Download windows 10s

[Jamessoyer]

After spending a lot of time searching for it i couldn't find a link to download window s10 edition. can anyone here help me out with this? I'm planning to install it on an old laptop of mine with weak hardware.

Thank you

Soyer

[#2]

There is no download for Windows 10s. The S is actually a mode of operation for Windows 10, not  a seperate edition. There was a seperate Windows 10S edition a long time ago, but that one is deprecated in favor of S-Mode.

To install Windows 10 with S-Mode, you have to use the edition you have a license for (Windows 10 Home or Pro for example). You can then enable S-Mode with an unattend file before your first boot.

For full instructions look here (this is normally something an OEM or System-Builder does, not an end-user. So there is no end-user-friendly way to get Windows 10S):

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/windows-10-s-overview

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/windows-10-s-deployment-sxs

The easiest way to get S-Mode is to install Windows 10 from a Windows PE environment with "setup.exe /noreboot" to skip the automatic reboot after setup. Also create an unattend.xml file with the following content:

<settings pass="offlineServicing">
    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-CodeIntegrity" 
                processorArchitecture="amd64" 
                publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" 
                language="neutral" 
                versionScope="nonSxS" 
                xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" 
                xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
        <SkuPolicyRequired>1</SkuPolicyRequired>
    </component>
    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-CodeIntegrity" 
                processorArchitecture="x86" 
                publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" 
                language="neutral" 
                versionScope="nonSxS" 
                xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" 
                xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
        <SkuPolicyRequired>1</SkuPolicyRequired>
    </component>
</settings>

Now after you are back at the commandline, copy the unattend.xml file you created earlier to your new Windows Installation into "\Windows\Panther" and execute the following command (assuming W: is your new Windows installation drive):

dism /image:W:\ /apply-unattend:W:\windows\panther\unattend.xml

Now reboot as normal and you have your new Windows 10 S-Mode installation running.

If you do this on old hardware that is not built or tested for S-Mode, it is very likely that some drivers will not work and you have to use Windows generic/inbox drivers instead. Keep that in mind!

@Jamessoyer 

[#3 · Accepted solution]

Hello,

Windows 10 S ISO files are not publicly available for download unless you have a device like Microsoft Surface: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surfacerecoveryimage

so you have to create your own Windows 10 ISO file from the normal Windows 10 ISO file.

to do that, first download the latest Windows 10 ISO file from Microsoft:

(Create Windows 10 installation media)

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

once you have it, you also need to download The Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK)

from here:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install

(note that latest Windows 10 build is currently 1909, but you can use ADK 1903 which is the latest version, to use it for both 1903 and 1909)

There is also this guide here on Microsoft docs that shows how to enable it but it's for more advanced users:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/windows-10-s-enable-s-mode

so I kindly suggest to watch this video which shows step by step how to turn a normal Windows 10 ISO into Windows 10 S mode and it uses the same method explained in Microsoft Docs article.

How To Enable S Mode On Windows 10 video:

https://youtu.be/y-fWq9U_2mM

Hope that helps, let me know if you need help with anything.

[#4]

Thank you both. it was very educational and I learned a lot about it. i ended up using the video with adk method and now i have a windows 10s that i began installing on my laptop. everything's good so far. thanks!

[#5]

You're welcome, by the way you can install the new Microsoft Edge
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/
which is one of the few Win32 programs that can be installed on S mode.

[#6]

@HotCakeX I Google SO much technical things related to Windows. I've read thousands, if not tens of thousands, of questions and answers on Microsoft community over the years. In all the years and all the posts, only one username do I recognize and remember - HotCakeX.

Thanks for your contributions. 

[#7]

@eric79xxl 

---

@eric79xxl wrote:

@HotCakeX I Google SO much technical things related to Windows. I've read thousands, if not tens of thousands, of questions and answers on Microsoft community over the years. In all the years and all the posts, only one username do I recognize and remember - HotCakeX.

Thanks for your contributions. 

---

Ah thank you very much for the kind words, glad to know that :)

[#8]

I know this post is quite old but I'm hoping help is still available.
I've followed this video guide three times and am unable to get S mode installed. Each time, the resulting USB just installs regular Windows 10 Pro.
Can anybody suggest what I may be doing wrong?

[#9]

@John_Bonefield 

Hi, I suggest using Windows 11 with Smart App Control. It's a more mature version of the S mode and is easier to work with. It also provides AI based security using Intelligent Security Graph.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/what-is-smart-app-control-285ea03d-fa88-4d56-882e-6698afdb...

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/develop/smart-app-control/overview

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/application-security/application-control/windows-...