recognized by, Steam. Normally, if you've followed this excellent tutorial and installed Windows onto your Deck or Micro SD card, what you'd have to do (which is also demonstrated in this video) is install the Windows version of Steam, tell it to add your RE7 executable as a "non-Steam game", then run it THROUGH Steam to play it. That's because Windows does not natively recognize that it's being run on the Steam Deck, it doesn't know what a Steam Deck is. Windows thinks it's being run on a physical computer, so unless you've plugged a controller into this "computer" Windows will just assume that anything you play will be operated through mouse and keyboard. Steam tries to take care of that with its built-in (if somewhat confusing) virtual controller overlay which tells Windows that the buttons on your Steam Deck are actually the keyboard keys needed to operate the game.
SWICD does away with all of that. Once you've installed Windows, you then download and install the SWICD driver msi here: github.com/mKenfenheuer/steam-deck-windows-usermode-driver/releases/tag/v0.2.7-beta2. While it's running, Windows will be tricked into thinking that you've physically plugged an actual Xbox 360 controller into the "computer" that it's running on. Now, you just launch your Windows copy of RE7. No adding to Steam, no playing through Steam, no need to even install Steam. You just launch the game. The game, like Windows, now recognizes the Deck in your hand as an actual gaming controller. Instead of saying something like "press ESC to exit", the game will now say "press the B button to exit".
SWICD can be turned on or off at any time, and you can customize its layout to whatever you want (including saving specific layouts for specific games, if you want). You can switch the L and R triggers, assign functionality to the STEAM and back buttons (for example I have the STEAM button act as the Windows key, meaning that if a game freezes or something I can always hit a physical button to go back to the Windows desktop rather than restarting the device). Whatever you want. The config is saved in your documents folder. Just make sure to switch "disable lizard mode" (look it up if you like) to TRUE in order to avoid virtual keyboard conflicts, and you shouldn't have much trouble.
==========
TL;DR: If you install Windows on your Steam Deck, you can then install the SWICD driver to make Windows treat your Deck as a game controller without the need to use Steam at all.
==========
Hi Mike, this is VERY GOOD Information! I would like to add a section to the Windows Install guide for "Viewer Recommendations" and start it off with yours here. Is it ok to to repost portions of what you have above, along with a link to your YT ID for credit? I've not tried this (will when I get a chance), but think others may find it helpful! I appreciate your detailed explanation and if you're ok with me re-posting, I'll add it to the guide. Not sure how many are going to see your post here in the comments and it's too good not to share on the guide page.
@@WagnersTechTalk Oh absolutely, sure! I made that post because I figured that others would benefit from it just like I did. I didn't make the driver of course but have had good luck with it so far. You should definitely look into it yourself and see what you think, determine if you want to add anything I said about it, and if so, definitely feel free! I'm happy to help.
Thank you so much Mike! I didn't change much at all, your write-up was perfect! I took your comment above and just added direct links to a few areas for SWICD. You can find the new section here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Viewer_Recommendations . Again, I want to thank you for your contribution to the community, I and I'm sure many others appreciate it!
@@WagnersTechTalk Very cool, thanks! Have you tried the driver yet? If not, give it a spin. It's great to be able to play PC games on the Deck without having to go through the whole "add non-Steam game" process. Glad the info is able to be of some service!
@@MiketheratguyMultimedia I haven't. Unfortunately, I don't have any recent PC games that aren't on Steam to try it out.
Just a heads up that sometimes you have to click the "list USB hard drives" box under "show advanced drive properties" when you are in Rufus. If your USB drive/drive your installing windows to doesn't show up in "Device"
Thank you for your feedback Anthony!
Great walkthrough! We really appreciate it! Hope to see you in game now that we are all mobile!
Very welcome and thank you for your kind comment!
Very informational video and very clear in speaking! One of the best informational videos out there! I just subbed and clicked Like for yah! Well deserved!
I really appreciate your kind comments, thank you for all of your great support!
Why does your volume rocker look like that? do you have an early build of the steam deck? @6:23
Hi Adrian, no it's actually this TPU case (fast forwarded for you): th-cam.com/video/Cnusk4PiBPY/w-d-xo.html
I'm stuck on the Boot Manager stage. My microSD didn't show so I tried to reinsert it and am getting this error: 'SdCardSendOpCond fails with Time out 0cr FF800000, S18r 1, Xpc 1'. Has anyone else had this issue?
