Promise: In under 3 minutes Overclock will be installed on your Windows machine — no commands, just clicking "Next".
Step 1 — Open the .exe file
Go to your Downloads folder and double-click the file ending in setup.exe (or just .exe).
The Windows warning (SmartScreen) — read before you panic
Windows will show a blue screen with a shield saying something like:
"Windows protected your PC"
or
"The app isn't recognized by Windows SmartScreen."
This is normal and expected. SmartScreen is Windows' protection system. It shows up with any program downloaded from the internet that doesn't yet have "accumulated reputation" from being installed by a lot of people — even when it's 100% safe. New programs take time to build up that reputation in the Windows system. Overclock is safe.
How to fix it:
- On the blue screen, click "More info" (the link, not the big button).
- A button that says "Run anyway" will appear. Click it.
Important: only click "Run anyway" on programs you downloaded from a site you know and trust. In this case, you downloaded it straight from overclock.sh — it's safe.
Step 2 — Follow the installer
After the warning, the Overclock installer will open. It's straightforward:
- Click "Next".
- Choose where to install it — the default is fine, no need to change it. Click "Next".
- Click "Install".
- Wait for the progress bar to finish (usually takes under 1 minute).
- Click "Finish".
Step 3 — Open Overclock
After the installer, Overclock usually opens on its own. If it doesn't:
- Look for the Overclock icon on your Desktop and double-click it.
- Or click the Start menu (the Windows button in the corner of the screen) and search for "Overclock".
This lesson's micro-win: Overclock is installed and open on your Windows machine. You faced the SmartScreen warning without panicking and made it here. Now the good part begins.
Next step: Lesson 1.5 — Guided Mode.