Setting up your USB: https://x.com/ghost_motley/status/1804950177611927922
Getting the iso file for rufus: https://x.com/ghost_motley/status/1805021483892146249
Register using some Auto-KMS script, something like https://github.com/massgravel/Microsoft-Activation-Scripts might work, haven't checked in in a while.
You really don't have to do scorched earth and install linux. Just do a proper install of win 11 enterprise, with Rufus, and a few minutes disabling anything else you don't like. Also, use explorerpatcher https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher to fix various things like start menu, task bar, etc.
No ads, no Copilot AI, no search using bing, no telemetry, etc. etc. You can safely ignore all the doom and gloom about how windows is getting worse because if you remove all the crap its actually getting better.
you're right that it takes work but there are distros that almost always Just Work and offer a very point and click experience aimed at the recovering windows user. Ubuntu and Fedora are good examples.
Ubuntu was what I tried before! We must have different understandings of what point and click means
fair enough. if you feel like elaborating, what kind of areas did you have difficulty in? was it recently or some time ago?
It was a little while ago, and honestly I'll probably give it another go rather than upgrading to W11, so who knows, maybe I'll be a convert by next year