It might be a defective microSD card or dust in the microSD slot. If you have a can of air, try blowing out the microSD slot (it would have to have a lot of dust for it to be an issue). It's most likely a defective card, what brand is it?
I love your videos and your approach! I love my steam deck and my ALP. You rock dude!
Awe, thank you I really appreciate your comment! It made my day 👍😎
at 6:32 I cannot find the microsd card in the booter list. Are only certain sd card brands compatible? Using a SanDisk Extreme and everything goes smoothly until this point. (Thank you for the well explained tutorial. Hope that others are having more luck!)
I've only tried Lexar and Samsung microSD's personally, it hasn't been mentioned to me that SanDisk microSD's don't work. I would think the instructions here should work on any microSD: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Create_the_Windows_ISO_file
when you get to the partition and format area,do you format completely the drive or what ?
The guide here will walk you through every step of the way: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Create_the_Windows_ISO_file
cant seem to get rufus download to locate the micro sd card i have inserted, just says 0 devices found at bottom of rufus window 3:22 on the video
Please see the Difficulty with Rufus section where others have told me what has helped them: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting
Great tutorial man! just downloaded and installed with no problems! :)
Awesome, love to hear it! Thanks for letting me know it worked out well for you.
Have you run into the boot menu not recognizing an SD card? I'm trying to run a Samsung 512GB Pro Plus U3 A2 V30, and following the guide up until the point where I boot to it from the Steam Deck, but for some reason it isn't listed in the boot menu. The Steam Deck previously recognized the card fine when formatting it to be used as extra storage for Steam OS. I then formatted it to be used with windows, followed the guide and Rufus read it fine, installed the ISO, copied the drivers, but for some reason the boot menu just won't read it. I've tried swapping to Beta/Preview updates with developer mode enabled (some links I found on the internet suggested that)... Otherwise is the best option to just try a different MicroSD card or two?
I've not had an issue with the card, I bought 3 of them - all worked. Try powering the Steam Deck off, then re-seat the card, power it back on while holding the volume down button. Can't imagine why it wouldn't see your card, unless it's defective.
@@WagnersTechTalk Neither can I, it’s odd. But the card seems fully functional otherwise. I’m currently running Rufus again with a few settings tweaked. If it works, I’ll reply so you know in case others ask the question in the future.
@@WagnersTechTalk The second time I reset the ISO with Rufus, it seems to have worked. Mine did auto update to Rufus 3.20 from 3.19, so not sure if thats why... but I swapped the partition scheme, and then checked a box saying "Use Rufus MBR with BIOS ID" and that seems to have fixed it!
This is exactly what I was hoping you could do! Thanks a lot for the video!!
Glad I could help!
Hi,
First of, I want to give you a big thank you. With your guide, I'm able to use my steam deck with windows while attending engineering school.
I was wondering, with the release of the OLED model, will you revisit your guide to see what need to be done to make it work on the OLED model?
Awesome to hear you got it all setup, you're very welcome. I'm not planning, at this point, to purchase the OLED model. The guide should work the same but if not I'll find a way to keep it updated. I wish you the best in Engineering School!
A very comprehensive and complete guide! Thanks!
Happy it was helpful to you Talon! Very welcome my friend!
Excellent Video, thank you for all your help! Also, nice last name!
lol, thank you kindly!
So just to understand, once you set up the windows using that SD you can just shut off the deck and swap cards then it will be in steam OS and just as easily you can turn it off again and put the windows sd in and it will boot into windows?
For the most part. The only difference is when in booting in to Windows you'll need to Press+HOLD the volume down and select the microSD card from the boot manager. Quick instructions detailed here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Swap_between_SteamOS_and_Windows
@@WagnersTechTalk thanks I'll check it out
@@WagnersTechTalk also is there a way to have both steam os and windows os on the same deck/micro SD? I want to use a 1tb card and have windows on it and have steam on the deck like normal. But then also have the card be usable for storage on both operating systems to access games and things.
