Yes, you can install Windows on Steam Machine, it is a regular PC. Valve provides drivers for it but does not officially support Windows on its hardware. The big catch, as of 12 November 2026: there is no dual-boot with SteamOS yet, so installing Windows wipes the whole drive. Below is what you need, which drivers Valve offers and how to get back to SteamOS.
Can you, and what you give up (no Windows support from Valve)
On its Windows Resources page, Valve says Steam Deck and Steam Machine are PCs and you can install other operating systems on them. It provides the Windows drivers “as is” and does not offer support for Windows on Steam hardware. If you get stuck, the only thing Valve points you to is the way back to SteamOS.
Why do people try it at all? Some games are rated Unsupported on Steam Machine because they use middleware SteamOS does not support, typically certain anti-cheat systems and media codecs. Our guide to Verified games explains how the ratings work. Before you start, make sure your game really does not run on SteamOS. Installing Windows means giving up the SteamOS experience the Machine is built around.
No dual-boot yet
According to Valve, Steam Deck and Steam Machine are fully capable of dual-boot, but the SteamOS installer with a dual-boot wizard is not ready yet. It will ship with SteamOS once it is finished. Until then:
- installing Windows means wiping the Steam Machine’s drive,
- you cannot officially run Windows and SteamOS side by side,
- going back means reinstalling SteamOS.
We’ll update this guide as soon as Valve releases the wizard. SteamOS changes are tracked on our SteamOS latest version page.
What you need (USB, Ethernet, keyboard)
- A Windows installation USB and a valid product key.
- An Ethernet cable. There are no Wi-Fi drivers during installation, and you need internet to enter the product key. Steam Machine has Gigabit Ethernet.
- A keyboard, ideally wired. You can’t reach the boot menu without one.
- Valve’s drivers, downloaded in advance (list below).
- A second USB drive of at least 8GB in case you want to go back to SteamOS.
Saves from games that use Steam Cloud stay in the cloud. Everything else on the Machine’s drive will be erased. Storage and ports are listed in our Steam Machine specs.
Installing and the boot menu (Esc)
To get to the boot menu, power the Steam Machine down, then turn it on while tapping the Escape key until the menu appears. From there you start the installation from USB. Valve does not document the Windows installation itself step by step, so we don’t either. Keep Ethernet connected throughout so you can enter your product key.
Valve’s drivers
Valve’s Windows Resources page lists four drivers for Steam Machine:
| Driver | How to install it |
|---|---|
| Graphics | run Setup.exe |
| Wi-Fi | right-click qcwlan64.inf and select Install |
| Bluetooth | right-click BtFilter.inf and select Install |
| SD card reader | run Setup.exe |
Only download the drivers from Valve’s official page. Valve lists nothing else for Windows on Steam Machine.
Going back to SteamOS (USB recovery)
To return to SteamOS, follow Valve’s SteamOS Installation and Repair guide:
- Download the SteamOS image for Steam Deck, Steam Machine and PC.
- Write it to a USB drive of at least 8GB. On Windows use Rufus, on macOS or Linux use Balena Etcher.
- Plug in the USB drive, power on the Machine and tap Esc. In the BIOS, open Boot Configuration and choose UEFI (USB).
- On the recovery desktop, run “Wipe Device & Install SteamOS”.
The recovery environment has more options: Re-image Device restores factory state and erases everything, Repair SteamOS tries to keep your games and data, and Recovery tools has further repair utilities. Valve recommends a wired keyboard. If something still isn’t right afterwards, see our troubleshooting guide.
Alternative without Windows: Epic and GOG games
If all you want is games from other stores, you don’t need Windows. In Desktop Mode, add any game with “Add a Non-Steam Game” and it shows up in your library under the Non-Steam tab. Epic Games Store and GOG work through the Heroic launcher, the same way as on Steam Deck, see our Epic and GOG guide. Some non-Steam games, Fortnite for example, don’t run well.
Install desktop apps through Discover (flatpak). If you need admin rights, note that the default user has no password, you set one with the passwd command. Changes to the system outside flatpak may be wiped by the next SteamOS update. To compare with the handheld, see our Steam Deck Windows guide, and for the big picture read our Steam Machine overview.
Join our Discord and talk to players who have already tried Windows on Valve hardware. Find us on Discord GamersTogether.
FAQ
Yes. Steam Machine is a PC and Valve provides Windows drivers for it. Valve does not officially support Windows on its hardware, though.
Not as of 12 November 2026. Dual-boot is not available yet and installing Windows wipes the drive. Valve says a dual-boot wizard will come with a future version of the SteamOS installer.
The Wi-Fi driver is not installed yet at that point. Connect with an Ethernet cable and install Valve’s Wi-Fi driver once setup is complete.
Power it down, turn it on and keep tapping Esc on a connected keyboard until the boot menu appears.
Write the SteamOS image to a USB drive of at least 8GB, boot from it via Esc and run Wipe Device & Install SteamOS in the recovery environment.
Information verified on 12 November 2026. We keep prices and the waitlist status up to date. More guides are in the Steam Machine hub.