There is not a way, that I'm aware of to easily have SteamOS and Windows accessible from a single microSD card. Is it possible, perhaps. However, it was not within the scope of this guide/video. A better solution will be once Valve supports dual-boot with SteamOS which according to this: help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6121-ECCD-D643-BAA8 is being worked on. Once that happens, I'll investigate and likely create a separate guide+video to explain it.
@@WagnersTechTalk that sounds great!
But just to clarify, the windows OS would be on the SD and the steam OS would be on the deck (basically stock deck). The idea is to be able to swap between the two when turning on the deck. The issue at hand would be if the data on the SD card is accessable by the windows and steam operating systems so that I don't have to swap SD cards ever since eim trying to use a 1tb card for everything.
Excellent tutorial. Far above the others I’ve seen.
Thank you Tom, much appreciated!
I already had windows on my SD but then one day it says preparing automatic repair and now it doesn't boot. I reimaged a micro sd but now it doesn't boot to the windows setup. any help? not sure what's going wrong. thanks
Sounds like something may have gotten corrupted or perhaps Windows wasn't shutdown properly before removing the SD card. May need to re-install in this case.
@@WagnersTechTalk thanks for the help👍👍I'll try it today
@@WagnersTechTalk I reinstalled it with no luck. just got stuck on the screen with the dotted loading circle and the steam logo. any ideas what to do?
Thank You SO MUCH. This video with the linked guide is fantastic!
You're most welcome! If you run into any issues, there is a troubleshooting section with everything I'm aware of so far. As issue are found in the comments here (and get resolved), I try to keep it updated.
Great video I was wondering accouple things that i hope you could answer first is it still running smooth I heard alot of people say that it will basically burn out the card rather quick like with in a year have you come across any issues? two are your games also saved on the same sd card if so what size do you recommend for the process? and last I don't really follow a lot of the news has there been an update in regards to official dual booting that you mentioned?
Thank you for watching and your kind comment! You'll find the answer to your first question on the last point here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Q_A . Also, in this section I discuss the card I used in the video. I've since purchased several. One I use for Windows 10, x2 for Windows 11 (one with just steam games, the other for Virtual Pinball), one for Batocera, etc. Obviously, testing the longevity of a single card isn't possible in this setup. However, if it was an issue we should be seeing posts regularly about that by now as the guide was released a year ago. It's very rare that such a comment appears and backs up the point mentioned above. If you're using a U3 A2 card, it will be faster and time will tell how long it will last. As far as dual-booting, you'll find that same comment still on their site: help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6121-ECCD-D643-BAA8 . Hope I've answered your questions, again thank you for checking out the video and guide!
If I load Windows onto an SD card, can I then format the card again and use it for another purpose?
Yes, of course. If you install it, don't like it and want to re-purpose it no problem.
Only part I’m stuck on is the Rufus portion… ISO fails image extraction no matter how I tweak it … and there’s no guides online that helps..
See the Troubleshooting section here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting . Specifically the "Difficulty with Rufus" point for some possible solutions.
Thank you so much! All worked perfectly. And first thing - downloaded Google Chrome!
lol, that's the first thing I do too!
This is the best guide out there !!
Thank you so much, I appreciate that!
I have a problem with the APU Driver. The Deck just reboots during the installation and then steam os starts automatically. When I turn the deck off and reboot windows the APU driver installation doesn't continue
I think this is a result of their latest 3.3 update (after this video was released). Prior to that update, the driver install was fine. After the reboot, the driver does appear to have been installed so it shouldn't be an issue. Just install the remaining drivers and you should be in good shape. Hopefully they'll update the APU drivers for Windows soon. I'll add a notice about this issue to the guide page this evening.
fyi - Added an orange notice at the top of the page and in the troubleshooting section of the guide here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-windows/#Troubleshooting
I just made Valve aware of the driver issues here: steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/3464976518718621603 If more users reply to that thread, it would likely improve the priority in getting the issues resolved. They worked prior to the SteamOS 3.3 update, it's up to Valve to fix the issues with the drivers.
Really REALLY excellent method of procedure. Well written, easy to follow and above all accurate. Thanks :)
Thank you Paul!
Thank you so much for this amazing and easy to follow tutorial! Game changer!
Very welcome Lincoln, happy it was helpful to you Sir!
thank you for this...what foldable keyboard it that you are using in the video?
I started with a USB keyboard, the folding keyboard arrived during filming and used it towards the end.